Why do figure windows in popup in front of other applications in MATLAB 7.1 (R14SP3)?

I start a MATLAB file that creates figure windows. While the script is running, I start using another application. The figures come up in front of the other application, even though MATLAB no longer has focus.

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

Though it is a limitation, the software is behaving as expected. We recognize that a more efficient protocol would be preferred and we are working towards addressing this need.

While it is not possible to work-around this issue in all cases, it is sometimes possible to avoid it by refraining from the use of functions that cause figures to gain focus. This includes the FIGURE, AXES, GCF, and GCA functions, as well as any of the functions that implicitly call these.

For instance, if suppose your application was the following:

c = 0;

for c = 1:10000

     pause(1);

     close all;

     x = rand(1, 10);

     y = rand(1, 10);

     line(x, y);

     set(gcf, 'Name', num2str(c));

end

You could then re-configure it as:

f = figure;

a = axes;

c = 0;

for c = 1:10000

     pause(1);

     x = rand(1, 10);

     y = rand(1, 10);

     cla(a);

     line(x, y, 'Parent', a);

     set(f, 'Name', num2str(c));

end

Here, the old axes is cleared with the CLA function, instead of recreating it on every iteration. Additionally, the use of GCA and GCF is avoided by passing the appropriate handles to CLA, LINE, and SET.