MATLAB 2026a figure 3d plot does not show azimuth and elevation angles while rotating with mouse.

Hello,

When I rotate a 3d plot with a mouse in the MATLB 2026a figure window, it does not show the azimuth and elevation angles of viewpoint.

I found this behaviour from 2025a release.

Is it a design choice by Mathworks or do I missing something?

I know I can get the current angles using the command view:

>> [az, el] = view()

But, I want to see the angles interactively while rotating the plots as I could do before.

Thanks.

Answer 1

[Torsten]

If you want first-hand information, contact support:

https://uk.mathworks.com/support/contact_us.html

This is the answer from AI:

The missing azimuth and elevation overlay during interactive 3D rotation is indeed an intentional design choice by MathWorks introduced in MATLAB R2025a. [1]

With the R2025a release, MathWorks overhauled its entire graphics system, completely abandoning OpenGL for drawing figure windows and shifting toward a web-based, cloud-compatible figure framework (uifigure style). Along with this overhaul, many traditional Java-based figure features—such as the legacy Plot Browser and the bottom-left text HUD displaying live view coordinates—were retired. [1, 2]

How to see the angles interactively now

Since the automatic status display is gone, you can bring it back by programmatically attaching custom callbacks to the figure's rotation engine using rotate3d. [1]

Copy and paste this helper function into your MATLAB environment. It will dynamically create a small, clean overlay box inside your figure that updates live as you click and drag to rotate:

matlab

function interactive_rotate(ax)
    
% If no axes handle is provided, use the current axes
    
if nargin < 1
        ax = gca;    
end
    
    fig = ancestor(ax, 'figure');
    
    
% Create a text overlay box in the bottom left corner
    tBox = annotation(fig, 'textbox', [0.02, 0.02, 0.2, 0.05], ...
        'LineStyle', 'none', 'FontWeight', 'bold', 'Color', [0.2 0.2 0.2]);
    
    
% Initialize the text box with the current view
    tBox.String = sprintf('Az: %.1f, El: %.1f', ax.View(1), ax.View(2));
    
    
% Get the interactive rotation object
    rObj = rotate3d(fig);
    rObj.Enable = 'on';
    
    
% Clear text when beginning a new drag interaction
    rObj.ActionPreCallback = @(~,~) set(tBox, 'String', '');
    
    
% Update the text box immediately once the mouse is released
    rObj.ActionPostCallback = @(~, event_obj) set(tBox, 'String', ...
        sprintf('Az: %.1f, El: %.1f', event_obj.Axes.View(1), event_obj.Axes.View(2)));

end

Usage

Generate your 3D plot normally, then pass the current view to the function:

matlab

surf(peaks);
interactive_rotate();

[S. Cho]

Thanks for your comments and the code works.

I hope MATLAB reintroduce the feature in future releases.

If you move your comment as an answer, I will accept it.