Is there a way to choose a default mouse "mode" in matplotlib.pyplot.show() to be the zoom pointer?

Question

I have a program that is used to show a bunch of different plots, and I often have to zoom into an area. I want to know if there is a way to get the default cursor to be zoom, as if I had already clicked on the magnifying glass. I want to avoid having to click on the "magnifying glass" every time my plot is shown... I have not tried any solutions as I could not find any method in the matplotlib.pyplot documentation that is remotely close to what I want to do.

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

fig, ax = plt.subplots()
ax.plot([1,2,3])
plt.show()

Answer 1

You can call

fig.canvas.toolbar.zoom()

before showing the plot to activate the zoom mode straight away.

Complete example:

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

fig,ax = plt.subplots()

# some code...

fig.canvas.toolbar.zoom()
plt.show()