egui_plot: Improve default formatter of tick-marks (#4738)

The default `Plot` formatter now picks precision intelligently based on
zoom level. The width of the Y axis are is now much smaller by default,
and expands as needed.

Also deprecates `Plot::y_axis_with`; replaced with `y_axis_min_width`.

Cargo.lock

@@ -1355,6 +1355,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "ahash",
  "document-features",
  "egui",
+ "emath",
  "serde",
 ]
 

crates/egui_demo_lib/src/demo/plot_demo.rs

@@ -277,7 +277,6 @@ impl LineDemo {
         };
         let mut plot = Plot::new("lines_demo")
             .legend(Legend::default())
-            .y_axis_width(2)
             .show_axes(self.show_axes)
             .show_grid(self.show_grid);
         if self.square {
@@ -437,7 +436,6 @@ impl LegendDemo {
             ui.end_row();
         });
         let legend_plot = Plot::new("legend_demo")
-            .y_axis_width(2)
             .legend(config.clone())
             .data_aspect(1.0);
         legend_plot
@@ -530,7 +528,7 @@ impl CustomAxesDemo {
             100.0 * y
         }
 
-        let time_formatter = |mark: GridMark, _digits, _range: &RangeInclusive<f64>| {
+        let time_formatter = |mark: GridMark, _range: &RangeInclusive<f64>| {
             let minutes = mark.value;
             if minutes < 0.0 || 5.0 * MINS_PER_DAY <= minutes {
                 // No labels outside value bounds
@@ -544,7 +542,7 @@ impl CustomAxesDemo {
             }
         };
 
-        let percentage_formatter = |mark: GridMark, _digits, _range: &RangeInclusive<f64>| {
+        let percentage_formatter = |mark: GridMark, _range: &RangeInclusive<f64>| {
             let percent = 100.0 * mark.value;
             if is_approx_zero(percent) {
                 String::new() // skip zero
@@ -575,8 +573,7 @@ impl CustomAxesDemo {
         let y_axes = vec![
             AxisHints::new_y()
                 .label("Percent")
-                .formatter(percentage_formatter)
-                .max_digits(4),
+                .formatter(percentage_formatter),
             AxisHints::new_y()
                 .label("Absolute")
                 .placement(egui_plot::HPlacement::Right),
@@ -673,7 +670,6 @@ impl LinkedAxesDemo {
                 .data_aspect(2.0)
                 .width(150.0)
                 .height(250.0)
-                .y_axis_width(2)
                 .y_axis_label("y")
                 .y_axis_position(egui_plot::HPlacement::Right)
                 .link_axis(link_group_id, self.link_x, self.link_y)
@@ -962,7 +958,6 @@ impl ChartsDemo {
         Plot::new("Normal Distribution Demo")
             .legend(Legend::default())
             .clamp_grid(true)
-            .y_axis_width(2)
             .allow_zoom(self.allow_zoom)
             .allow_drag(self.allow_drag)
             .allow_scroll(self.allow_scroll)

crates/egui_plot/Cargo.toml

@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ serde = ["dep:serde", "egui/serde"]
 
 [dependencies]
 egui = { workspace = true, default-features = false }
+emath = { workspace = true, default-features = false }
 
 ahash.workspace = true
 

crates/egui_plot/src/axis.rs

@@ -1,14 +1,14 @@
 use std::{fmt::Debug, ops::RangeInclusive, sync::Arc};
 
 use egui::{
-    emath::{remap_clamp, round_to_decimals, Rot2},
+    emath::{remap_clamp, Rot2},
     epaint::TextShape,
     Pos2, Rangef, Rect, Response, Sense, TextStyle, TextWrapMode, Ui, Vec2, WidgetText,
 };
 
 use super::{transform::PlotTransform, GridMark};
 
-pub(super) type AxisFormatterFn<'a> = dyn Fn(GridMark, usize, &RangeInclusive<f64>) -> String + 'a;
+pub(super) type AxisFormatterFn<'a> = dyn Fn(GridMark, &RangeInclusive<f64>) -> String + 'a;
 
 /// X or Y axis.
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ impl From<Placement> for VPlacement {
 pub struct AxisHints<'a> {
     pub(super) label: WidgetText,
     pub(super) formatter: Arc<AxisFormatterFn<'a>>,
-    pub(super) digits: usize,
+    pub(super) min_thickness: f32,
     pub(super) placement: Placement,
     pub(super) label_spacing: Rangef,
 }
@@ -124,12 +124,11 @@ impl<'a> AxisHints<'a> {
     ///
     /// `label` is empty.
     /// `formatter` is default float to string formatter.
-    /// maximum `digits` on tick label is 5.
     pub fn new(axis: Axis) -> Self {
         Self {
             label: Default::default(),
             formatter: Arc::new(Self::default_formatter),
-            digits: 5,
+            min_thickness: 14.0,
             placement: Placement::LeftBottom,
             label_spacing: match axis {
                 Axis::X => Rangef::new(60.0, 80.0), // labels can get pretty wide
@@ -141,32 +140,20 @@ impl<'a> AxisHints<'a> {
     /// Specify custom formatter for ticks.
     ///
     /// The first parameter of `formatter` is the raw tick value as `f64`.
-    /// The second parameter is the maximum number of characters that fit into y-labels.
     /// The second parameter of `formatter` is the currently shown range on this axis.
     pub fn formatter(
         mut self,
-        fmt: impl Fn(GridMark, usize, &RangeInclusive<f64>) -> String + 'a,
+        fmt: impl Fn(GridMark, &RangeInclusive<f64>) -> String + 'a,
     ) -> Self {
         self.formatter = Arc::new(fmt);
         self
     }
 
-    fn default_formatter(
-        mark: GridMark,
-        max_digits: usize,
-        _range: &RangeInclusive<f64>,
-    ) -> String {
-        let tick = mark.value;
+    fn default_formatter(mark: GridMark, _range: &RangeInclusive<f64>) -> String {
+        // Example: If the step to the next tick is `0.01`, we should use 2 decimals of precision:
+        let num_decimals = -mark.step_size.log10().round() as usize;
 
-        if tick.abs() > 10.0_f64.powf(max_digits as f64) {
-            let tick_rounded = tick as isize;
-            return format!("{tick_rounded:+e}");
-        }
-        let tick_rounded = round_to_decimals(tick, max_digits);
-        if tick.abs() < 10.0_f64.powf(-(max_digits as f64)) && tick != 0.0 {
-            return format!("{tick_rounded:+e}");
-        }
-        tick_rounded.to_string()
+        emath::format_with_decimals_in_range(mark.value, num_decimals..=num_decimals)
     }
 
     /// Specify axis label.
@@ -178,15 +165,20 @@ impl<'a> AxisHints<'a> {
         self
     }
 
-    /// Specify maximum number of digits for ticks.
-    ///
-    /// This is considered by the default tick formatter and affects the width of the y-axis
+    /// Specify minimum thickness of the axis
     #[inline]
-    pub fn max_digits(mut self, digits: usize) -> Self {
-        self.digits = digits;
+    pub fn min_thickness(mut self, min_thickness: f32) -> Self {
+        self.min_thickness = min_thickness;
         self
     }
 
+    /// Specify maximum number of digits for ticks.
+    #[inline]
+    #[deprecated = "Use `min_thickness` instead"]
+    pub fn max_digits(self, digits: usize) -> Self {
+        self.min_thickness(12.0 * digits as f32)
+    }
+
     /// Specify the placement of the axis.
     ///
     /// For X-axis, use [`VPlacement`].
@@ -211,18 +203,17 @@ impl<'a> AxisHints<'a> {
 
     pub(super) fn thickness(&self, axis: Axis) -> f32 {
         match axis {
-            Axis::X => {
-                if self.label.is_empty() {
+            Axis::X => self.min_thickness.max(if self.label.is_empty() {
                 1.0 * LINE_HEIGHT
             } else {
                 3.0 * LINE_HEIGHT
-                }
-            }
+            }),
             Axis::Y => {
-                if self.label.is_empty() {
-                    (self.digits as f32) * LINE_HEIGHT
+                self.min_thickness
+                    + if self.label.is_empty() {
+                        0.0
                     } else {
-                    (self.digits as f32 + 1.0) * LINE_HEIGHT
+                        LINE_HEIGHT
                     }
             }
         }
@@ -328,7 +319,7 @@ impl<'a> AxisWidget<'a> {
 
         // Add tick labels:
         for step in self.steps.iter() {
-            let text = (self.hints.formatter)(*step, self.hints.digits, &self.range);
+            let text = (self.hints.formatter)(*step, &self.range);
             if !text.is_empty() {
                 let spacing_in_points =
                     (transform.dpos_dvalue()[usize::from(axis)] * step.step_size).abs() as f32;

crates/egui_plot/src/lib.rs

@@ -660,11 +660,10 @@ impl<'a> Plot<'a> {
     ///
     /// Arguments of `fmt`:
     /// * the grid mark to format
-    /// * maximum requested number of characters per tick label.
     /// * currently shown range on this axis.
     pub fn x_axis_formatter(
         mut self,
-        fmt: impl Fn(GridMark, usize, &RangeInclusive<f64>) -> String + 'a,
+        fmt: impl Fn(GridMark, &RangeInclusive<f64>) -> String + 'a,
     ) -> Self {
         if let Some(main) = self.x_axes.first_mut() {
             main.formatter = Arc::new(fmt);
@@ -676,11 +675,10 @@ impl<'a> Plot<'a> {
     ///
     /// Arguments of `fmt`:
     /// * the grid mark to format
-    /// * maximum requested number of characters per tick label.
     /// * currently shown range on this axis.
     pub fn y_axis_formatter(
         mut self,
-        fmt: impl Fn(GridMark, usize, &RangeInclusive<f64>) -> String + 'a,
+        fmt: impl Fn(GridMark, &RangeInclusive<f64>) -> String + 'a,
     ) -> Self {
         if let Some(main) = self.y_axes.first_mut() {
             main.formatter = Arc::new(fmt);
@@ -688,19 +686,24 @@ impl<'a> Plot<'a> {
         self
     }
 
-    /// Set the main Y-axis-width by number of digits
-    ///
-    /// The default is 5 digits.
+    /// Set the minimum width of the main y-axis, in ui points.
     ///
-    /// > Todo: This is experimental. Changing the font size might break this.
+    /// The width will automatically expand if any tickmark text is wider than this.
     #[inline]
-    pub fn y_axis_width(mut self, digits: usize) -> Self {
+    pub fn y_axis_min_width(mut self, min_width: f32) -> Self {
         if let Some(main) = self.y_axes.first_mut() {
-            main.digits = digits;
+            main.min_thickness = min_width;
         }
         self
     }
 
+    /// Set the main Y-axis-width by number of digits
+    #[inline]
+    #[deprecated = "Use `y_axis_min_width` instead"]
+    pub fn y_axis_width(self, digits: usize) -> Self {
+        self.y_axis_min_width(12.0 * digits as f32)
+    }
+
     /// Set custom configuration for X-axis
     ///
     /// More than one axis may be specified. The first specified axis is considered the main axis.
@@ -1395,7 +1398,7 @@ pub struct GridInput {
 }
 
 /// One mark (horizontal or vertical line) in the background grid of a plot.
-#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy)]
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq)]
 pub struct GridMark {
     /// X or Y value in the plot.
     pub value: f64,
@@ -1743,15 +1746,75 @@ fn generate_marks(step_sizes: [f64; 3], bounds: (f64, f64)) -> Vec<GridMark> {
     // step_size[1] =  100  =>  [     0,                                     100          ]
     // step_size[2] = 1000  =>  [     0                                                   ]
 
-    steps.sort_by(|a, b| match cmp_f64(a.value, b.value) {
-        // Keep the largest step size when we dedup later
-        Ordering::Equal => cmp_f64(b.step_size, a.step_size),
+    steps.sort_by(|a, b| cmp_f64(a.value, b.value));
 
-        ord => ord,
-    });
-    steps.dedup_by(|a, b| a.value == b.value);
+    let min_step = step_sizes.iter().fold(f64::INFINITY, |a, &b| a.min(b));
+    let eps = 0.1 * min_step; // avoid putting two ticks too closely together
 
-    steps
+    let mut deduplicated: Vec<GridMark> = Vec::with_capacity(steps.len());
+    for step in steps {
+        if let Some(last) = deduplicated.last_mut() {
+            if (last.value - step.value).abs() < eps {
+                // Keep the one with the largest step size
+                if last.step_size < step.step_size {
+                    *last = step;
+                }
+                continue;
+            }
+        }
+        deduplicated.push(step);
+    }
+
+    deduplicated
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn test_generate_marks() {
+    fn approx_eq(a: &GridMark, b: &GridMark) -> bool {
+        (a.value - b.value).abs() < 1e-10 && a.step_size == b.step_size
+    }
+
+    let gm = |value, step_size| GridMark { value, step_size };
+
+    let marks = generate_marks([0.01, 0.1, 1.0], (2.855, 3.015));
+    let expected = vec![
+        gm(2.86, 0.01),
+        gm(2.87, 0.01),
+        gm(2.88, 0.01),
+        gm(2.89, 0.01),
+        gm(2.90, 0.1),
+        gm(2.91, 0.01),
+        gm(2.92, 0.01),
+        gm(2.93, 0.01),
+        gm(2.94, 0.01),
+        gm(2.95, 0.01),
+        gm(2.96, 0.01),
+        gm(2.97, 0.01),
+        gm(2.98, 0.01),
+        gm(2.99, 0.01),
+        gm(3.00, 1.),
+        gm(3.01, 0.01),
+    ];
+
+    let mut problem = None;
+    if marks.len() != expected.len() {
+        problem = Some(format!(
+            "Different lengths: got {}, expected {}",
+            marks.len(),
+            expected.len()
+        ));
+    }
+
+    for (i, (a, b)) in marks.iter().zip(&expected).enumerate() {
+        if !approx_eq(a, b) {
+            problem = Some(format!("Mismatch at index {i}: {a:?} != {b:?}"));
+            break;
+        }
+    }
+
+    if let Some(problem) = problem {
+        panic!("Test failed: {problem}. Got: {marks:#?}, expected: {expected:#?}");
+    }
 }
 
 fn cmp_f64(a: f64, b: f64) -> Ordering {

crates/emath/src/lib.rs

@@ -190,6 +190,9 @@ pub fn format_with_minimum_decimals(value: f64, decimals: usize) -> String {
     format_with_decimals_in_range(value, decimals..=6)
 }
 
+/// Use as few decimals as possible to show the value accurately, but within the given range.
+///
+/// Decimals are counted after the decimal point.
 pub fn format_with_decimals_in_range(value: f64, decimal_range: RangeInclusive<usize>) -> String {
     let min_decimals = *decimal_range.start();
     let max_decimals = *decimal_range.end();
@@ -198,7 +201,7 @@ pub fn format_with_decimals_in_range(value: f64, decimal_range: RangeInclusive<u
     let max_decimals = max_decimals.min(16);
     let min_decimals = min_decimals.min(max_decimals);
 
-    if min_decimals != max_decimals {
+    if min_decimals < max_decimals {
         // Ugly/slow way of doing this. TODO(emilk): clean up precision.
         for decimals in min_decimals..max_decimals {
             let text = format!("{value:.decimals$}");