set

Synopsis

set(h,'PropertyName',PropertyValue,...)
set(h)
set(h,'PropertyName')

Description

Use the set function to specify the value of object properties (except those that are read only).

set(h,'PropertyName',PropertyValue,...) sets properties for the object with handle h (or objects if h is a vector). A single call to set can specify any number of property name/property value pairs. MATLAB processes a single long call faster than several short ones.

To set default object properties values, concatenate the words Default, the object name, and the property name. For example, to set the default axes color for new axes in the current figure, use the statement

set(gcf,'DefaultAxesColor',[1 1 1])

Since objects check for default property values on parent objects, set the default axes properties in the figure in which you want the value used. Similarly, set default figure properties at the root level.

set(h), where h is an object handle, displays a list of all the properties you can set for that object along with the possible values for each property.

set(h,'PropertyName') lists the possible values for the specified property.

set also accepts the strings default, factory, and remove as property values.

Specifying a value of default sets the property to the first encountered default value defined for that property. For example, these statements set the surface's EdgeColor property to green:

h = surf(peaks)
set(0,'DefaultSurfaceEdgeColor','g')
set(h,'EdgeColor','default')

If a default value for surface EdgeColor existed on the figure or axes level, these statements would instead set the EdgeColor of the surface h to that default value.

Specifying a value of factory sets the property to its factory setting. For example, these statements

h = surf(peaks)
set(0,'DefaultSurfaceEdgeColor','g')
set(h,'EdgeColor','factory')

set the EdgeColor of surface h to black (its factory setting) regardless of what default values are defined.

The string remove gets rid of a default value. The statement

set(0,'DefaultSurfaceEdgeColor','remove')

removes the definition of the default surface EdgeColor on the root. The value for surface EdgeColor then reverts to the factory setting.

To use default, factory, or remove as strings in an axis label, for example, as opposed to property values as discussed above, place a backslash before the word:

set(gca,'XLabel','\default')

Examples

The following statement sets the current axes limits to 0 to 10 for the x-axis, -25 to 25 for the y-axis, and -8 to 10 for the z-axis:

set(gca,'Xlim',[0 10],'Ylim',[-25 25],'Zlim',[-8 10])

Use set to list the properties of a particular object that you can specify. For example, the following statement lists the properties that apply to a surface object. Default values are indicated by curly brackets:

h = surf(peaks);
set(h)
          
CData
EdgeColor: [ none | {flat} | interp ] -or- a ColorSpec.
FaceColor: [ none | {flat} | interp | texturemap ] -or- a
     ColorSpec.
LineStyle: [ {-} | - | : | -. | + | o | * | . | x ]
MarkerSize
MeshStyle: [ {both} | row | column ]
XData
YData
ZData
Children
Clipping: [ on | off ]
UserData
Visible: [ on | off ]

set

Purpose

Synopsis

Description

Examples

See Also