plotly / plotly/plotly.py

Multiple legends are not independent in their placement and placement is not consistent

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bug P3
Dominant language
Python
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Description

I am currently experimenting with the new-ish multi-legend feature. Unfortunately I seem to have stumbled across a case in which the legends are not behaving independently even though it is not clear why.

The following code demonstrates this:

from copy import deepcopy
import plotly.graph_objects as go

error_fig = {
    'data': [
        {
            'legend': 'legend2',
            'showlegend': True,
            'type': 'scatter',
            'x': [0, 1],
            'xaxis': 'x2',
            'y': [0, -1],
            'yaxis': 'y2'
        },
        {
            'legend': 'legend3',
            'showlegend': True,
            'type': 'scatter',
            'x': [0, 1],
            'xaxis': 'x3',
            'y': [0, 1],
            'yaxis': 'y3'
        },
        {
            'legend': 'legend3',
            'showlegend': True,
            'type': 'scatter',
            'x': [0, 1],
            'xaxis': 'x3',
            'y': [0, -1],
            'yaxis': 'y3'
        },
        {
            'legend': 'legend3',
            'showlegend': True,
            'type': 'scatter',
            'x': [0, 1],
            'xaxis': 'x3',
            'y': [0, 1],
            'yaxis': 'y3'
        },
        {
            'legend': 'legend3',
            'showlegend': True,
            'type': 'scatter',
            'x': [0, 1],
            'xaxis': 'x3',
            'y': [0, 1],
            'yaxis': 'y3'
        }
    ],
    'layout': {
        'legend2': {
            'orientation': 'v',
            'visible': True,
            'x': 0.515,
            'xanchor': 'left',
            'xref': 'paper',
            'y': 0.3,
            'yanchor': 'top',
            'yref': 'paper'
        },
        'legend3': {
            'entrywidth': 0.2,
            'entrywidthmode': 'fraction',
            'orientation': 'h',
            'visible': True,
            'x': 0.95,
            'xanchor': 'left',
            'xref': 'paper',
            'y': 1.0,
            'yanchor': 'top',
            'yref': 'paper'
        },
        'xaxis2': {'anchor': 'y2', 'domain': [0, 0.5]},
        'xaxis3': {'anchor': 'y3', 'domain': [0.45, 0.95]},
        'yaxis2': {'anchor': 'x2', 'domain': [0, 0.3]},
        'yaxis3': {'anchor': 'x3', 'domain': [0.7, 1.0]}
    }
}


correct_fig = deepcopy(error_fig)
correct_fig["layout"]["legend3"]["x"] = 1

fig_correct = go.Figure(correct_fig)
fig_correct.show()

fig_error = go.Figure(error_fig)
fig_error.show()

Where fig_correct produces this output upon png-download (The issue also exists in interactive mode with varying severity based on screen size):
correct

fig_error produces this:
error

Which for me makes no sense as the only change that occurred was the placement of legend3 along x. I would therefore not expect legend2 to move. Additionally, for me it does not make any sense, why any large movement should occur at all, as I only changed the x-coordinate of legend3 by 0.05 .

For me the Issue only occurs when using "orientation": "h".


I am on Python 3.11.1
My pip dump:

Package    Version
---------- -------
packaging  23.1
pip        22.3.1
plotly     5.17.0
setuptools 65.5.0
tenacity   8.2.3

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

Start by running the supplied Python reproduction with Plotly 5.17.0 and compare the horizontal multi-legend layouts in interactive mode and PNG output. No source file or test is named, so trace the legend placement and layout-rendering entry points from the reproduction; done means moving legend3 no longer unexpectedly moves legend2 or causes disproportionate movement.

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

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