plotly / plotly/plotly.py

Mesh3d plot disappears when opacity less than 1

Open
#1,565 2 comments 3 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

bug P3
Dominant language
Python
Stars
18.8k
Forks
2.8k
Avg merge
16h 26m
Merged PRs (30d)
21

Description

NOTE: When I found and reported this bug, I was working on a Chromebook. After I wrote this, I noted this does not occur from Mac with Chrome (ver 74).

Please see my example code below. I am plotting offline. When I change the opacity to anything other than 1, the plot disappears. As evidenced by the hover info, the plot still exists; it's just not visible.

I tried a number of different colorscales with different alpha values. The result does not change.

I also tried working around the opacity issue by setting the opacity to 1 and then setting the colorscale alpha values to something less than 1. But the alpha values appear to have no effect.

I noticed some similar bugs such as 3741, 3744, and 3492. Despite their similarity, these bugs appear to be different from this issue I am reporting. They are also resolved.

Lastly, I note that this bug occurs on the latest versions of Chrome (i.e. 74). But it does not occur on earlier versions.

Postscript: I have subsequently noticed the occurrence of the same opacity bug for Scatter3d. I also note that there's no opacity problem for Scatter in 2d.

import numpy as np
from numpy import sin, cos, pi
import plotly
import plotly.graph_objs as go

def ellipsoid( a = 4, b = 3, c = 2, num_pts = 40):
    phi = np.linspace(0, 2 * pi, num=num_pts)
    theta = np.linspace(-pi / 2, pi / 2, num=num_pts)
    phi, theta = np.meshgrid(phi, theta)
    x = cos(theta) * sin(phi) * a
    y = cos(theta) * cos(phi) * b
    z = sin(theta) * c

    Ell = np.vstack((x.flatten(), y.flatten(), z.flatten()))

    ell_1 = go.Mesh3d(
        opacity = 0.99,
        colorscale = [ [0.0, 'rgb(255, 0, 0)'], [0.5, 'rgb(0, 255, 0)'], [1.0, 'rgb(0, 0, 255)'] ],
        intensity = z.flatten(),
        name = 'z',
        showscale = False,
        x = Ell[0, :].flatten(),
        y = Ell[1, :].flatten(),
        z = Ell[2, :].flatten(),
        alphahull = 0
    )
    axes_max = np.max( np.abs(Ell) )
    return ell_1, axes_max

def plot_it(data, mr):
    r = [-mr, mr]
    layout = go.Layout(
        autosize = False,
        width = 600,
        height = 600,
        margin = dict(
            l = 0,
            r = 0,
            b = 0,
            t = 0,
            pad = 4),
        scene = dict(
            aspectratio = go.layout.scene.Aspectratio(x=1, y=1, z=1),
            xaxis = dict(
                range=r,
                title='x'),
            yaxis = dict(
                range=r,
                title='y'),
            zaxis = dict(
                range=r,
                title='z' ))
    )

    fig = go.Figure(data=data, layout=layout)
    plotly.offline.plot(fig, filename='/home/chronos/user/Downloads/bug_mesh3d_opac.html')
    return

def test1():
    d, mx = ellipsoid()
    data = [d]
    plot_it(data, mx+2.)
    return

def main():
    test1()
    return

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Reproduce the example using plotly.offline.plot with a Mesh3d trace in Chrome, varying opacity and colorscale alpha values; also check the reported Scatter3d case. Trace the 3D rendering path to determine why the geometry remains hoverable but invisible, and consider the issue done when partially opaque Mesh3d and Scatter3d plots render correctly.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
data-visualization
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
38/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.