.. currentmodule:: altair

.. _user-guide-tick-marks:

Tick
~~~~
The ``tick`` mark represents each data point as a short line. This is a useful mark for displaying the distribution of values in a field.

Tick Mark Properties
--------------------
A ``tick`` mark definition can contain any :ref:`standard mark properties <mark-properties>`
and the following special properties:

.. altair-object-table:: altair.MarkDef
   :properties: cornerRadius orient

Examples
--------
Dot Plot
^^^^^^^^
The following dot plot uses tick marks to show the distribution of precipitation in Seattle.

.. altair-plot::
    import altair as alt
    from vega_datasets import data

    source = data.seattle_weather()

    alt.Chart(source).mark_tick().encode(
        x="precipitation:Q"
    )

Strip Plot
^^^^^^^^^^
By adding a ``y`` field, a strip plot can be created that shows the distribution of horsepower by number of cylinders.

.. altair-plot::
    import altair as alt
    from vega_datasets import data

    source = data.cars()

    alt.Chart(source).mark_tick().encode(
        x="Horsepower:Q",
        y="Cylinders:O",
    )


Customizing Tick’s Size and Thickness
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
.. altair-plot::
    import altair as alt
    from vega_datasets import data

    source = data.seattle_weather()

    alt.Chart(source).mark_tick().encode(
        x="precipitation:Q"
    ).configure_tick(
        thickness=2,
        bandSize=10,
    )
