I need some help with Undefined function 'plot_button_Callback' for input arguments of type 'struct'.

I have two logged data files each one contains a time array and an engine speed array. They are in the base work space as a b c d as 2138x1 doubles. I want to pass a b c d into a function so that the user can plot them and time align the two data sets by shifting the second time array with an offset typed into an input box. So I grabbed the two_axes example and edited it to get the following function and nested functions (I nested them so that a b c d would be available ti the sub functions). I call timealign from my main m file like this timealign(a, b, c, d); Where a is time array 1, b is rpm array 1, c is time array 2 and d is rpm array 2.

The problem is that when I push the plot button in the gui I get this error "Undefined function 'plot_button_Callback' for input arguments of type 'struct'." and I just can't understand how to fix this and make it work so I can't get any further with developing the code to do the time aligning or test it. I am not passing a b c d in as structures just as arrays so I don't understand the error.

I struggle with the "object orientated" type coding so if you give answer please provide an edited version of the code rather than a verbal explanation which i might not understand enough to implement successfully. I have attached the 3 files.

Thanks in advance for any help

function varargout = timealign(varargin)
  %TIMEALIGN M-file for timealign.fig
  %      TIMEALIGN, by itself, creates a new TIMEALIGN or raises the existing
  %      singleton*.
  %
  %      H = TIMEALIGN returns the handle to a new TIMEALIGN or the handle to
  %      the existing singleton*.
  %
  %      TIMEALIGN('Property','Value',...) creates a new TIMEALIGN using the
  %      given property value pairs. Unrecognized properties are passed via
  %      varargin to timealign_OpeningFcn.  This calling syntax produces a
  %      warning when there is an existing singleton*.
  %
  %      TIMEALIGN('CALLBACK') and TIMEALIGN('CALLBACK',hObject,...) call the
  %      local function named CALLBACK in TIMEALIGN.M with the given input
  %      arguments.
  %
  %      *See GUI Options on GUIDE's Tools menu.  Choose "GUI allows only one
  %      instance to run (singleton)".
  %
  % See also: GUIDE, GUIDATA, GUIHANDLES

    % Edit the above text to modify the response to help timealign

    % Last Modified by GUIDE v2.5 14-Jan-2015 09:14:03

    InputArgs = (varargin);
    a = varargin{1};
    b = varargin{2};
    c = varargin{3};
    d = varargin{4};

    % Begin initialization code - DO NOT EDIT
    gui_Singleton = 1;
    gui_State = struct('gui_Name',       mfilename, ...
                       'gui_Singleton',  gui_Singleton, ...
                       'gui_OpeningFcn', @timealign_OpeningFcn, ...
                       'gui_OutputFcn',  @timealign_OutputFcn, ...
                       'gui_LayoutFcn',  [], ...
                       'gui_Callback',   []);
    if nargin && ischar(varargin{1})
       gui_State.gui_Callback = str2func(varargin{1});
    end

    if nargout
        [varargout{1:nargout}] = gui_mainfcn(gui_State, varargin{:});
    else
        gui_mainfcn(gui_State, varargin{:});
    end

    % End initialization code - DO NOT EDIT

    % --- Executes just before timealign is made visible.
    function timealign_OpeningFcn(hObject, eventdata, handles, varargin)
    % This function has no output args, see OutputFcn.
    % hObject    handle to figure
    % eventdata  reserved - to be defined in a future version of MATLAB
    % handles    structure with handles and user data (see GUIDATA)
    % varargin   unrecognized PropertyName/PropertyValue pairs from the
    %            command line (see VARARGIN)

    % Choose default command line output for timealign
    handles.output = hObject;

    % Update handles structure
    guidata(hObject, handles);

    % UIWAIT makes timealign wait for user response (see UIRESUME)
    % uiwait(handles.figure1);
    end

    % --- Outputs from this function are returned to the command line.
    function varargout = timealign_OutputFcn(hObject, eventdata, handles)
    % varargout  cell array for returning output args (see VARARGOUT);
    % hObject    handle to figure
    % eventdata  reserved - to be defined in a future version of MATLAB
    % handles    structure with handles and user data (see GUIDATA)

    % Get default command line output from handles structure
    varargout{1} = handles.output;
    end

    function time2offset_input_Callback(hObject, eventdata, handles)
    % hObject    handle to time2offset_input (see GCBO)
    % eventdata  reserved - to be defined in a future version of MATLAB
    % handles    structure with handles and user data (see GUIDATA)

    % Hints: get(hObject,'String') returns contents of time2offset_input as text
    %        str2double(get(hObject,'String')) returns contents of time2offset_input as a double

    % Validate that the text in the time2offset field converts to a real number
    time2offset = str2double(get(hObject,'String'));
    if isnan(time2offset) || ~isreal(time2offset)  
        % isdouble returns NaN for non-numbers and time2offset cannot be complex
        % Disable the Plot button and change its string to say why
        set(handles.plot_button,'String','Cannot plot time2offset')
        set(handles.plot_button,'Enable','off')
        % Give the edit text box focus so user can correct the error
        uicontrol(hObject)
    else 
        % Enable the Plot button with its original name
        set(handles.plot_button,'String','Plot')
        set(handles.plot_button,'Enable','on')
    end
    end

    % --- Executes on button press in plot_button.
    function plot_button_Callback(hObject, eventdata, handles)
    % hObject    handle to plot_button (see GCBO)
    % eventdata  reserved - to be defined in a future version of MATLAB
    % handles    structure with handles and user data (see GUIDATA)

    % Get user input from GUI
    time2offset = str2double(get(handles.time2offset_input,'String'));

    % Calculate data
    newtime = b + time2offset;

    % Create time plot in axes
    plot(handles.time_axes, a, c)
    plot(handles.time_axes, newtime, d)
    end
    end

Answer 1

[Geoff Hayes]

Andrew - I've never had much luck passing data in this manner to the GUI (using GUIDE) so I'm not really sure if this is something that is allowed/encouraged or (if it is) what the proper syntax is, though I suspect the problem might be related to the fact that you have nested your functions within the m file. I recommend that you remove the nesting (so the end from each function) and take the code that you put in the timealign function (which shouldn't be edited) and move it to the timealign_OpeningFcn as

 function timealign_OpeningFcn(hObject, eventdata, handles, varargin)
 % This function has no output args, see OutputFcn.
 % hObject    handle to figure
 % eventdata  reserved - to be defined in a future version of MATLAB
 % handles    structure with handles and user data (see GUIDATA)
 % varargin   unrecognized PropertyName/PropertyValue pairs from the
 %            command line (see VARARGIN)

 time1 = varargin{1};
 rpm1  = varargin{2};
 time2 = varargin{3};
 rpm2  = varargin{4};

 % Choose default command line output for time align
 handles.output = hObject;

 handles.time1 = time1;
 handles.rpm1  = rpm1;
 handles.time2 = time2;
 handles.rpm2  = rpm2;

 % Update handles structure
 guidata(hObject, handles);

Now, all your data is saved to the handles structure (and it is save only after the call guidata(hObject,handles) is made) and all of your callbacks can access this data because they receive the handles object as an input parameter.

Your push button callback can now make use of this data from handles as

 function plot_button_Callback(hObject, eventdata, handles)
 % hObject    handle to plot_button (see GCBO)
 % eventdata  reserved - to be defined in a future version of MATLAB
 % handles    structure with handles and user data (see GUIDATA)

 % Get user input from GUI
 time2offset = str2double(get(handles.time2offset_input,'String'));

 % Calculate data
 newtime = handles.time2 + time2offset;

 % Create time plot in proper axes
 plot(handles.time_axes, handles.time1, handles.rpm1)
 plot(handles.time_axes, newtime, handles.rmp2)

I've guessed at the above because your definitions for a, b, c and d didn't seem to match how you were using them, but you get the idea.

Try the above and see what happens!

[Andrew Tilmouth]

Hi Geoff Thanks very much indeed for your answer it works perfectly.

[Geoff Hayes]

Glad it worked out, Andrew!

[Andrew Tilmouth]

Hi Geoff maybe you could help further?

I managed to add 4 input boxes to allow the user to change the range of the x and y axis in the plot so you can zoom in and make it easier to align the second trace to the first more accurately and this worked fine, however when I added these inputs I get this error for each one of them:-

Undefined function or method 't1_input_CreateFcn' for input arguments of type 'double'.

I don't understand why I am getting this error as they are the same type of input as the original time2offset input, could you explain how to fix this?

Also each time I input a new time2offset and push the plot button it plots a new line but the previous one (sometimes it takes more than one go to decide on the correct time offset for alignment) is still in the figure, so I tried to delete the previous time corrected line (p2) at the beginning of the plot button callback, this can't be done on the first pass through as the line doesn't exist so I tried to set up a counter so that it only tried to delete it on the second pass through, the counter is initialised to 0 in the opening function however it never increments beyond 0 and I don't understand why, perhaps you could explain?

I have attached the updated m file and fig file.

look forward to any further help you could offer, Andrew

[Geoff Hayes]

Andrew - in GUIDE, open the property inspector for each of these new text boxes. You should notice that in the CreateFcn property for each, there is a callback defined, yet you don't have the callback in your m file. The GUI expects a callback, but none can be found and so the errors are thrown. Either delete these callbacks (through the property inspector) or just add the following lines to your m file

 function t0_input_CreateFcn(hObject, eventdata, handles)

 function t1_input_CreateFcn(hObject, eventdata, handles)

 function x1_input_CreateFcn(hObject, eventdata, handles)

 function x0`_input_CreateFcn(hObject, eventdata, handles)

[Andrew Tilmouth]

Thanks Geoff, I didn't realise these had been created in the GUI by Guide. works fine now, thanks Andrew