# Looking for a density\_mapbox without a map

**URL:** <https://community.plotly.com/t/looking-for-a-density-mapbox-without-a-map/75243>\
**Category:** Dash Python\
**Tags:** question\
**Created:** [May 13, 2023, 4:54am UTC](https://community.plotly.com/t/looking-for-a-density-mapbox-without-a-map/75243 "2023-05-13T04:54:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Entropy5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3be4f8/32.png) [@Entropy5](https://community.plotly.com/u/Entropy5)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2023, 4:54am UTC](https://community.plotly.com/t/looking-for-a-density-mapbox-without-a-map/75243/1 "2023-05-13T04:54:08Z")

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I am using a plotly express scatterplot (opengl) to render a large field of data points.  
I let the user navigate around using input sliders and changing the center of the graph.  
This makes the number of visible data points manageable, and the graph responsive.  
Example [https://signs.2b2t.website/](https://signs.2b2t.website/)

I am looking for a better way to pan around the map. I can use config=dict({‘scrollZoom’: True}) and panning to move around, but since I the data is cropped, zooming (scrolling) out does not do much. Meanwhile, zooming in does not suddenly improve the performance, as all those points are still being calculated.

Now, I have been experimenting with relayoutData and a resampling function, to update the graph while zooming / panning and ‘downsize’ the dataframe when a lot of points are shown. The resampling works well, but the relayoutData feels very buggy.

Now i see how [mapbox density heatmap](https://plotly.com/python/mapbox-density-heatmaps/) plots have basically everything I need (zoomable, performant, some sort of resampling), but I cannot figure out if I can use this without an actual map. I need something like the mapbox density heatmap, but with a normal blank 2D plane.

Is it possible to tune a mapbox plot the way I need it, or should I keep trying with relayoutData?

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**Author:** ![jinnyzor](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex024/user_avatar/community.plotly.com/jinnyzor/32/21194_2.png) [@jinnyzor](https://community.plotly.com/u/jinnyzor)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2023, 11:41am UTC](https://community.plotly.com/t/looking-for-a-density-mapbox-without-a-map/75243/2 "2023-05-13T11:41:46Z")

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Hello @Entropy5,

Welcome to the community!

Did you check out here?

> **[2d](https://plotly.com/python/2D-Histogram/)**
>
> Over 11 examples of 2D Histograms including changing color, size, log axes, and more in Python.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Entropy5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3be4f8/32.png) [@Entropy5](https://community.plotly.com/u/Entropy5)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2023, 5:21pm UTC](https://community.plotly.com/t/looking-for-a-density-mapbox-without-a-map/75243/3 "2023-05-13T17:21:50Z")

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Thank you for the response  
I have no idea why i had disregarded this option but it is indeed well applicable  
The way points aggregate in the density mapbox still looks cooler to me but I think this will do  
Just to be sure, if i want to zoom in really far on the density heatmap and retain detail, i should still write something that redoes the figure on relayoutData change, right? I need to have an okay figure both at x-range 60million and x-range 6000.

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**Author:** ![Emil](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex024/user_avatar/community.plotly.com/emil/32/31734_2.png) [@Emil](https://community.plotly.com/u/Emil)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2023, 6:52pm UTC](https://community.plotly.com/t/looking-for-a-density-mapbox-without-a-map/75243/4 "2023-05-13T18:52:03Z")

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To achieve this kind of behavior, you might want to take a look at HoloViews,

> **[HoloViews | Dash for Python Documentation | Plotly](https://dash.plotly.com/holoviews)**
>
> HoloViews integration