Specifications

2 MATLAB GUIs
2-2
Introduction
A graphical user interface (GUI) is a user interface built with graphical objects,
such as buttons, text fields, sliders, and menus. In general, these objects
already have meanings to most computer users. For example, when you move
a slider, a value changes; when you press an
OK button, your settings are
applied and the dialog box is dismissed. Of course, to leverage this built-in
familiarity, you must be consistent in how you use the various GUI-building
components.
Applications that provide GUIs are generally easier to learn and use since the
person using the application does not need to know what commands are
available or how they work. The action that results from a particular user
action can be made clear by the design of the interface.
The sections that follow describe how to create GUIs with MATLAB. This
includes laying out the components, programming them to do specific things in
response to user actions, and saving and launching the GUI; in other words,
the mechanics of creating GUIs. This documentation does not attempt to cover
the “art” of good user interface design, which is an entire field unto itself.
Topics covered in this section include:
•Creating GUIs with GUIDE – an overview of the GUI creation process in
MATLAB.
•Editing Version 5 GUIs with Version 6 GUIDE – suggestions on how to
proceed if you want to edit your pre-version 6 GUI with GUIDE.
•Selecting GUIDE Application Options – discussion of the various options you
can select for your GUI implementation.