Legends

Legends help app users understand what each color, symbol, or series means in a chart. You can control legend visibility, orientation, position, and styling with natural language prompts.

Show or hide the legend

Use a basic instruction to turn legend visibility on or off.

Create a scatter chart of <Y> by <X>, color by <Column>.
Hide the legend.

The following example uses this prompt structure with the built-in Plotly Studio dataset:

Create a scatter chart of length by weight, color by defect.
Hide the legend.

Hide legendShow legend

Legend orientation

Choose whether legend items are shown in a row (horizontal) or a column (vertical).

Create a scatter chart of <Y> by <X>, color by <Column>.
Use a horizontal legend.

The following example uses this prompt structure with the built-in Plotly Studio dataset:

Create a scatter chart of length by weight, color by factory location.
Use a horizontal legend.

Horizontal legendVertical legend

Position the legend outside the plot

If the legend overlaps important points, move it to the chart margin.

Create a scatter chart of <Y> by <X>, color by <Column>.
Position the legend outside the plot on the right.
Use a vertical legend.

The following example uses this prompt structure with the built-in Plotly Studio dataset:

Create a scatter chart of length by weight, color by factory location.
Position the legend outside the plot on the right.
Use a vertical legend.

Legend background color

Set legend background color to improve contrast and readability.

Create a scatter chart of <Y> by <X>, color by <Column>.
Set legend background color to <color>.

The following example uses this prompt structure with the built-in Plotly Studio dataset:

Create a scatter chart of length by weight, color by factory location.
Set legend background color to lightgray.

Prompt keywords reference

Use these keywords and phrases to customize legends in conversational prompts.

Hide the legend.
Show the legend.
Show legend at top right.
Use a horizontal legend.
Set legend background color to lightblue.
Set legend title to "Categories".

Here are some keyword suggestions:

Keyword/Phrase	Description	Example
Hide legend	Remove the legend from the chart	Hide the legend.
Show legend	Display the legend	Show the legend.
Show legend at	Place the legend in a specific location	Show legend at top right.
Use a horizontal legend	Arrange legend items left-to-right	Use a horizontal legend.
Use a vertical legend	Arrange legend items top-to-bottom	Use a vertical legend.
Set legend title to	Add a custom legend title	Set legend title to "Categories".
Set legend background color to	Set the legend box background color	Set legend background color to lightblue.
Set legend border color to	Set legend border color	Set legend border color to gray.
Set legend border width to	Set legend border thickness	Set legend border width to 2.
Set legend font size to	Change legend text size	Set legend font size to 12.
Set legend text color to	Change legend text color	Set legend text color to gray.
Reverse legend order	Flip item order in the legend	Reverse legend order.