View and modify colormap, control color scaling, add colorbar

Colormaps define the color scheme for many types of visualizations, such as surfaces and patches. Colorbars illustrate the relationship between the colors of the colormap and your data. Colormaps are three-column arrays containing RGB triplets in which each row defines a distinct color. The correspondence between the colors and your data values depends on the type of visualization you create. You can let MATLAB® control this correspondence, or you can customize it. For more information, see Change Color Scheme Using a Colormap.


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colormapView and set current colormap
colorbarColorbar showing color scale
rgbplotPlot colormap
Colormap EditorOpen colormap editor
brightenBrighten or darken colormap
contrastCreate grayscale colormap to enhance image contrast
caxisSet colormap limits
spinmapRotate colormap colors
hsv2rgbConvert HSV colors to RGB
rgb2hsvConvert RGB colors to HSV
parulaParula colormap array
jetJet colormap array
hsvHSV colormap array
hotHot colormap array
coolCool colormap array
springSpring colormap array
summerSummer colormap array
autumnAutumn colormap array
winterWinter colormap array
grayGray colormap array
boneBone colormap array
copperCopper colormap array
pinkPink colormap array
linesLines colormap array
colorcubeColorcube colormap array
prismPrism colormap array
flagFlag colormap array


ColorBar PropertiesColorbar appearance and behavior


Creating Colorbars

Add a colorbar to your chart and customize its appearance.

Change Color Scheme Using a Colormap

Switch between different predefined colormaps, or create a custom colormap.

How Surface Plot Data Relates to a Colormap

Change the relationship between surface plot data and the colormap.

How Image Data Relates to a Colormap

Control how pixel values map to the colormap.

How Patch Data Relates to a Colormap

Control the relationship between patches and the colormap.

Control Colormap Limits

Set the limits for scaling your data to a colormap.

Differences Between Colormaps and Truecolor

Decide whether to use a colormap or truecolor in your visualizations.