Repository navigation
Unable to change the color of symbols like "triangle" in scattermap trace #5153
Description
Description:
When using symbols like "triangle" (or other shapes) in a scattermap trace, I am unable to change the color of the symbol. Despite setting the marker color, the symbol color remains unchanged.
Steps to Reproduce:
- Create a
scattermaptrace with a symbol, such as a triangle. - Set the
markerparameter with a color. - Notice that the symbol (triangle) color does not change as expected.
Expected Behavior:
The color of the symbol (e.g., triangle, square) should change according to the marker.color settings.
Actual Behavior:
The symbol does not change color when the marker.color is set, even though it should.
Code Snippet:
import plotly.graph_objs as go
fig = go.Figure(go.Scattermap(
lat=[40.748817],
lon=[-73.985428],
mode='markers',
marker=dict(size=14, symbol='triangle', color='red'),
text="Sample Point"
))
fig.update_layout(
map_style="open-street-map",
map_center={"lat": 40.748817, "lon": -73.985428},
map_zoom=10
)
fig.show()
Activity
afafelwafi commentedon Apr 25, 2025
I am experiencing the same issue, not only with the triangle symbol but also with the square (the circle symbol works fine). This problem does not occur when using go.Scatter; it only manifests when using Mapbox. I think the issue might be related to how Mapbox GL JS handles symbol rendering, possibly due to the way Mapbox’s internal sprite system processes the marker.symbol parameter in conjunction with Plotly's integration.
srahabib commentedon Apr 26, 2025
I found this note in the plotly.graph_objects.Scattermap documentation:
It seems that currently in scattermap, only the 'circle' symbol properly supports color and size customization. Other symbols like 'triangle', 'square', etc., don't yet allow changes to their fill color through marker.color.
Documentation link: https://plotly.com/python-api-reference/generated/plotly.graph_objects.Scattermap.html
satheesh22g commentedon Apr 29, 2025
you're right, since plotly uses Maki icons for symbols like triangles, their color and size can't be changed. But it would really help if they offered more triangle styles, like a white triangle with a black outline, the current solid black triangle looks messy when there are many points.
svenvdvoort commentedon Jan 2, 2026
Hey everyone, thanks for bringing this up! To add to the discussion: currently Plotly throws a general error in JavaScript when a list of color values are passed in combination with a symbol as a marker properties:
It would really help if a descriptive error was raised, for example:
Currently the marker color property can not be used together with a shape property other than circle.:)Thanks!
emilykl commentedon Sep 2, 2026
Hi @satheesh22g @afafelwafi, apologies for the very belated reply. This bug was fixed by plotly/plotly.js#7825 and first released in plotly.py v7.0.0. Setting Scattermap marker colors now works as expected: