Function Reference: Volume 2 (F-O) - The MathWorks - #1001

If the legend text does not fit in the 1-by-4 position vector, the position vector is resized around the midpoint to fit the legend text given its font and size, making the legend taller or wider. The location string can be all lowercase and can be abbreviated by sentinel letter (e.g., N,NE,NEO,etc.). Using one ofthe .. .Outside values for location ensures that the legend does not overlap the plot, whereas overlaps can occur when you specify any ofthe other cardinal values. The location property applies to colorbars and legends, but not to axes.

The first column ofthe following table shows the now-obsolete specifiers for legend locations that were in use prior to Version 7, along with a description ofthe locations and their current equivalent syntaxes:

legend(...,'Orientation','orientation') creates a legend with the legend items arranged in the specified orientation. orientation can be vertical (the default) or horizontal.

[legend_h,object_h,plot_h,text_strings] = legend(...) returns

• legend_h — Handle of the legend axes

• object_h — Handles ofthe line, patch, and text graphics objects used in the legend

• plot_h — Handles ofthe lines and other objects used in the plot