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+# span-basic: Basic Span Plot (Highlighted Region)
+
+## Description
+
+A span plot highlights a specific region of interest on a chart using a shaded rectangular area that spans the full height or width of the plot. Vertical spans mark ranges along the x-axis (e.g., time periods), while horizontal spans mark ranges along the y-axis (e.g., value thresholds). The semi-transparent fill allows underlying data to remain visible while drawing attention to the highlighted region.
+
+## Applications
+
+- Marking recession periods or economic events on financial time series charts
+- Highlighting acceptable/unacceptable value ranges or threshold zones on line plots
+- Indicating maintenance windows, downtime periods, or significant events in operational dashboards
+- Showing confidence intervals or uncertainty bands around data points
+
+## Data
+
+- `start` (numeric) - Start position of the span region
+- `end` (numeric) - End position of the span region
+- `direction` (categorical) - Either "vertical" (spans x-axis) or "horizontal" (spans y-axis)
+- Size: 1-5 span regions overlaid on existing data
+- Example: A line chart with dates on x-axis showing a shaded vertical span from 2008 to 2009 marking a recession period
+
+## Notes
+
+- Use semi-transparent fill (alpha 0.2-0.3) to keep underlying data visible
+- Vertical spans are most common for time-based data (highlighting periods)
+- Horizontal spans work well for threshold visualization (highlighting value ranges)
+- Optional: include edge lines or text labels within the span region
diff --git a/plots/span-basic/specification.yaml b/plots/span-basic/specification.yaml
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+# Specification-level metadata for span-basic
+# Auto-synced to PostgreSQL on push to main
+
+spec_id: span-basic
+title: Basic Span Plot (Highlighted Region)
+
+# Specification tracking
+created: 2025-12-15T20:42:41Z
+issue: 980
+suggested: MarkusNeusinger
+history: []
+
+# Classification tags (applies to all library implementations)
+tags:
+  plot_type:
+    - span
+    - annotation
+  domain:
+    - general
+    - finance
+    - statistics
+  features:
+    - basic
+    - highlight
+    - overlay
+  audience:
+    - beginner
+  data_type:
+    - numeric
+    - datetime