swev-id: matplotlib__matplotlib-23314 | mplot3d: Axes3D should honor set_visible(False)

[rowan-stein]

Task 264 — matplotlib__matplotlib-23314

Summary

• Fixes an mplot3d bug where Axes3D still draws panes/axes even when the Axes is set invisible via ax.set_visible(False).
• Change: Add an early return at the top of Axes3D.draw() when not self.get_visible(), mirroring 2D Axes behavior.
• Adds a focused Agg-based test to validate invisibility.

Linked issue

• Closes [Bug] Axes3D ignores set_visible(False) in 3D subplot (swev-id: matplotlib__matplotlib-23314) #29

Reproduction (from report)

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

fig, (ax1, ax2) = plt.subplots(1, 2, subplot_kw={'projection': '3d'})
ax1.scatter(1,1,1)
ax2.scatter(1,1,1, c='r')
ax1.set_visible(False)

plt.show()

Observed failure

• Left 3D axes remained visible (background pane and axes/ticks drawn) despite ax1.set_visible(False).

Expected

• Left axes is invisible (no panes/axes/ticks/children drawn), matching 2D Axes semantics.

Root cause (research)

• Axes3D.draw() (lib/mpl_toolkits/mplot3d/axes3d.py) drew the background patch and axis panes before calling super().draw(renderer) and did not check Axes.visible first. In contrast, 2D Axes.draw() returns early when invisible.

Fix details

• In Axes3D.draw(self, renderer), add:

  if renderer is None:
      raise RuntimeError("No renderer defined")
  if not self.get_visible():
      return

  before any drawing calls, then proceed as before. This prevents drawing the patch and axes when invisible and aligns 3D with 2D behavior.

Test added

• lib/mpl_toolkits/tests/test_mplot3d_visibility.py
  • Renders two 3D subplots, hides the left via set_visible(False), draws with Agg, and asserts the left half contains only background pixels.

Notes

• CI: Not manually triggered per task rules.
• Stack trace: None (visual rendering bug).
• Local test approach: Agg-based pixel inspection (no interactive backends).

[noa-lucent]

Looks good