# Customized xticklabels with GeoMakie?

**URL:** <https://discourse.julialang.org/t/customized-xticklabels-with-geomakie/131886>\
**Category:** Visualization\
**Tags:** question, makie, geomakie\
**Created:** [August 27, 2025, 1:32pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/customized-xticklabels-with-geomakie/131886 "2025-08-27T13:32:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![sablonl](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/sablonl/32/217805_2.png) [@sablonl](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/sablonl)\
**Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 1:32pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/customized-xticklabels-with-geomakie/131886/1 "2025-08-27T13:32:05Z")

</div>

I’d like to plot some maps using GeoMakie.jl, but I would like to modify the default `xticks`.  
I tried several approaches : via a formatter `xtickformat` or via manually annotating the figure. None of those works… The attribute seems to be completely ignored and with the second option the text get clipped (even though I used the `ax.scene` strategy that would in theory solve this…).

Do you have any idea of a possible solution that could be implemented in the scritp (if no, I still have the possibility to edit the figure on _Inkscape_) ?

> **MWE**
>
> ```julia
> using GeoMakie, CairoMakie
> using LaTeXStrings
> 
> lon_formatter(x) = x < 0 ? L"%$(-x)^\circ\mathrm{W}" : L"%$(x)^\circ\mathrm{E}"
> lat_formatter(y) = y < 0 ? L"%$(-y)^\circ\mathrm{S}" : L"%$(y)^\circ\mathrm{N}"
> 
> # Function to create a single PC plot
> function plot_single_map(fig, position; kwargs...)
> # Normalized PC data
> data = randn(96, 73) # fake data for testing
> 
> # Create GeoAxis
> ax = GeoAxis(fig[position...],
> source = "+proj=latlong",
> # dest = "+proj=wintri",
> xticks = collect(-180.0:90.0:180.0),
> yticks = collect(-90.0:45.0:90.0),
> xgridcolor = (:black, 0.5),
> ygridcolor = (:black, 0.5);
> kwargs...,
> )
> 
> lon = range(-180, 180, length = size(data, 1))
> lat = range(-90, 90, length = size(data, 2))
> 
> sdata = reshape(data, :, 1) |> vec
> mask = isfinite.(sdata) .& (.!ismissing.(sdata))
> slon = reshape(repeat(lon, outer = length(lat)), :, 1) |> vec
> slat = reshape(repeat(lat, inner = length(lon)), :, 1) |> vec
> scatter!(ax, slon[mask], slat[mask],
> color = sdata[mask],
> colormap = :balance,
> colorrange = (-5, 5),
> marker = :rect,
> markersize = 5,
> )
> 
> return ax
> end
> 
> fig = let
> fig = Figure(
> size = (800, 800),
> figure_padding = (0, 0, -50, -50),
> # backgroundcolor = :transparent,
> )
> ga = fig[1, 1] = GridLayout()
> 
> axes = []
> positions = [(1, 1), (1, 2), (2, 1), (2, 2), (3, 1), (3, 2)]
> for i in 1:6
> ax = plot_single_map(
> ga,
> positions[i];
> xtickformat = xvals -> [lon_formatter(x) for x in xvals],
> # xticklabelsvisible = false,
> # yticklabelsvisible = false,
> )
> # Usin ax.scene, that should avoid the clipping:
> text!(ax.scene, Point2f(0.5, 0.15), text = "Test", align = (:center, :top),
> fontsize = 40, space = :relative)
> push!(axes, ax)
> end
> rowgap!(ga, -150) # reduce white space between rows
> colgap!(ga, -10) # reduce white space between columns
> resize_to_layout!(fig) # probably useless
> fig
> end
> # save("GeoMakie.png", fig) # or pdf for paper
> 
> ```

> **Resulting image**
>
> ![GeoMakie](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/original/3X/f/6/f66ad16184ec3cad96e55e920d3ec347c6ae1bd1.jpeg)

```julia
pkg> st GeoMakie CairoMakie
Status `[...]/Project.toml`
  [13f3f980] CairoMakie v0.15.6
  [db073c08] GeoMakie v0.7.15

```

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![asinghvi17](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/asinghvi17/32/8272_2.png) [@asinghvi17](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/asinghvi17)\
**Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 7:18pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/customized-xticklabels-with-geomakie/131886/2 "2025-08-27T19:18:12Z")

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Hey, thanks for the additional report. I think xtick handling broke at some point, will try to restore that this weekend!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![sablonl](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/sablonl/32/217805_2.png) [@sablonl](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/sablonl)\
**Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 1:23pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/customized-xticklabels-with-geomakie/131886/3 "2025-08-28T13:23:29Z")

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Great, thanks !

On the other hand, I was still puzzled by the fact that using `text!(ax.scene, ...)` was cropped and I finally understood that the reason is just because of the `scene` size.  
Could this size be increased while keeping the rest of the plot identical ?

If not, I managed to get a working solution, that involves adding

```julia
    # Create overlay for text
	overlay_ax = Axis(fig[1, 1],
		backgroundcolor = :transparent,
		limits = (0, 1, 0, 1),
		xgridvisible = false, ygridvisible = false,
		topspinevisible = false, bottomspinevisible = false,
		leftspinevisible = false, rightspinevisible = false,
		xticksvisible = false, yticksvisible = false,
		xticklabelsvisible = false, yticklabelsvisible = false,
	)

	# Add text using relative coordinates
	text_positions = [ax.scene.viewport[].origin for ax in axes]

	for (i, pos) in enumerate(text_positions)
		@show pos
		text!(overlay_ax, pos...,
			text = "Test $i",
			fontsize = 40,
			color = :red,
			align = (:center, :center),
			space = :pixel,
		)
	end

```

However, this is not ideal. Indeed, if I want to add a text at a given `lon` `lat`, I have to find myself the needed pixel translation from the bottom left corner of the `scene`. Given that `annotation!` support entering the `lon` `lat` value, I guess there must be a way to extract the pixel position ?