BuenColors Helper Functions Demo¶

This notebook demonstrates all the helper functions available in the BuenColors package.

Installation¶

pip install buencolors

1. eject_legend() - Move Legend Outside Plot¶

Moves the legend to the right side of the plot, preventing it from obscuring data.

2. rotate_discrete_xticks() - Rotate X-Axis Labels¶

Rotates x-axis labels for better readability with long category names.

3. grab_legend() - Extract Legend to Separate Figure¶

The grab_legend() function extracts a legend to a separate figure, useful for creating independent legend files for publications.

New in this version: The remove parameter controls whether the legend is removed from the original axes:

• remove=True (default): Legend is removed from the original plot
• remove=False: Legend remains on the original plot

Original plot still has legend: True

4. get_density() - Compute Point Density¶

Computes the local density of points for coloring scatter plots by concentration.

5. shuffle() - Randomize Data Order¶

Shuffles various data types (DataFrames, arrays, lists) to prevent plotting artifacts from data ordering.

Shuffle also works with:
- NumPy arrays: <class 'numpy.ndarray'>
- Lists: <class 'list'>
- Tuples: <class 'tuple'>

6. number_to_color() - Map Values to Colors¶

Maps numeric values to colors from a palette, supporting both continuous and discrete binning.

Combined Example: Density + Shuffle + Number to Color¶

Combining multiple helper functions for a publication-quality visualization.

7. eject_colorbar() - Add Colorbar Outside Plot¶

Creates a colorbar placed outside the plot area for images or colored scatter plots. If a colorbar already exists for the mappable, it is removed and recreated. Analogous to eject_legend() but for colorbars.

8. grab_colorbar() - Extract Colorbar to Separate Figure¶

Extracts a colorbar into a standalone figure, useful for creating separate colorbar files for publications or pairing a single colorbar with multiple panels. Analogous to grab_legend() but for colorbars.

• remove=True (default): Colorbar is removed from the original figure
• remove=False: Colorbar remains on the original figure
• orientation='vertical' or 'horizontal': Controls orientation in the new figure

/Users/austinv11/PycharmProjects/PyBuenColors/src/buencolors/helpers.py:309: UserWarning: Adding colorbar to a different Figure <Figure size 800x600 with 1 Axes> than <Figure size 40x462 with 1 Axes> which fig.colorbar is called on.
  cb = fig.colorbar(mappable, cax=cb_ax_new, orientation=orientation)

Original still has colorbar: <Axes.ArtistList of 1 collections>

/Users/austinv11/PycharmProjects/PyBuenColors/src/buencolors/helpers.py:309: UserWarning: Adding colorbar to a different Figure <Figure size 800x600 with 2 Axes> than <Figure size 40x462 with 1 Axes> which fig.colorbar is called on.
  cb = fig.colorbar(mappable, cax=cb_ax_new, orientation=orientation)

/Users/austinv11/PycharmProjects/PyBuenColors/src/buencolors/helpers.py:309: UserWarning: Adding colorbar to a different Figure <Figure size 800x600 with 1 Axes> than <Figure size 150x462 with 1 Axes> which fig.colorbar is called on.
  cb = fig.colorbar(mappable, cax=cb_ax_new, orientation=orientation)

Summary¶

The BuenColors helper functions provide:

1. eject_legend() - Move legends outside plots
2. rotate_discrete_xticks() - Rotate axis labels for readability
3. grab_legend() - Extract legends to separate figures
4. get_density() - Compute point density for scatter plots
5. shuffle() - Randomize data to prevent plotting artifacts
6. number_to_color() - Map numeric values to colors
7. eject_colorbar() - Add a colorbar outside the plot area
8. grab_colorbar() - Extract colorbars to separate figures

These functions work seamlessly together to create publication-quality visualizations!