Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
square
statement. In general, as you refine your graphics in an M-book, you
will find it is more desirable to modify the input cells that generated them,
rather than to produce more pictures by repeating the command with new
options. So when adding things such as
xlabel
,
ylabel
,
legend
,
title
,
etc., it is usually best to just add them to the graphics input cell and reevalu-
ate. As a result, input cells generating graphics in M-books often end up being
several lines long.
In instances where you really do want to generate a new picture, then you
need to think about whether you want to have
hold
set to
on
or
off
. This
feature works exactly as in a Command Window — if
hold
is set to
on
, what-
ever graphic results from your next command will be combined with whatever
last graphic you produced; and if
hold
is
off
, then previous graphics will not
influence any graphic you generate.
Since there are no separate graphics windows, the command
figure
is of
limiteduseinM-books;youprobablyshouldnotuseit.Ifyoudo,itwillproduce
a blank graph. Similarly, there are other graphics commands that are not so
suitable for use in M-books, for example
close
.
There is one exception to this rule: Sometimes you might want to use a
figure window along withan M-book, for example to rotate a plot withthe
mouse. If you type
figure
from the Command Window to open a figure
window, then subsequent graphics from the M-book will appear
simultaneously
in the figure window and in the M-book itself.
Finally,wenotethebutton
ToggleGraphOutputforCell
,theonlybutton
on the
Notebook
menu not previously described. If you select a cell contain-
ing a graphics command and click on this button, no graphical output will
result from the evaluation of this command. This can be useful when used
in conjunction with
hold on
if you want to produce a single graphic using
multiple command lines.
More Hints for Effective Use of M-Books
If an interactive mode and/or attractive output beyond what you can achieve
with M-files and diary files is your goal, then you should get used to working in
the M-book interface rather than in a Command Window. Even experienced
MATLAB users will find that in time they will get use to the environment.
Here are a few more hints to smooth your transition.
In Chapter 3 we outlined some strategies for effective use of M-files, es-
pecially in the realm of debugging. Many of the techniques we described are
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