How to print Y axis label horizontally in a matplotlib / pylab chart?
PythonMatplotlibLabelPython Problem Overview
I'm creating very simple charts with matplotlib / pylab Python module. The letter "y" that labels the Y axis is on its side. You would expect this if the label was longer, such as a word, so as not to extend the outside of the graph to the left too much. But for a one letter label, this doesn't make sense, the label should be upright. My searches have come up blank. How can I print the "y" horizontally?
Python Solutions
Solution 1 - Python
It is very simple. After plotting the label, you can simply change the rotation:
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
plt.ion()
plt.plot([1, 2, 3])
plt.ylabel("y", rotation=0)
# or
# h = plt.ylabel("y")
# h.set_rotation(0)
plt.draw()
Solution 2 - Python
Expanding on the accepted answer, when we work with a particular axes object ax:
ax.set_ylabel('abc', rotation=0, fontsize=20, labelpad=20)
Note that often the labelpad will need to be adjusted manually too — otherwise the "abc" will intrude onto the plot.
From brief experiments I'm guessing that labelpad is the offset between the bounding box of the tick labels and the y-label's centre. (So, not quite the padding the name implies — it would have been more intuitive if this was the gap to the label's bounding box instead.)