help marker_options
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Title
[G] marker_options -- Options for specifying markers
Syntax
marker_options description
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msymbol(symbolstyle) shape of marker
mcolor(colorstyle) color of marker, inside and out
msize(markersizestyle) size of marker
mfcolor(colorstyle) inside or "fill" color
mlcolor(colorstyle) outline color
mlwidth(linewidthstyle) outline thickness
mlstyle(linestyle) thickness and color, overall style of
outline
mstyle(markerstyle) overall style of marker; all settings above
pstyle(pstyle) overall plot style, including markerstyle
recast(newplottype) advanced; treat plot as newplottype
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All options are rightmost; see repeated options.
One example of each of the above is
msymbol(O) mfcolor(red) mlcolor(olive) mstyle(p1)
mcolor(green) mlwidth(thick) mlstyle(p1)
msize(medium)
Sometimes you may specify a list of elements, with the first element
applying to the first variable, the second to the second, and so on.
See, for instance, [G] graph twoway scatter. One example would be
msymbol(O o p)
mcolor(green blue black)
msize(medium medium small)
mfcolor(red red none)
mlcolor(olive olive green)
mlwidth(thick thin thick)
mstyle(p1 p2 p3)
mlstyle(p1 p2 p3)
For information about specifying lists, see [G] stylelists.
Description
Markers are the ink used to mark where points are on a plot. The
important options are
msymbol(symbolstyle) (choice of symbol)
mcolor(colorstyle) (choice of color)
msize(markersizestyle) (choice of size)
Options
msymbol(symbolstyle) specifies the shape of the marker and is one of the
more commonly specified options. See [G] symbolstyle for more
information on this important option.
mcolor(colorstyle) specifies the color of the marker. This option sets
both the color of the line used to outline the markers shape and the
color of the inside of the marker. Also see options mfcolor() and
mlcolor() below. See [G] colorstyle for a list of color choices.
msize(markersizestyle) specifies the size of the marker. See [G]
markersizestyle for a list of size choices.
mfcolor(colorstyle) specifies the color of the inside of the marker. See
> [G] colorstyle for a list of color choices.
mlcolor(colorstyle), mlwidth(linewidthstyle), and mlstyle(linestyle)
specify the look of the line used to outline the shape of the marker.
See lines, but you cannot change the line pattern of a marker.
mstyle(markerstyle) specifies the overall look of markers, such as their
shape and their color. The other options allow you to change each
attribute of the marker, but mstyle() is a starting point.
You need not specify mstyle() just because there is something you
want to change about the look of the marker and, in fact, most people
seldom specify the mstyle() option. You specify mstyle() when
another style exists that is exactly what you desire or when another
style would allow you to specify fewer changes to obtain what you
want.
See [G] markerstyle for a list of available marker styles.
pstyle(pstyle) specifies the overall style of the plot, including not
only the markerstyle but also the markerlabelstyle and all other
settings for the look of the plot. Only the markerstyle and
markerlabelstyle affect the look of markers. See [G] pstyle for a
list of available plot styles.
recast(newplottype) is an advanced option allowing the plot to be recast
from one type to another, for example, from a scatterplot to a line
plot; see [G] advanced_options. Most, but not all, plots allow
recast().
Remarks
You will never need to specify all nine marker options, and seldom will
you even need to specify more than one or two of them. Many people think
that there is just one important marker option,
msymbol(symbolstyle)
msymbol() specifies the shape of the symbol; see [G] symbolstyle for
choice of symbol. A few people would add to the important list a second
option,
mcolor(colorstyle)
mcolor() specifies the marker's color; see [G] colorstyle for choice of
color. Finally, a few would add
msize(markersizestyle)
msize() specifies the marker's size; see [G] markersizestyle for choice
of sizes.
After that, we are really into the details. One of the remaining
options, however, is of interest:
mstyle(markerstyle)
A marker has a set of characteristics:
{shape, color, size, inside details, outside details}
Each of the options other than mstyle() modifies something in that set.
mstyle() sets the values of the entire set. It is from there that the
changes you specify are made. See [G] markerstyle.
Also see
Manual: [G] marker_options
Help: [G] symbolstyle, [G] colorstyle, [G] markersizestyle, [G]
linewidthstyle, [G] linestyle; [G] markerstyle
