Context Panel Access

The Plot Builder can be launched using the context panel for an expression.

Click on the expression you'd like to plot and from the context panel select Plot Builder.  In this case, the Plot Builder Panel opens.

This is equivalent to calling the PlotBuilder command on the expression.

Assistants Access

The Plot Builder can also be accessed from the Standard Menu Bar, under Tools -> Assistants.

When launched in this way, an interactive dialog is displayed where you can enter the expression to be plotted. This is equivalent to calling the PlotBuilder command with no arguments.

 Note: The Tools menu also offers tutors to easily generate plots in several academic subjects. For more information, see Teaching and Learning with Maple.

Maple can display two-dimensional graphs and offers numerous plot options such as color, title, and axis styles to customize the plot.

Enter an expression:

From the Context Panel, select the Plot Builder:

When you return focus to your worksheet, you'll no longer see the Plot Builder controls.  To make further modifications, click the output region of the displayed plot in the worksheet to again view the plot builder controls on the right.

Note: You can toggle the show command option to view the Maple syntax used to generate this plot.

Maple can display multiple expressions in the same plot region to compare and contrast. The Interactive Plot Builder accepts multiple expressions.

Launch the Interactive Plot Builder and enter the expressions:

If the PlotBuilder is passed a list, set, or sequence containing multiple expressions then the context panel becomes automatically populated with a thumbnail view. The common plot type for expressions in a single unknown is a 2-D curve, and for expressions in two unknowns it is a 3-D surface plot.

As an example, use the PlotBuilder to plot $\sin \left(x^2\right)\, \frac{\ⅆ}{\ⅆx}\sin \left(x^2\right)$and $\int \sin \left(x^2\right)\ⅆx$.

Notice in the PlotBuilder window, from the thumbnail view you can change the common plot type for all expressions using the ListBox menu. You can select any individual thumbnail plot to change its associated properties or its own plot type in the PlotBuilder's usual individual plot view.

By default, Maple displays each plot in a plot region using a different color. You can also apply a line style such as solid, dashed, or dotted for each expression in the graph. For more information, refer to the plot/options help page. To see the Maple syntax used to generate this plot, see Maple commands from Creating Plots: Interactive Plot Builder

Maple can display three-dimensional plots and offers numerous plot options such as light models, surface styles, and shadings to allow you to customize the plot.

Enter an expression, then launch the Interactive Plot Builder from the context panel:

In the Select Plot Type list:

Restricting how much of the plot axes to display:

Style and color changes:  

Note: You can toggle the show command option to view the Maple syntax used to generate this plot.

Maple can display a conformal plot of a complex expression mapped onto a two-dimensional grid or plotted on the Riemann sphere in 3-D.

Enter an expression, then launch the Interactive Plot Builder from the context panel:

Cartesian (ordinary) coordinates is the Maple default. Maple also supports numerous other coordinate systems, including hyperbolic, inverse elliptic, logarithmic, parabolic, polar, and rose in two-dimensions, and bipolar cylindrical, bispherical, cylindrical, inverse elliptical cylindrical, logarithmic cosh cylindrical, Maxwell cylindrical, tangent sphere, and toroidal in three-dimensional plots. For a complete list of supported coordinate systems, refer to the coords help page.

Enter an expression, then launch the Interactive Plot Builder from the context panel:

Select the plot type and change the x-axis range:

Change the plot color:

Note: You can toggle the show command option to view the Maple syntax used to generate this plot.

In this example, we'll make an animation of $x+3\sin \left(x\cdot t\right)$, as t goes from 1 to 10.

Enter an expression, then launch the Interactive Plot Builder from the context panel:

Select animation.

Play the animation.

Alternatively, you can use the exploration option in the Plot Builder to build an interactive plot with a parameter that you operate with a slider.  For more about explorations, see Exploration Assistant.

	Example 1 - Display a plot of a single variable expression
	>  $\mathrm{plot}\left(\frac{\sin \left(x\right)}{x}\,x\=-2\mathrm{\π}..2\mathrm{\π}\right)$

Example 2 - Display a plot of multiple expressions in 1 variable

To display multiple expressions in a plot, include the expressions in a list. To enter $\frac{\ⅆ}{\ⅆx}\sin \left(x^2\right)$and $\int \sin \left(x^2\right)\ⅆx\,$use the Expression palette. For more information, see Palettes. >  $\mathrm{plot}\left(\left[\sin \left(x^2\right)\,\frac{\ⅆ}{\ⅆx}\sin \left(x^2\right)\,\∫\sin \left(x^2\right)\ⅆx\right]\,x\=-\mathrm{\π}..\mathrm{\π}\right)$

Example 3 - Display a plot of a multivariable expression

>  $\mathrm{plot3d}\left(\frac{1\+\sin \left(x\cdot y\right)}{x^2\+y^2}\,x\=-2\mathrm{\π}..2\mathrm{\π}\,y\=-2\mathrm{\π}..2\mathrm{\π}\,\mathrm{view}\=0..0.5\,\mathrm{lightmodel}\=\mathrm{light1}\,\mathrm{shading}\=\mathrm{zgrayscale}\,\mathrm{style}\=\mathrm{patchnogrid}\,\mathrm{grid}\=\left[40\,40\right]\right)$

	Example 4 - Display a conformal plot
	A collection of specialized plotting routines is available in the plots package. For access to a single command in a package, use the long form of the command. >  $\mathrm{plots}\left[\mathrm{conformal}\right]\left(z^3\,z\=0..2+2I\,\mathrm{axes}\=\mathrm{normal}\,\mathrm{grid}\=\left[20\,20\right]\right)$

	Example 5 - Display a plot in polar coordinates
	>  $\mathrm{plots}\left[\mathrm{polarplot}\right]\left(1\+4\cos \left(4\mathrm{\θ}\right)\,\mathrm{\θ}\=0..8\mathrm{\π}\,\mathrm{color}\=\mathrm{magenta}\right)$

	Example 6 - Interactive Plotting
	>  $\mathrm{plots}\left[\mathrm{animate}\right]\left(\mathrm{plot}\,\left[x+3\sin \left(x\cdot t\right)\,x\=0..5\right]\,t\=0..10\right)$ To play the animation, click the plot and the from the Animation Toolbar, select Play ( ). For information on playing the animation, see Playing Animations.

For more information on the plot options used in this section, refer to the plot/options and plot3d/options help pages.

Some graphs cannot be specified explicitly. In other words, you cannot write the dependent variable as a function of the independent variable, $y\=f\left(x\right)\.$ One solution is to make both the x-coordinate and the y-coordinate depend on a parameter.

Maple can plot an expression of two variables as a surface in three-dimensional space. To customize the plot, include plot3d options in the calling sequence. For a list of plot options, see The plot and plot3d Options.

To plot numeric data, use the pointplot command in the plots package with the data organized in a list of lists structure of the form $\left[\left[x_1\,y_1\right]\,\left[x_2\,y_2\right]\, ..\.\, \left[x_n\,y_n\right]\right]\.$ By default, Maple does not connect the points. To draw a line through the points, use the style = line option. For further analysis of data points, use the Curve Fitting Assistant (Tools→Assistants→CurveFitting), which fits and plots a curve through the points. For more information, refer to the CurveFitting[Interactive] help page.

The matrixplot command plots the values of a plot object of type Matrix. The matrixplot command accepts options such as heights and gap to control the appearance of the plot. For more information on Matrices, see Linear Algebra.

$A≔\left[\begin{array}{cccccc}1& \frac{1}{2}& \frac{1}{3}& \frac{1}{4}& \frac{1}{5}& \frac{1}{6}\\ \frac{1}{2}& \frac{1}{3}& \frac{1}{4}& \frac{1}{5}& \frac{1}{6}& \frac{1}{7}\\ \frac{1}{3}& \frac{1}{4}& \frac{1}{5}& \frac{1}{6}& \frac{1}{7}& \frac{1}{8}\\ \frac{1}{4}& \frac{1}{5}& \frac{1}{6}& \frac{1}{7}& \frac{1}{8}& \frac{1}{9}\\ \frac{1}{5}& \frac{1}{6}& \frac{1}{7}& \frac{1}{8}& \frac{1}{9}& \frac{1}{10}\\ \frac{1}{6}& \frac{1}{7}& \frac{1}{8}& \frac{1}{9}& \frac{1}{10}& \frac{1}{11}\end{array}\right]$

$B≔\left[\begin{array}{cccccc}1& 2& 3& 4& 5& 6\\ 2& 1& 2& 3& 4& 5\\ 3& 2& 1& 2& 3& 4\\ 4& 3& 2& 1& 2& 3\\ 5& 4& 3& 2& 1& 2\\ 6& 5& 4& 3& 2& 1\end{array}\right]$

The contourplot command generates a topographical map for an expression or function. To create a smoother and more precise plot, increase the number of points using the numpoints option.

Place your pointer over the graph to see the contour labels.

To add an additional curve to an existing plot region, use the drag-and-drop method.

Advantages of the drag-and-drop method include the ease of adding and removing plots and the independence from plotting command syntax.

Example:

To display multiple expressions in the same plot region, enter the expressions in a list data structure. To distinguish the surfaces, apply different shading options, styles, or colors to each surface.

To display different types of plots in the same plot region, use the display command in the plots package.

This example plots a curve over a hill with the shadow of the curve projected onto the hill.

Maple can draw curves in three-dimensional space.

Consider this example:

There is a singularity at x = 1. What are the $x$ and $y$-intercepts?  It's hard to see in the current view.  If you change the range, the locations of the intercepts are easier to see.

By default, Maple displays the graph as a shaded surface with a wireframe and scales the plot to fit the window. To change these options, use the context menu.

Maple has many preselected light source configurations.

The following example shows the plotting command returned by the example in Interactive Plot Builder.

For more information on the animate command, refer to the plots[animate] help page.