gnuplot, plotting time on x-axis

Question

I have data in the following format in a text file. I want to print the time (hours, mins and secs) on the x-axis. Each timestamp is on a separate line

00:00:05,1
00:00:15,0
01:05:23,1
07:45:00,0
23:21:22,1

Trying the following commands with gnuplot but time isn't printed on x-axis. I would like the time displayed in hours.

set datafile separator ","
set xdata time
set xrange["00:00:00":"24:00:00"]
set timefmt '%H:%M:%S
plot 'data.txt' using 1:2 with boxes

Any help greatly appreciated.

Welcome to SO! I formatted your code to make it more readable. Code blocks are marked with four spaces at the beginning. Also, there is no need to write your name, since a signature appears automatically. — Christoph

Christoph Christoph · Accepted Answer · 2015-06-08T09:40:57

The set timefmt settings are used only for reading the data file. If you don't provide an explicit output format, timedate is assumed automatically. Use set xtics format '%H:%M:%S' to set an explicit output format. Also, parsing of the set xrange strings can be done properly only after you have set the time format:

set datafile separator ","
set xdata time
set timefmt '%H:%M:%S
set xrange["00:00:00":"24:00:00"]
set xtics format '%H:%M:%S'
plot 'data.txt' using 1:2 with boxes

gnuplot, plotting time on x-axis

1 Answers