Matplotlib: plot the legend outside the plot and adjusts the viewport to contain the plot and the (outer) legend

legend_outside_plot.py

# * just prepares some data to plot, the legend trick is at line 54

docs = {'ndocs': {'Actes': 1775,
  'Article': 626,
  'Autre': 497580,
  'Compte rendu': 1831,
  'Culturel': 76034,
  'Document': 525,
  'Livres': 313,
  'Note': 126,
  'Rapport recherche': 2,
  'Thèse': 790}, 'sumdocs': 907822}

dt = ['Actes', 'Article', 'Autre', 'Compte rendu', 'Culturel', 'Document', 'Livres', 'Note', 'Rapport recherche', 'Thèse']


def Markers():
    def colors_g():
        while True:
            for c in ('b','g','r','c', 'm', 'y', 'k'):
                yield c
    
    def patterns_g():
        while True:
            for m in ( 's', 'p', '*', 'h', 'H',  'd','o', 'D',  'v', '^', '<', '>'):
                yield m
    
    colors = colors_g()
    patterns = patterns_g()
    
    while True:
        yield (next(patterns), next(colors))
        

for w in range(4):
    #w -= 1
    marker_gen = Markers()                 
    ndocs = [(docs['ndocs'][_m]/docs['sumdocs']) * 100 for _m in dt]
    nhits = [(data[w]['doc_types'][_m]/data[w]['hits'])* 100 for _m in dt]


    plt.plot(np.linspace(0,70), np.linspace(0,70), linestyle='--', color='k')

    l = []
    lt = []

    for _m in range(len(dt)):
        marker = next(marker_gen)
        leg = plt.scatter([ndocs[_m]], [nhits[_m]], marker=marker[0], color=marker[1], s=40, edgecolor='black', linewidth=1, alpha=0.5)
        l.append(leg)
        lt.append(dt[_m])
    
    # * plots the legend outside the plot and adjusts the viewport to contain the plot and the (outer) legend
    plt.title("Query: %d words" % (w+1))
    plt.legend(l, lt, bbox_to_anchor=(1.05, 1), loc=2) # * trick here: bbox_to_anchor parameter
    plt.xlabel("Total")
    plt.ylabel("Queries")
    plt.tight_layout(rect = [0, 0, 0.7, 1])
    plt.savefig("queries_vs_all_%d_words.pdf" % (w+1), format="pdf", bbox_inches = 'tight') # * trick here: bbox_inches = 'tight' parameter
    #plt.savefig("queries_vs_all_%d_words.png" % (w+1))
    plt.close()