MATLAB R2025b "savefig(...)" fails to save changed legend Position when existing .fig file is opened and edited.

The question is explained in detail in the attached .txt file. Briefly:

Assume some figure A.fig was created by some plot(..) commands etc. and was then saved with only one single legend and legend box position coordinates [xO yO wO hO], the _old_ coordinates, with assumed values like, say,

[xO yO wO hO] == [0.7 0.6 0.2 0.3 .

From that A.fig, I now want to generate a new version, B.fig, which displays the legend box with _new_ position coordinate values, [xN yN wN hN], given by

[xN yN wN hN] == [0.6 0.5 0.3 0.4] ,

all else being the same as in A.fig.

The problem I run into is this:

I open A.fig, look up the legend handle (call it "hL") and change the legend box position coordinates by hL.Position=[xN yN wN hN]; hL.Location='none'; save it as B.fig by savefig('B.fig') and then close all. If I then later (re-)open B.fig, I find that B.fig has been saved with the old legend position coordinates [xO yO wO hO], instead of the new ones, [xN yN wN hN].

[dpb]

Rather than attaching an external text file, add in line and use the Code section leftmost icon to format as code a minimum working example of code that illustrates the isue you are observing.

Answer 1

[dpb]

% create and save an original plot with legend at 'Northeast' location
hL=plot(0:10,rand(11,3));
hLg=legend(compose('Line %d',1:3));
title('Figure A')
hLg.Position                            % show the position vector is right, top

ans = 1×4

0.7290 0.7878 0.1565 0.1119

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saveas(gcf,'FigureA')                   % ok, save this one as 'A'
close 1                                 % close the window, clear variables
clear                                   % so no remnants of old remain
open('FigureA.fig')                     % reload friend 'A'
hLg=findobj(gcf,'type','legend');       % get the legend and reset location to SW
hLg.Location='southwest';
hLg.Position                            % show is now at left, bottom 

ans = 1×4

0.1502 0.1378 0.1565 0.1175

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title('Figure B')                       % give it another identifier if legend is worong place
saveas(gcf,'FigureB')                   % and save, close so can't be confused with what get from disk
close
clear
open('FigureB.fig')                     % and get new buddy, 'B'

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The above code does the desired set of operations and does, in fact, return the figure with the changed location of the legend.

Your actual sequence of operations is inadvertently saving the original Figure 1 again although we can't see where the logic error in the code may be because you didn't show us the precise code run; only a description of what you intended the code to have done.

As the above shows, you have to be sure you are actually saving the correct, modified figure after the changes were made.