# How to add an inset to a plot

**URL:** <https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-add-an-inset-to-a-plot/37189>\
**Category:** New to Julia\
**Tags:** question, plotting\
**Created:** [April 7, 2020, 7:48pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-add-an-inset-to-a-plot/37189 "2020-04-07T19:48:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 15\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jipphysics](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/jipphysics/32/13969_2.png) [@jipphysics](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/jipphysics)\
**Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 7:48pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-add-an-inset-to-a-plot/37189/1 "2020-04-07T19:48:49Z")

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I am trying to understand how to plot a figure with an inset in Julia using the Plots package. I have tried the examples in the documentation without too much success (see [https://docs.juliaplots.org/latest/layouts/](https://docs.juliaplots.org/latest/layouts/)). I have only found a few other examples on the web (see for example [http://www.breloff.com/images/juliacon/plotswithplots.slides.html](http://www.breloff.com/images/juliacon/plotswithplots.slides.html)), but these were not clear or specific enough to clear my doubts. Currently, I am confused about the relation between subplots and insets. Could somebody provide a very basic example using just one plot with one inset? Then another example using one plot with two subplots and one inset in one of them?

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**Author:** ![tomerarnon](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/tomerarnon/32/3170_2.png) [@tomerarnon](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/tomerarnon)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 8:12am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-add-an-inset-to-a-plot/37189/2 "2020-04-09T08:12:14Z")

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I’m not sure what you mean when you say the examples aren’t giving you much success, but perhaps you’re having trouble translating them to your particular application? Anyway, here is something like what you asked for.

```julia
f(x,y) = x*y
x = y = -10:10

# a plot with an inset
p1 = plot(x, y, f, 
    seriestype = [:wireframe, :surface], 
    inset_subplots = bbox(0, 0, 0.5, 0.5, :bottom),
    title = ["Look At" "My Titles"],
    camera = [(10, 45) (60, 0)],
    colorbar = false)

# a second plot
p2 = heatmap(x, y, f, c = :viridis)

# two subplots where one of them has an inset
plot(p1, p2, layout = (2, 1))

```

![ex_inset](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/original/3X/7/5/752abf0b901c1165ed9df805fca207a570ad9cf0.png)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jipphysics](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/jipphysics/32/13969_2.png) [@jipphysics](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/jipphysics)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 11:15am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-add-an-inset-to-a-plot/37189/3 "2020-04-09T11:15:22Z")

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Thank you for the response. For clarification, my lack of success is in the understanding of the example. If I tried to run it by copy-paste so I can play with it to understand how it works, then it didn’t work on my computer, and I couldn’t figure out why. It was too complicate to disentangle the problem. My point is that, perhaps, simpler more straightforward but still general examples, instead of other more “flashy” ones could be sometimes more educative.

In any case, let me ask a question about your example. What if I want p1 to have an inset which is not a function of the “domain” x. How do you do it?

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**Author:** ![BeastyBlacksmith](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/beastyblacksmith/32/4741_2.png) [@BeastyBlacksmith](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/BeastyBlacksmith)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 12:52pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-add-an-inset-to-a-plot/37189/4 "2020-04-09T12:52:00Z")

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```julia
plot( 1:5 )
plot!( -5:8, (-5:8).^2, inset = (1, bbox(0.1,0.0,0.4,0.4)), subplot = 2)

```

Where `1` is the subplot index where the inset should appear and `subplot = 2` assigns the correct subplot index to this series.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jipphysics](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/jipphysics/32/13969_2.png) [@jipphysics](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/jipphysics)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 1:36pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-add-an-inset-to-a-plot/37189/7 "2020-04-09T13:36:50Z")

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Thank you for your answer. Now is clearer. Although I still think I don’t clearly understand the idea of subplot index. It seems to me that certain stuff are occurring implicitly. Wouldn’t it be better to have a more explicit notation? For instance, from an user perspective (I am not an expert on Julia), I would find more transparent something like the following:

```nohighlight
a1 = axes2d(xrange=(0.0,10.0),yrange=(1.0,100.0),ylogscale=true,...)
a2 = axes2d(xrange=(-1.0,1.0),yrange=(-10.0,10.0),...)
plot_curve2d!(a1,x1,y1) # here I assume x1 and y1 are defined somewhere
plot_curve2d!(a2,x2,y2) # we plot another curve in another axes.
plot!(c,a1) # now we plot axes a1 in the canvas c.
plot_inset!(c,a2,bbox=(0.1,0.0,0.4,0.4)) # now we plot axes a2 in the canvas c but as an inset.

```

Most likely my notation doesn’t follow Julia’s standards. I just want to communicate an idea, which may be imprecise or even wrong, but, hopefully, it could be helpful.

[Apologies for the mess, I am not sure if I have replied to ``BeastyBlacksmith’’ or not.]

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**Author:** ![BeastyBlacksmith](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/beastyblacksmith/32/4741_2.png) [@BeastyBlacksmith](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/BeastyBlacksmith)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 1:43pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-add-an-inset-to-a-plot/37189/8 "2020-04-09T13:43:17Z")

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> [@jipphysics](#):
>
> [Apologies for the mess, I am not sure if I have replied to ``BeastyBlacksmith’’ or not.]

Yes, you did.  
So this is more a matter of phisolophies.  
The idea of `Plots.jl` is that you only need to specify your intent and it will take care of the boilerplate code and the rest.  
The syntax you describe is pretty similar to what `pgfplots` (for which there are two wrappers: `PGFPlots.jl` and `PGFPlotsX.jl`) or `Makie.jl` does.

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**Author:** ![jipphysics](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/jipphysics/32/13969_2.png) [@jipphysics](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/jipphysics)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 1:50pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-add-an-inset-to-a-plot/37189/9 "2020-04-09T13:50:48Z")

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Thanks for your example. Unfortunately, I have tried it on my installation of Julia and the outcome looked different. Moreover, I didn’t help me to understand. I see 3 plot commands. The last combines p1 and p2 into one canvas with two pannels, one above and one below. The second plots the heatmap in the lower pannel. However, the first one is still confusing. It plots the same surface two times. I would like to plot say some function f in the upper pannel, and later, something different, say function g in a different domain, in an inset within that pannel.

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**Author:** ![tomerarnon](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/tomerarnon/32/3170_2.png) [@tomerarnon](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/tomerarnon)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 10:23pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-add-an-inset-to-a-plot/37189/10 "2020-04-09T22:23:04Z")

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Ok, I see your point that it’s best to start small and simple. Here are two separate commands plotting two separate functions, one inset within the other.

```julia
# here is the main surface plot
plot(x, y, f, seriestype = :surface)

# here we plot on top of it (with `!`), specifying 
# inset = (parent_subplot, bounding_box), and specifying that 
# we're drawing on `subplot = 2` (our current subplot)
plot!(x, y, inset = (1, bbox(0, 0, 0.5, 0.5, :top)), subplot = 2)

```

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**Author:** ![alequa](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/alequa/32/12338_2.png) [@alequa](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/alequa)\
**Post date:** [August 14, 2020, 9:47am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-add-an-inset-to-a-plot/37189/11 "2020-08-14T09:47:09Z")

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Hi,  
I wonder if it is possible to make an inset from a plot I already produced somewhere else.  
It is not uncommon to have functions like this:

```julia
function make_my_plots(data)
    #do things 
    data .+ 1
    return plot(data)
end

function make_my_plots(data)
    #do things 
    myplot=plot()
## these are complex commands that do not fit in a single command
    plot!(data .+1)
    plot!(data .^2)
    return myplot
end

myplot= make_my_plot([1,2])
another_plot = plot([3,4], subplot=2)

## and something like this!
plot(my_plot, inset=another_plot)

```

Thanks!

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tomerarnon](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/tomerarnon/32/3170_2.png) [@tomerarnon](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/tomerarnon)\
**Post date:** [August 14, 2020, 11:00am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-add-an-inset-to-a-plot/37189/12 "2020-08-14T11:00:27Z")

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Sorry, but I don’t know of a way off the top of my head. But I always recommend any plotting function be defined along the lines of:

```julia
myplot!(p::Plot, args...; kwargs...) = # do the thing
myplot(args...; kwargs...) = myplot!(plot(), args...; kwargs...)

```

This makes it _much_ easier to compose subplots, tune the look of a plot ad-hoc, etc. You can also define a custom recipe to get the same effect (and more) but while I often find that overkill, the above is a basic necessity for me.

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**Author:** ![SDA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@SDA](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/SDA)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 3:02am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-add-an-inset-to-a-plot/37189/13 "2021-05-11T03:02:46Z")

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Hi alequa,

Did you figure out how to do this? I too would like to include an inset that is the same plot as the main figure but with a different xlims defined.

Kind regards  
SDA

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**Author:** ![BeastyBlacksmith](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/beastyblacksmith/32/4741_2.png) [@BeastyBlacksmith](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/BeastyBlacksmith)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 8:29am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-add-an-inset-to-a-plot/37189/14 "2021-05-11T08:29:14Z")

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Nowadays we have a recipe for that [http://docs.juliaplots.org/latest/generated/gr/#gr-ref40](http://docs.juliaplots.org/latest/generated/gr/#gr-ref40)

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**Author:** ![SDA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@SDA](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/SDA)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 8:35am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-add-an-inset-to-a-plot/37189/15 "2021-05-11T08:35:42Z")

</div>

Thank you!

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BeastyBlacksmith](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/beastyblacksmith/32/4741_2.png) [@BeastyBlacksmith](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/BeastyBlacksmith)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2023, 7:56am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-add-an-inset-to-a-plot/37189/16 "2023-08-10T07:56:09Z")

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The updated version of that link is [Lens · Plots](https://docs.juliaplots.org/v1.38/gallery/gr/generated/gr-ref040/#gr_ref040)

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**Author:** ![aedolfi](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/aedolfi/32/211668_2.png) [@aedolfi](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/aedolfi)\
**Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 2:40pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-add-an-inset-to-a-plot/37189/17 "2024-08-29T14:40:16Z")

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I do have another solution for this, it is a bit awkward but works for every plot you might have. You can even do things like creating the inset in Makie, or Plotly and the main plot in Plots.

```julia
# Import
using Plots, Images

# Main plot
p1=Plots.plot(rand(10), label="main plot")

# Inset plot, this may be as complicated as you want
p2=Plots.plot(rand(10), label="inset")

#Saving the inset plot to file
file_path="inset.pdf"
Plots.savefig(p2, file_path)

# Now do the combined plot reading the inset as an image from file
Plots.plot(p1)
Plots.plot!(inset=bbox(0.1, 0.1, 0.3, 0.3))
Plots.plot!(Images.load(file_path), subplot=2, axis=false)

```