Specifications

Visualizing Data
All the graphics features that are required to
visualize engineering and scientific data are
available in MATLAB. These include 2-D and
3-D plotting functions, 3-D volume visualiza-
tion functions, tools for interactively creating
plots, and the ability to export results to all
popular graphics formats. You can customize
your plots by adding multiple axes; changing
line colors and markers; adding annotation,
LaTEX equations, and legends; and drawing
shapes.
2-D Plotting
You can visualize vectors of data with 2-D
plotting functions that create:
• Line, area, bar, and pie charts
• Direction and velocity plots
• Histograms
• Polygons and surfaces
• Scatter/bubble plots
• Animations
3-D Plotting and Volume Visualization
MATLAB provides functions for visualizing
2-D matrices, 3-D scalar, and 3-D vector
data. You can use these functions to visual-
ize and understand large, often complex,
multidimensional data. You can specify
plot characteristics, such as camera viewing
angle, perspective, lighting effect, light source
locations, and transparency. 3-D plotting
functions include:
• Surface, contour, and mesh
• Image plots
• Cone, slice, stream, and isosurface
Creating and Editing Plots Interactively
MATLAB provides interactive tools for
designing and modifying graphics. From a
MATLAB figure window, you can perform the
following tasks:
• Drag and drop new data sets onto the figure
• Change the properties of any object on the
figure
• Zoom, rotate, pan, and change camera angle
and lighting
• Add annotations and data tips
• Draw shapes
• Generate an M-code function that can be
reused with different data
Importing and Exporting Graphic Files
MATLAB lets you read and write common
graphical and data file formats, such as GIF,
JPEG, BMP, EPS, TIFF, PNG, HDF, AVI, and
PCX. As a result, you can export MATLAB
plots to other applications, such as Microsoft
Word and Microsoft PowerPoint, or to desktop
publishing software. Before exporting, you
can create and apply style templates, covering
characteristics such as layout, font, and line
thickness, to meet publication
specifications.
Line plots of multiple engine emission test results,
with a curve fitted to the raw data.
A 3-D isosurface plot revealing the geodesic dome
structure of a carbon-60 fullerene molecule.
10 12 14 16 18 20
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Emission Tests
Airfuel Ratio
CO
2
y = 0.29*x
2
+ 9*x 55
Test 1
Quadratic Fit
Test 2
A collection of graphs, constructed interactively by dragging data sets onto the plot window,
creating new subplots, changing properties such as colors and fonts, and adding annotation.