TL;DR

Use xaxis.fixedrange=True or yaxis.fixedrange=True to disable zooming and panning on a specific axis, while leaving the other axis interactive.

fig.update_xaxes(fixedrange=True)
fig.update_yaxes(fixedrange=False)

Disable zoom on a single axis

Plotly uses fixedrange=True to lock an axis so users cannot zoom or pan it. This is useful when one axis should stay fixed while the other stays interactive.

fig.update_xaxes(fixedrange=True)
fig.update_yaxes(fixedrange=False)

This disables zooming/panning on the x-axis but leaves the y-axis free.

Disable panning and zooming on the y-axis instead

To keep the x-axis interactive while fixing the y-axis, swap the axis settings.

fig.update_xaxes(fixedrange=False)
fig.update_yaxes(fixedrange=True)

Use dragmode with fixed axes

If you want to highlight selection tools, set dragmode='zoom' or dragmode='pan' and then lock only the target axis.

fig.update_layout(dragmode='zoom')
fig.update_xaxes(fixedrange=True)
fig.update_yaxes(fixedrange=False)

This keeps trackpad or mouse drag behavior consistent while preventing one axis from changing scale.

Disable the modebar zoom buttons

You can also hide the modebar buttons entirely for a cleaner experience.

fig.show(config=dict(displayModeBar=False))

When to use fixed axes

Use fixedrange when:

• you want a stable time axis but still allow value zooming,
• you want to preserve proportional width while inspecting vertical values,
• you need consistent comparison across charts.

Summary

• xaxis.fixedrange=True locks the x-axis.
• yaxis.fixedrange=True locks the y-axis.
• Use dragmode to choose the interaction type.
• Fixed axes keep chart behavior predictable while still allowing partial user interaction.