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Last active March 10, 2025 09:49
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Wrapping Long Labels
Raw
.block
license: gpl-3.0
Raw
README.md

This example, using satirical data from The Onion, demonstrates how to wrap long axis labels to fit on multiple lines.

Raw
data.tsv
name value
Family in feud with Zuckerbergs .17
Committed 671 birthdays to memory .19
Ex is doing too well .10
High school friends all dead now .15
Discovered how to “like” things mentally .27
Not enough politics .12
Raw
index.html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<style>
.bar {
fill: steelblue;
}
.bar:hover {
fill: brown;
}
.title {
font: bold 14px "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
}
.axis {
font: 10px sans-serif;
}
.axis path,
.axis line {
fill: none;
stroke: #000;
shape-rendering: crispEdges;
}
.x.axis path {
display: none;
}
</style>
<body>
<script src="//d3js.org/d3.v3.min.js"></script>
<script>
var margin = {top: 80, right: 180, bottom: 80, left: 180},
width = 960 - margin.left - margin.right,
height = 500 - margin.top - margin.bottom;
var x = d3.scale.ordinal()
.rangeRoundBands([0, width], .1, .3);
var y = d3.scale.linear()
.range([height, 0]);
var xAxis = d3.svg.axis()
.scale(x)
.orient("bottom");
var yAxis = d3.svg.axis()
.scale(y)
.orient("left")
.ticks(8, "%");
var svg = d3.select("body").append("svg")
.attr("width", width + margin.left + margin.right)
.attr("height", height + margin.top + margin.bottom)
.append("g")
.attr("transform", "translate(" + margin.left + "," + margin.top + ")");
d3.tsv("data.tsv", type, function(error, data) {
x.domain(data.map(function(d) { return d.name; }));
y.domain([0, d3.max(data, function(d) { return d.value; })]);
svg.append("text")
.attr("class", "title")
.attr("x", x(data[0].name))
.attr("y", -26)
.text("Why Are We Leaving Facebook?");
svg.append("g")
.attr("class", "x axis")
.attr("transform", "translate(0," + height + ")")
.call(xAxis)
.selectAll(".tick text")
.call(wrap, x.rangeBand());
svg.append("g")
.attr("class", "y axis")
.call(yAxis);
svg.selectAll(".bar")
.data(data)
.enter().append("rect")
.attr("class", "bar")
.attr("x", function(d) { return x(d.name); })
.attr("width", x.rangeBand())
.attr("y", function(d) { return y(d.value); })
.attr("height", function(d) { return height - y(d.value); });
});
function wrap(text, width) {
text.each(function() {
var text = d3.select(this),
words = text.text().split(/\s+/).reverse(),
word,
line = [],
lineNumber = 0,
lineHeight = 1.1, // ems
y = text.attr("y"),
dy = parseFloat(text.attr("dy")),
tspan = text.text(null).append("tspan").attr("x", 0).attr("y", y).attr("dy", dy + "em");
while (word = words.pop()) {
line.push(word);
tspan.text(line.join(" "));
if (tspan.node().getComputedTextLength() > width) {
line.pop();
tspan.text(line.join(" "));
line = [word];
tspan = text.append("tspan").attr("x", 0).attr("y", y).attr("dy", ++lineNumber * lineHeight + dy + "em").text(word);
}
}
});
}
function type(d) {
d.value = +d.value;
return d;
}
</script>
@jbetley
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jbetley commented Feb 23, 2022

Re: hidden text. In my case, the text was hidden in a 'tab-pane.' My solution, also ugly, was to remove the class immediately before the getComputedTextLength() calculation and then restore the class immediately after. Would love to hear if there is a better way to do this now.

function wrap(text, width) {
    text.each(function() {
      var text = d3.select(this),
          words = text.text().split(/\s+/).reverse(),
          word,
          line = [],
          lineNumber = 0,
          lineHeight = 1.1, // ems
          x = text.attr("x"),
          y = text.attr("y"),
          dy = parseFloat(text.attr("dy") || 0),
          tspan = text.text(null).append("tspan").attr("x", x).attr("y", y).attr("dy", dy + "em");

       var tabs = d3.selectAll('div.tab-pane').classed('tab-pane', false); // remove tab-pane class
    
       while (word = words.pop()) {
         line.push(word);
         tspan.text(line.join(" "));

         if (tspan.node().getComputedTextLength() > width) { 
           line.pop();
           tspan.text(line.join(" "));
           line = [word];
           tspan = text.append("tspan").attr("x", x).attr("y", y).attr("dy", ++lineNumber * lineHeight + dy + "em").text(word); // add 'x'
         }
       }
      tabs.classed('tab-pane', true); // add tab-pane class back
    });
  }

Original idea here: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/27886734/how-to-word-wrap-legend-labels-in-d3.

@solastley
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Small bug I found for anyone else who runs into this:

If the max width of the tick is less than the width of the first word, it seems the code as-written will append an empty <tspan> at the top of the <text>. To fix this, just add an additional check in if conditional on line 107 that line.length > 1.

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