Legend Picking

Enable picking on the legend to toggle the original line on and off

import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt


t = np.linspace(0, 1)
y1 = 2 * np.sin(2*np.pi*t)
y2 = 4 * np.sin(2*np.pi*2*t)

fig, ax = plt.subplots()
ax.set_title('Click on legend line to toggle line on/off')
line1, = ax.plot(t, y1, lw=2, label='1 Hz')
line2, = ax.plot(t, y2, lw=2, label='2 Hz')
leg = ax.legend(fancybox=True, shadow=True)

lines = [line1, line2]
lined = {}  # Will map legend lines to original lines.
for legline, origline in zip(leg.get_lines(), lines):
    legline.set_picker(True)  # Enable picking on the legend line.
    lined[legline] = origline


def on_pick(event):
    # On the pick event, find the original line corresponding to the legend
    # proxy line, and toggle its visibility.
    legline = event.artist
    origline = lined[legline]
    visible = not origline.get_visible()
    origline.set_visible(visible)
    # Change the alpha on the line in the legend so we can see what lines
    # have been toggled.
    legline.set_alpha(1.0 if visible else 0.2)
    fig.canvas.draw()

fig.canvas.mpl_connect('pick_event', on_pick)
plt.show()