GraphicsColumn - Multiline text isn't adapting based on overall column size

Question

I'm trying to use Graphics Column to add a label under my plots. Eventually these individual columns will be combined in a grid, and I want the height of each plot to be the same so I can compare data easily. My problem is this: when the column ImageSize is such that the bottom label is multi line, it doesn't display properly. Can I tell Graphics Column to be sure to add enough room that all of the text can be seen?

Examples: This code cuts off the label text at the bottom:

toPlot = {{{1, 0.024017467248908332`}, {1, 
     0.`}, {1, -0.07205240174672484`}}, {{2, 
     0.048034934497816664`}, {2, 0.09170305676855903`}, {2, 
     0.06986899563318784`}}, {{3, 0.2227074235807861`}, {3, 
     0.13537117903930138`}, {3, 0.13537117903930138`}}};
dataSetList = {"data set #1 is called a", "data set #2 is called b", 
   "data set #3 is called c"};

GraphicsColumn[{ListPlot[toPlot,
   Frame -> True,
   PlotLabel -> "This is the label for the plot"
   ],
  Style[StringJoin["Data sets included: ", 
    StringRiffle[dataSetList, ", "]], "SmallText"]},
 ImageSize -> Medium,
 Frame -> True]

Same code, force the ImageSize to Large, and it works as desired:

toPlot = {{{1, 0.024017467248908332`}, {1, 
     0.`}, {1, -0.07205240174672484`}}, {{2, 
     0.048034934497816664`}, {2, 0.09170305676855903`}, {2, 
     0.06986899563318784`}}, {{3, 0.2227074235807861`}, {3, 
     0.13537117903930138`}, {3, 0.13537117903930138`}}};
dataSetList = {"data set #1 is called a", "data set #2 is called b", 
   "data set #3 is called c"};

GraphicsColumn[{ListPlot[toPlot,
   Frame -> True,
   PlotLabel -> "This is the label for the plot"
   ],
  Style[StringJoin["Data sets included: ", 
    StringRiffle[dataSetList, ", "]], "SmallText"]},
 ImageSize -> Large,
 Frame -> True]

Thank you for any advice!

Answer 1

I put your text in a TextCell with a limited x-direction size.

GraphicsColumn[{ListPlot[toPlot, Frame -> True, 
   PlotLabel -> "This is the label for the plot"], 
  TextCell[
   Style[
    StringJoin["Data sets included: ", 
     StringRiffle[dataSetList, ", "]], "SmallText"], 
   CellSize -> {300, Automatic}, TextAlignment -> Center]}, 
 ImageSize -> Automatic, Frame -> True]

Answer 2

I am not aware of any method to actively control the size of individual rows/columns in GraphicsGrid and friends (I am already surprised that the row containing text is sized as it is). [Edit: See @Jean-Pierre's answer for a nice and simple way to get GraphicsColumn to deduce the correct row height]

You may be able to achieve your goals using ResourceFunction["PlotGrid"]:

toPlot = {{{1, 0.024017467248908332`}, {1, 
     0.`}, {1, -0.07205240174672484`}}, {{2, 
     0.048034934497816664`}, {2, 0.09170305676855903`}, {2, 
     0.06986899563318784`}}, {{3, 0.2227074235807861`}, {3, 
     0.13537117903930138`}, {3, 0.13537117903930138`}}};
dataSetList = {"data set #1 is called a", "data set #2 is called b", 
   "data set #3 is called c"};

    Framed@ResourceFunction["PlotGrid"][
     {
      {
       ListPlot[toPlot, Frame -> True, 
        PlotLabel -> "This is the label for the plot"]
       }, {
       Graphics@Inset[
         Style[
          StringJoin["Data sets included: ", 
           StringRiffle[dataSetList, ", "]], "SmallText"],
         Automatic, Automatic, Scaled@{1, 1}
         ]
       }
      },
     ItemSize -> {1, {1, Offset[50]}},
     Spacings -> 15
     ]

Some notes:

• I am using Framed for the outer frame since PlotGrid doesn't support this kind of frame natively.
• PlotGrid always expects a 2D matrix of plots, so I am giving it a column vector {{...}, {...}}
• PlotGrid expects graphics, so I wrapped the text in Graphics[Inset[...,Automatic,Automatic,Scaled@{1,1}]]. This produces a graphics with only your text centered in the middle, auto-wrapping lines as necessary
• The height of the row must be specified manually, which I am doing using ItemSize -> {1, {1, Offset[50]}}. This sets the columns to all have the same size (you only have one). The second row (via Offset[50]) is set to a fixed height of 50 printers points, while the first row will fill up the remaining space.
• Spacings->15 ensures there is space for the bottom frame labels of the plot