Quick Start

Basic Usage

Here’s a minimal example to get you started:

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import pubplotlib as pplt

# Set your journal style
pplt.style.use('aanda')

# Create a figure with appropriate dimensions
fig, ax = pplt.subplots()

# Plot your data
x = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
y = [1, 4, 9, 16, 25]
ax.plot(x, y, 'o-')

ax.set_xlabel('X Label')
ax.set_ylabel('Y Label')
ax.set_title('My Publication-Ready Plot')

# Apply professional formatting
pplt.set_ticks(ax)
pplt.set_formatter(ax)

plt.show()

Available Styles

Check what styles are available:

import pubplotlib as pplt
print(pplt.style.available())

Output example:

['aanda', 'apj', 'presentation']

Setting Styles Globally

Set a style globally so all subsequent figures use it:

import pubplotlib as pplt
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

# Set global style
pplt.style.use('apj')

# Now all figures will use the APJ style
fig1, ax1 = pplt.subplots()
fig2, ax2 = pplt.subplots()

Setting Styles Locally (Per-Figure)

Apply a style to a specific figure without changing the global style:

import pubplotlib as pplt
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

# Set global style
pplt.style.use('aanda')

# Create a figure with a different style (doesn't affect global state)
fig, ax = pplt.subplots(style='presentation')
ax.plot([1, 2, 3], [1, 4, 9])

# Next figure uses the global 'aanda' style
fig2, ax2 = pplt.subplots()

Single vs. Double Column Figures

Create double-column figures by setting twocols=True:

import pubplotlib as pplt

# Single-column (default)
fig, ax = pplt.subplots(style='aanda')

# Double-column
fig, ax = pplt.subplots(style='aanda', twocols=True)

Controlling Figure Height

Adjust figure height using the height_ratio parameter:

import pubplotlib as pplt

# Default: height = width / golden_ratio
fig, ax = pplt.subplots(style='aanda')

# Custom: height = width * 0.5
fig, ax = pplt.subplots(style='aanda', height_ratio=0.5)

# Very tall figure: height = width * 2.0
fig, ax = pplt.subplots(style='aanda', height_ratio=2.0)

Professional Tick and Formatter Setup

PubPlotLib provides utilities to make your axes look professional:

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import pubplotlib as pplt
import numpy as np

fig, ax = pplt.subplots(style='aanda')

x = np.logspace(0, 3, 100)
y = 10**(np.log10(x) * 0.5)  # x^0.5
ax.loglog(x, y)

# Apply professional tick settings
pplt.set_ticks(ax, direction='in', top=True, right=True)

# Fix axis labels (no more "10^0" for 1)
pplt.set_formatter(ax)

ax.set_xlabel('X (log scale)')
ax.set_ylabel('Y (log scale)')

plt.show()

Getting Style Information

Get details about a specific style:

import pubplotlib as pplt

# Get the current active style
current = pplt.style.current()
print(f"Current style: {current}")

# Get a specific style object
s = pplt.style.get('aanda')
print(f"One-column width: {s.onecol} inches")
print(f"Two-column width: {s.twocol} inches")

Next Steps

Learn about styling and custom styles
Explore figure-sizing options
Check the API reference for detailed function documentation
See advanced examples for complex use cases