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  plotly:
    description: How to format axes ticks in Python with Plotly.
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    name: Formatting Ticks
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---

#### Tickmode - Linear


If `"linear"`, the placement of the ticks is determined by a starting position `tick0` and a tick step `dtick`

```python
import plotly.graph_objects as go

fig = go.Figure(go.Scatter(
    x = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12],
    y = [28.8, 28.5, 37, 56.8, 69.7, 79.7, 78.5, 77.8, 74.1, 62.6, 45.3, 39.9]
))

fig.update_layout(
    xaxis = dict(
        tickmode = 'linear',
        tick0 = 0.5,
        dtick = 0.75
    )
)

fig.show()
```

#### Tickmode - Array


If `"array"`, the placement of the ticks is set via `tickvals` and the tick text is `ticktext`.

```python
import plotly.graph_objects as go

fig = go.Figure(go.Scatter(
    x = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12],
    y = [28.8, 28.5, 37, 56.8, 69.7, 79.7, 78.5, 77.8, 74.1, 62.6, 45.3, 39.9]
))

fig.update_layout(
    xaxis = dict(
        tickmode = 'array',
        tickvals = [1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11],
        ticktext = ['One', 'Three', 'Five', 'Seven', 'Nine', 'Eleven']
    )
)

fig.show()
```

### Dynamic tickmode in Dash

[Dash](https://plotly.com/dash/) is the best way to build analytical apps in Python using Plotly figures. To run the app below, run `pip install dash`, click "Download" to get the code and run `python app.py`.

Get started  with [the official Dash docs](https://dash.plotly.com/installation) and **learn how to effortlessly [style](https://plotly.com/dash/design-kit/) & [deploy](https://plotly.com/dash/app-manager/) apps like this with <a class="plotly-red" href="https://plotly.com/dash/">Dash Enterprise</a>.**


```python hide_code=true
from IPython.display import IFrame
snippet_url = 'https://python-docs-dash-snippets.herokuapp.com/python-docs-dash-snippets/'
IFrame(snippet_url + 'tick-formatting', width='100%', height=1200)
```

<div style="font-size: 0.9em;"><div style="width: calc(100% - 30px); box-shadow: none; border: thin solid rgb(229, 229, 229);"><div style="padding: 5px;"><div><p><strong>Sign up for Dash Club</strong> → Free cheat sheets plus updates from Chris Parmer and Adam Schroeder delivered to your inbox every two months. Includes tips and tricks, community apps, and deep dives into the Dash architecture.
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#### Using Tickformat Attribute


For more formatting types, see: https://github.com/d3/d3-format/blob/master/README.md#locale_format

```python
import plotly.graph_objects as go

fig = go.Figure(go.Scatter(
    x = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12],
    y = [28.8, 28.5, 37, 56.8, 69.7, 79.7, 78.5, 77.8, 74.1, 62.6, 45.3, 39.9]
))

fig.update_layout(yaxis_tickformat = '%')

fig.show()
```

#### Using Tickformat Attribute - Date/Time


For more date/time formatting types, see: https://github.com/d3/d3-time-format/blob/master/README.md

```python
import plotly.graph_objects as go

import pandas as pd

df = pd.read_csv('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/plotly/datasets/master/finance-charts-apple.csv')

fig = go.Figure(go.Scatter(
    x = df['Date'],
    y = df['AAPL.High'],
))

fig.update_layout(
    title = 'Time Series with Custom Date-Time Format',
    xaxis_tickformat = '%d %B (%a)<br>%Y'
)

fig.show()
```

#### Using Exponentformat Attribute

```python
import plotly.graph_objects as go

fig = go.Figure(go.Scatter(
    x = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12],
    y = [68000, 52000, 60000, 20000, 95000, 40000, 60000, 79000, 74000, 42000, 20000, 90000]
))

fig.update_layout(
    yaxis = dict(
        showexponent = 'all',
        exponentformat = 'e'
    )
)

fig.show()
```

#### Tickformatstops to customize for different zoom levels

```python
import plotly.graph_objects as go

import pandas as pd

df = pd.read_csv('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/plotly/datasets/master/finance-charts-apple.csv')

fig = go.Figure(go.Scatter(
    x = df['Date'],
    y = df['mavg']
))

fig.update_layout(
    xaxis_tickformatstops = [
        dict(dtickrange=[None, 1000], value="%H:%M:%S.%L ms"),
        dict(dtickrange=[1000, 60000], value="%H:%M:%S s"),
        dict(dtickrange=[60000, 3600000], value="%H:%M m"),
        dict(dtickrange=[3600000, 86400000], value="%H:%M h"),
        dict(dtickrange=[86400000, 604800000], value="%e. %b d"),
        dict(dtickrange=[604800000, "M1"], value="%e. %b w"),
        dict(dtickrange=["M1", "M12"], value="%b '%y M"),
        dict(dtickrange=["M12", None], value="%Y Y")
    ]
)

fig.show()
```

#### Placing ticks and gridlines between categories

```python
import plotly.graph_objects as go

fig = go.Figure(go.Bar(
    x = ["apples", "oranges", "pears"],
    y = [1, 2, 3]
))

fig.update_xaxes(
    showgrid=True,
    ticks="outside",
    tickson="boundaries",
    ticklen=20
)

fig.show()
```

#### Reference
See https://plotly.com/python/reference/layout/xaxis/ for more information and chart attribute options!