Saving figures into structure?

Is it possible to save a figure into a structure? I'm trying to figure out how to save both data and figures into a single entity that I could then load in matlab. I know data can be saved in .mat and figures can be saved as .fig but is there not a way to save both in a single container?

[Andreas Bernatzky]

Hey Jared,

look here:

data = rand(10,2);

myStruct.structFig = plot(data);
myStruct.structData = data;

should do the job

[Jared]

Thanks Andreas. That's exactly what I was looking for. Follow up question...let's say I now have "structFig" in the structure but I close the actual figure in MATLAB. I now want to reopen the figure to see the actual figure. When I type:

myStruct.structFig

This doesn't work. All that does is tell me the structure i.e.,:

ans = 

  2×1 Line array:

  Line
  Line

I've tried open figure and that doesn't work either.

Thanks,

Jared

Answer 1

[Andreas Bernatzky]

Hey Jared,

data = rand(10,2);
myStruct.structFig = plot(data);
myStruct.structData = data;

m = figure(2);
% does not actually work
% % set(m,myStruct.structFig.XData,'XData');

you should have a look at the set() command. I haven't found a solution yet. Easiest would be just plot the data again but here you loose all of your preset defines like thickness and such things.

Answer 2

[Mohammad Alhashash]

Yes you can by simply save the plotting command (plot, bar, ...) as a string, and then use eval command to excute it. However, keep in mind the the input arguments of the plotting command have to be stored as vectors in other fields in the same structure.

for example

% lets make a 2D plot of x and y values
s.x = [1, 2, 3];
s.y = [4, 5, 6];
s.figure = "plot(s.x, s.y)"

s = struct with fields:
         x: [1 2 3]
         y: [4 5 6]
    figure: "plot(s.x, s.y)"

% to plot the figure later
eval(s.figure)

Answer 3

[Ameer Hamza]

Once a figure is closed, the associated data will be deleted and cannot be directly recovered. The only workaround is to create a class handle class with a transient property, as shown in my answer here: https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/521538-how-can-i-save-a-3d-rendering-as-a-fig