Add inaxes method to figure to check whether point is in an axes.

lkjell · lkjell · commit c27e807848ba · 2018-03-06T02:19:09.000+01:00
Return the top-most axes if found, else None.
diff --git a/doc/users/next_whats_new/2017-11-24_figure_inaxes.rst b/doc/users/next_whats_new/2017-11-24_figure_inaxes.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+
+Add ``inaxes`` method to Figure
+-------------------------------------------------------------
+
+The `Figure` class has now an ``inaxes`` method to check whether a point is in an axes
+and returns the topmost axes, else None.
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/figure.py b/lib/matplotlib/figure.py
@@ -1532,6 +1532,31 @@ def get_axes(self):
         """
         return self.axes
 
+    def inaxes(self, xy):
+        """
+        Check if a point is in an axes.
+
+        Parameters
+        ----------
+        xy : tuple or list
+            (x,y) coordinates.
+            x position - pixels from left of canvas.
+            y position - pixels from bottom of canvas.
+
+        Returns
+        -------
+        axes: topmost axes containing the point, or None if no axes.
+
+        """
+        axes_list = [a for a in self.get_axes() if a.patch.contains_point(xy)]
+
+        if axes_list:
+            axes = max(reversed(axes_list), key=lambda x: x.zorder)
+        else:
+            axes = None
+
+        return axes
+
     @docstring.dedent_interpd
     def legend(self, *args, **kwargs):
         """
