# Left Align Source Annotation or Axis Title for Source Below X-Axis

**URL:** <https://community.plotly.com/t/left-align-source-annotation-or-axis-title-for-source-below-x-axis/4020>\
**Category:** Plotly R\
**Created:** [April 23, 2017, 8:45pm UTC](https://community.plotly.com/t/left-align-source-annotation-or-axis-title-for-source-below-x-axis/4020 "2017-04-23T20:45:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ehossain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@ehossain](https://community.plotly.com/u/ehossain)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2017, 8:45pm UTC](https://community.plotly.com/t/left-align-source-annotation-or-axis-title-for-source-below-x-axis/4020/1 "2017-04-23T20:45:50Z")

</div>

Is it possible to create a text box with a "Source: " left-aligned below the x-axis title? I saw the discussion for manipulating x-axis titles at [https://help.plot.ly/adding-HTML-and-links-to-charts/](https://help.plot.ly/adding-HTML-and-links-to-charts/), but that does not allow for left alignment (I tried `<div align:left>` and nothing happened).

Below is an MWE of what I was able to do, but I would like my source annotation left aligned below the x-axis title

```
df <- data.frame(x = 1:10, y = 1:10)
plot_ly(data = df, x = ~x, y = ~y, type = 'scatter', mode = 'lines') %>%
  layout(title = 'Sample Chart',
         margin = list(l = 50, r = 50, t = 60, b = 60),
         annotations = list(text = 'Source: U.S. Census Bureau.',
                            font = list(size = 12),
                            showarrow = FALSE,
                            xref = 'paper', x = -0.03,
                            yref = 'paper', y = -0.2))

```

I have also posted this question on [StackOverflow](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/43565966/source-annotation-in-plotly), but if I get an answer here, I will be sure to update my answer there so people are not wasting their time.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![carson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@carson](https://community.plotly.com/u/carson)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 3:15am UTC](https://community.plotly.com/t/left-align-source-annotation-or-axis-title-for-source-below-x-axis/4020/2 "2017-04-25T03:15:43Z")

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I think you just need to add more to the bottom margin? This will left-align the annotation with-respect-to the y-axis (is that what you want?)

```auto
df <- data.frame(x = 1:10, y = 1:10)
plot_ly(data = df, x = ~x, y = ~y, height = 400, width = 600) %>%
    add_lines() %>%
    layout(title = 'Sample Chart',
           margin = list(l = 50, r = 50, t = 60, b = 100),
           annotations = list(text = 'Source: U.S. Census Bureau.',
                              font = list(size = 12),
                              showarrow = FALSE,
                              xref = 'paper', x = 0,
                              yref = 'paper', y = -0.3))

```

PS. when using normalized (i.e., paper) coordinates, it’s a good idea to explicitly set the height/width, so the result is always the same, no matter the printing context.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ehossain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@ehossain](https://community.plotly.com/u/ehossain)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 2:36pm UTC](https://community.plotly.com/t/left-align-source-annotation-or-axis-title-for-source-below-x-axis/4020/3 "2017-04-25T14:36:24Z")

</div>

Thanks Carson! That did the trick. However, this is very sensitive to the font size of the x-axis title. When I increase the font size of the x-axis title, it generates a lot of dead space and I have to push the annotation down farther and increase my margins. Do you know if there’s a way to fix this? MWE below:

```
plot_ly(data = df, x = ~x, y = ~y, height = 400, width = 600) %>%
    add_lines() %>%
    layout(title = 'Sample Chart',
           xaxis = list(title = 'Title', titlefont = list(size = 25)),
           margin = list(l = 50, r = 50, t = 60, b = 100),
           annotations = list(text = 'Source: U.S. Census Bureau.',
                              font = list(size = 12),
                              showarrow = FALSE,
                              xref = 'paper', x = 0,
                              yref = 'paper', y = -0.3))
```