User`s guide
Graphics and 3-D Visualization
9-19
Graphics and 3-D Visualization
Plot Catalog with a New Look, More Plots, and Diagnostics
The Plot Catalog GUI now offers a wider variety of plotting options. Its appearance
and operation closely resemble the Plot Selector, with short descriptions of each graph
type and a search box. It also categorizes graphs by type and by toolbox, and lets you
designate personal Favorites (the top menu category). Access the Plot Catalog from the
Plotting Tools Figure Palette, the bottom of the Plot Selector menu in the Workspace
Browser, the Variable Editor, and various context menus. For a demonstration, see this
instructional video.
This table lists the differences and similarities between the Plot Catalog and the Plot
Selector.
Plot Catalog Plot Selector Both
Window
Characteristics
Opens in its own
window, which
persists until you
close it
Opens in a pop-up
window that closes
after it loses focus
Show icons for
plot types with
descriptions and
Favorites.
Help for Plot
Types
Displays partial
help listings from
reference pages in
a resizeable pane
within its window
Opens a popup
help window
with reference
information when
you hover
Provide the same
help content and
a More Help
hyperlink to the
Help Browser.
Plot Creation and
Validation
Provides a field in
which you can type
variable names or
expressions to plot
Plots variables
you select in the
Workspace browser
or Variable Editor
Validate input
variables and
display diagnoses
of incorrect or
insufficient inputs.
Plot Destination Current figure or
new figure
Current figure Create figure, if none
exists
Previously, the Plot Catalog did not validate input data. If you provided incorrect inputs
for a plotting function, it attempted to use them, resulting in an incorrect plot or errors.
Now, the Plot Catalog provides the same diagnostics as the Plot Selector. When you type
workspace variable names into the Variables box on top, the tool validates variable types,