PR summary

Fixes #26620 — Improves the loc and bbox_to_anchor parameter documentation in the legend module.

• Why is this change necessary? The current loc documentation uses three separate paragraphs to describe legend positions, which is verbose and harder to scan. The bbox_to_anchor docs don't clearly state it's an advanced option or link to relevant guides.

• What problem does it solve? Makes legend positioning easier to understand at a glance by adding a visual ASCII grid of all 9 positions, and clarifies the relationship between loc and bbox_to_anchor.

• What is the reasoning for this implementation? Follows the suggestions in [Doc]: Improve legend loc and bbox_to_anchor documentation #26620 by maintainer @timhoffm.

Changes

• Parameter loc: Replaced three text paragraphs with a concise explanation and an ASCII visual grid showing all 9 legend positions. Clarified that positions are within a bounding box configurable via bbox_to_anchor.
• Parameter bbox_to_anchor: Clarified this is an advanced option for free placement. Added cross-references to Figure.legend for outside placement and to the :ref:legend_guide``.

AI Disclosure

I used Claude (Anthropic) for researching the issue and drafting the documentation text. The changes were reviewed and verified by me.

PR checklist

• "closes [Doc]: Improve legend loc and bbox_to_anchor documentation #26620" is in the body of the PR description
• [N/A] new and changed code is tested
• [N/A] "Plotting related" features are demonstrated in an example
• [N/A] "New Features" and "API Changes" are noted with a directive and release note
• Documentation complies with general and docstring guidelines