There are two ways to go. I would recommend using the new IDL 8.0 graphics functions instead, which are more customizable and look a lot nicer. For example: p = plot(findgen(10)) xrange = p.xrange yrange = p.yrange You can also set properties like color or line thickness either during initialization or after the plot has been created like this: p.color = 'red' p.thick = 3 You can even change the axis range dynamically like this: p.xrange = [-5,15] However, in answer to your question, it is also possible to get this information from a direct graphic plot as well. You can get the X and Y range like this: plot, findgen(10) xrange = !x.crange yrange = !y.crange -Josh