Unable to achieve interactive plot

Environment data

• VS Code version: 1.67.2 (current)
• Jupyter Extension version (available under the Extensions sidebar): Jupyter v2022.4.1021342353
• Python Extension version (available under the Extensions sidebar): Python v2022.6.3
• OS (Windows | Mac | Linux distro) and version: macOS 12.4 (Monterey) (Current)
• Python and/or Anaconda version: 3.10.0
• Type of virtual environment used (N/A | venv | virtualenv | conda | …): python -m venv .venv
• Jupyter server running: Local

Expected behaviour

Running example from https://mplcursors.readthedocs.io/en/stable/ in a fresh .ipynb

Expecting to be able to click on the plot that is output, and for it to “interactively” respond to cursor location.

Actual behaviour

It doesn’t.

Steps to reproduce:

Just create a fresh .ipynb and stick the first code example from the above link in a cell:

# https://mplcursors.readthedocs.io/en/stable/
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np
import mplcursors

data = np.outer(range(10), range(1, 5))

fig, ax = plt.subplots()
lines = ax.plot(data)
ax.set_title("Click somewhere on a line.\nRight-click to deselect.\n"
             "Annotations can be dragged.")

mplcursors.cursor(lines)  # or just mplcursors.cursor()

plt.show()

Now this is likely an issue with backends. Prefixing %matplotlib outputs no plot, but instead:

Using matplotlib backend: <object object at 0x112c49f20>

Please could we have instruction how to achieve interactive-plots, or an explanation of why we can’t. If cannot, is it in the pipeline? What is blocking it?

I can’t find any clear definitive documentation on backends, and how they apply in VSCode’s Notebook editor.

I would love to be able to transition 100% from Jupyter Notebooks (operating out of web browser).

[jackthepanisher]

I think you will need %matplotlib widget to enable support for mpl widgets. This might require to install the ipympl package as well. I haven’t looked much into the details and also haven’t found much further information on the mplcursors site but JupyterLab seems to require the same to display the interactive cursors.

[rchiodo]

We don’t control the colors for the matplotlib widget. That’s entirely in matplotlib’s code. I believe the docs for the ipympl backend (what it uses when you specify %matplotlib widget) are here:

https://matplotlib.org/ipympl/