ScrollPlot - scrollable X/Y axes

ScrollPlot adds a scroll sub-window to any supplied plot handles.

Description

ScrollPlot adds a scroll sub-window to any supplied plot handles (or current [gca] axes if no handle was supplied). This enables easy plot or image exploration.

The user may specify initial view window parameters or use the defaults.

Dragging the side-bars or central patch modifies the parent axes limits interactively. Conversely, modifying the parent axes limits (with zoom, pan or programatically) modifies the corresponding scroll patch(es).

Both X & Y scrolling are possible.

Scrollplot works ok with log and reverse axes. ScrollPlot works on Matlab 6 (R12) and up.

Syntax:
scrollHandles = scrollplot(plotHandles, propName,propValue,...)

Examples:
>> scrollplot; % add scroll sub-window to the current axes (gca)
>> scrollplot(plot(xdata,ydata), 'WindowSize',50); % plot with initial zoom
>> scrollplot('Min',20, 'windowsize',70); % add x-scroll to current axes
>> scrollplot([h1,h2], 'axis','xy'); % scroll both X&Y of 2 plot axes
>> scrollplot('axis','xy', 'minx',20, 'miny',10); % separate scroll minima

See extensive help within.

Warning:
This code relies in [small] part on undocumented and unsupported Matlab functionality. It works on Matlab 6+, but use at your own risk!

Bugs and suggestions:
Please send to Yair Altman (altmany at gmail dot com)

Change log:
See the bottom of this webpage

This ScrollPlot was inspired by Steve Lord's scrollplot demo submission, but is an entirely new implementation with lots of new functionality.

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to acknowledge the following in the creation of this submission:
Scrolling Plot Demo
This submission has inspired the following:
UISplitPane - Split a container (figure/frame/uipanel) into two resizable sub-containers

• MATLAB release: MATLAB 6.0 (R12)
• Other requirements: Works on Matlab 6+. Might not work on versions earlier than 6.

[urs (us) schwarz]

an excellent help section and a great, compatibility-aware engine, which is neatly arranged by subfunctions and comes with copious error check-points as well as interesting use of many try-catch blocks, make this application a must-have for people in need of visual data exploration.
could be a ML stock function...
very well done.
us

[John D'Errico]

A very nice tool in all respects. Well done.

I did notice that when I tried to add both an x and a y scrollbar, I had to be careful. Since the first call adds a second set of axes, if you are not careful, the second scrollbar may be attached to the set of axes created for the first scrollbar. This is easy to deal with of course.

I also wondered why an allowable option for the 'axis' property was not 'xy'. This would resolve the minor issue that I tripped over.

[F Moisy]

Great!
I give 4.99 stars to this submission. I would
happily raise up to 5.00 stars with the following minor improvements:
- Use the same symbols in the subwindow than in the window.
- when calling twice "scrollplot", it adds a (probably unwanted) "sub-sub-window".
- it behaves strangely with log scale.
- add a "scrollplot off" option to remove the subwindow.

Many thanks!

[Yair Altman]

A new version has just been posted with fixes per John D'Errico's comments (thanks). However, I found out yesterday that this second version had a few bugs so I immediately posted a third version with fixes. I suggest that users wait for this new version (titled 2007-05-15), and NOT download the 2007-05-14 version. I hope the new version will be up in a few hours or by tomorrow. Sorry for the mixup.

[Yair Altman]

The corrected version is now available for download. A new version will be posted in a few days with support for Fredric Moisy's suggestions (improved log-scaling behavior & automatic parent axes resizing on scroll axes deletion/hiding).

[Dadi Gudmundsson]

Very useful for the exploration of large plots. Highly recommended.

[Ol Mik]

 

[Santosh Kandregula]

Hello Yair,
Your Scrollplot m-file is really great. i t helped me a lot.
But when I am trying to throw the figure into GUI, the scrollable thing doesn't work.
Can you please help as how this can be made, so that it can work in GUI.

Thanks,
Santosh.

[Felipe raposo]

does anyone tryed to use ScrollPlot with datetickzoom / tlabel ? it bugs..

[Sellavelu Sathyapriya]

I have a gui with two axes. For one axes, I want to use the scrollplot. I tried using it, but it is not scrolling. At the same time when I tried to plot the graph, using 'figure' and then use scrollplot, it works. Why it doesn't work in the gui? Do I have to modify axes settings? Can you help?
Thanks.

[K Parsons]

Excellent. However, this gives a warning with Matlab 2008b -- Warning: figure JavaFrame property will be obsoleted in a future release.

[puru]

This is really an excellent utility..!!
Yair,

One question. How can I include this utility in the GUI programming?

I simply had a GUI template which has,
1) Axis component
2)pushbutton component

I tried following code in the pushbutton callback,
x=0:10;
y=0:10;
plot(x,y);

and it works fine.

But when I tried following different codes,
1.scrollplot(plot(x,y));
2.scrollplot(handles.axes1,plot(x,y));
3.scrollplot(handles.axes1,plot(x,y),'axis','xy', 'minx',0,'maxx',10, 'miny',0,'maxy',10);
4.scrollplot(plot(x,y),'axis','xy', 'minx',0,'maxx',10, 'miny',0,'maxy',10);

none of them worked...!! It just shows those scrolling bars but does not work. I want to use this excellent utility in my GUI - will you plese suggest me how can I use it?

Versions I tried,
1.Matlab6.1 R12.1
2.Matlab7 R7007a

Thank you in Advance!!
~puru

[Lukas Lansky]

Nice. One command test of this function.
scrollplot(plot([-10:0.01:10]',sin([-10:0.01:10]')),'axis','xy','minx',5,'miny',0.5);

[Ward Jennekens]

Very nice utility! One question: when I remove a plot point with the 'selectdata' tool, the scrollbar will not function actively any more, only passively follow zoom alterations. Is there any way to (re)set focus to the scrollbar again?

[Rene]

very nice.
but if i plot some data, it looks fine
if i wanna plot new data, the axis the smaller and smaller by each time i type the plot command
just try this:
scrollplot(plot([-10:0.01:10]',sin([-10:0.01:10]')),'axis','xy');
scrollplot(plot([-10:0.01:10]',sin([-10:0.01:10]')),'axis','xy');
scrollplot(plot([-10:0.01:10]',sin([-10:0.01:10]')),'axis','xy');
scrollplot(plot([-10:0.01:10]',sin([-10:0.01:10]')),'axis','xy');
scrollplot(plot([-10:0.01:10]',sin([-10:0.01:10]')),'axis','xy');
scrollplot(plot([-10:0.01:10]',sin([-10:0.01:10]')),'axis','xy');

[Yair Altman]

Rene - ScrollPlot is not a replacement for the plot function - it works on existing plots, within the current boundaries of the axes, so of course the new axes gets smaller to leave room for the scrollbars. This is exactly how it is supposed to work.

If you want to update the plot data, don't call plot again and again - instead, update the data of the plot handle.

Next time, make sure to read the documentation and understand the usage before you post a review... Others might say RTFM, but I say that considering that this minor issue made you think ScrollPlot only merits a mediocre rating, means that you have an exceptionally developed sense of quality perfection. I therefore look forward to learning from your would-be superior submissions here on the File Exchange.

[joe saucer]

Yair, i have a string of data and i want to look at it very close up.. and also want to scroll, but because of the close up specifications, i cant scroll because i cant get the mid blue pane

[Tim]

A version that would link scrolling across subplots would be very cool.

[almog shalom]

Nice.
One comment:
When I try it, MATLAB prouce the following warning:

Warning: figure JavaFrame property will be obsoleted in a future release. For more information see
the JavaFrame resource on the MathWorks Web site.

(with a link to http://www.mathworks.com/support/contact_us/dev/javaframe.html )

[Yair Altman]

Almog - The warnings can be eliminated by typing:

warning off MATLAB:HandleGraphics:ObsoletedProperty:JavaFrame

I'll add it to a new version when I get to it, but in the meantime you can simply add this to your startup.m file or your Matlab Command Window. It has no negative effect.

אשמח אם תוכל להקדיש רגע להזין רייטינג :-)

[almog shalom]

Forgot the rating ...

[leo zao]

 

[leo zao]

Hello!
Thanks a lot for this really nice and useful function!
I tried it with a time series and unfortunately the axes of the scrollplot part don't seem to "react" to the function "datetick". (It labels the tick lines of an axis using dates, replacing the default numeric labels)
I am a beginner with matlab and if someone know how to deal using dates with the function scrollplot, I would be very grateful!
Thanks a lot!
Leo