In R2014a and earlier, graphics handles are numeric handles of type 'double'. Starting in R2014b, graphics handles are object handles of various types, depending on the class of the graphics object. Graphics objects now behave like other MATLAB® objects.
Most code written for numeric handles still works with object handles. For example, you can access graphics object properties and you can combine graphics objects into arrays, even if the objects belong to different classes.
However, you should not perform operations that assume or require graphics handles to be numeric values, such as: * Perform arithmetic operations on handles * Use handles directly in logical statements without converting to a logical value * Rely on the numeric values of the root object (0) or figure handles (integers) in logical statements * Combine handles with data in numeric arrays * Use any program logic that depends on handles being numeric * Converting handles to strings or use handles in string operations
- Use dot notation to refer to a particular object and property. Property names are case sensitive when using dot notation. For example, this code sets the 'Color' property of a line to 'red'.
h = plot(1:10);
h.Color = 'red';
- Use the set and get functions to access properties for an array of objects. For example, this code sets the 'LineWidth' property for multiple lines.
h = plot(rand(4));
set(h,'LineWidth',2);
Starting in R2014b, preallocate arrays of graphics handles using the 'gobjects' function instead of the 'zeros' or 'ones' function. The syntax for 'gobjects' is the same as the syntax for 'ones' and 'zeros'.
You can combine graphics handles into arrays even if the handles are different classes.
h = gobjects(3,1); % preallocate
h(1) = figure;
h(2) = plot(1:10);
h(3) = gca;
MATLAB casts the array to a common base class.
class(h)
ans =
matlab.graphics.Graphics
Starting in R2014b, test the validity of graphics handles using the 'isgraphics' function instead of 'ishghandle'
x = 1:10;
y = sin(x);
p = plot(x,y);
ax = gca;
isgraphics([p,ax])
ans =
1 1
Starting in R2014b, you can refer to a figure by either its object handle or its integer handle. The integer handle is the value in the new 'Number' property of the figure.
h = figure; % object handle
fignum = h.Number; % integer handle
The integer handle, fignum, is a valid figure handle.
isgraphics(fignum) % test handle validity
ans =
1
Starting in R2014b, the 'delete' function accepts only one input argument. To delete multiple graphics objects, pass a single handle array to the function, instead of using multiple arguments.
h1 = annotation('line');
h2 = annotation('ellipse');
h3 = annotation('rectangle');
delete([h1,h2,h3])
Starting in R2014b, you cannot use graphics handles in logical expressions or rely on MATLAB to return a nonzero value or an empty double []. Use functions such as 'isempty', 'isgraphics', and 'isequal' instead.
To determine if there are existing figures, use 'isempty'. The new ‘groot' command references the root object.
if ~isempty(get(groot,'CurrentFigure'))
disp('There are existing figures.')
else
disp('There are no existing figures.')
end
To determine if there are graphics objects with a certain tag, use ‘isempty'.
if ~isempty(findobj('Tag','myFigures'))
disp('There are objects with this tag.')
else
disp('There are no objects with this tag.')
end
To determine if a handle is a valid figure handle, use ‘isgraphics' and the object Type.
if isgraphics(h,'figure')
disp('h is a valid figure handle.')
else
disp('h is not a valid figure handle.')
end
To determine if a handle is the root handle, use the new ‘groot' command.
if isequal(h,groot)
disp('h is the root handle')
else
disp('h is not the root handle')
end
Starting in R2014b, you cannot use 'cell2mat' on a cell array of graphics handles to create a numeric array. Create an object array from the cell array instead.
p = plot(magic(3));
par = get(p,'Parent');
objarray = [par{:}]';
whos objarray
Name Size Bytes Class Attributes
objarray 3x1 128 matlab.graphics.axis.Axes
Starting in R2014b, test the equality of graphics handles using == or 'isequal'.
To determine if handles reference the same object, therefore, are the same handle, use ==.
p1 = plot(1:10);
p2 = p1;
p2 == p1
ans =
1
To determine if handles refer to objects of the same class with the same property values, but are not necessarily the same object, use 'isequal'.
l1 = line;
l2 = line;
isequal(l1,l2)
ans =
1
Writing MEX-Files
If you write MEX-files or build engine applications, then the 'mexGet' and 'mexSet' functions do not work on graphic object handles. Use the 'mxGetProperty' and 'mxSetProperty' functions in the C/C++ or Fortran Matrix Library instead.
