When you call
set(hs.popbutt1,'callback',{@popbutt1,hs});
then the 'hs' that is passed in to popbutt1 is the hs as it existed at the time of the set(). Another that was stored in 'hs' after that will not exist in the hs that the callback receives.
When you name a variable in constructing an anonymous function or constructing a callback like that, the value of the variable is what is recorded, not the name of the variable.
Also, you need to understand that callbacks of this type cannot return values. There are very few types of callbacks that can return values.
You appear to be using "end" statements that match your "function" statements, so I recommend you use shared variables. Initialize hs in your maingui function and then after that, put in nested functions that assume that hs exists without having it passed.
function maingui
hs = [];
add_components();
hs.Fig.Visible = 'on';
function addcomponents
hs.hFig = figure('Name', 'Main', ...
'Position', [20 100 1870 850]);
s = warning('off', 'MATLAB:uitabgroup:OldVersion');
....
set(hs.textload, 'callback', @loadbutt1); %do not name hs in callback
...
set(hs.popbutt1, 'callback', @popbutt1); %do not name hs in callback
...
end
% Executes on button press in loadbutt1
function loadbutt1(hObject, eventdata) %do not name hs in arguments
hs.fileName = uigetfile('*.*');
%do not guidata here
set(hs.textload,'string',hs.fileName);
setpopmenuString(hs.popbutt1, eventdata); %do not pass hs
setpopmenuString(hs.popbutt2, eventdata); %do not pass hs
%do not guidata here
[numbers, colNames] = xlsread(hs.fileName);
hs.numbers = numbers
updateAxes(hObject, eventdata); %do not pass hs
end
... define other functions that read and write hs and do not guidata() it
end %end matching function maindata
as long as the variable hs is defined before any nested routine that needs its then the nested routines can read and write the value as needed and will always get the current value -- "hs" will effectively be global to them (but not accessible outside the nested routines.)
