MATLAB: Can I use ButtonDownFcn on a figure axes not associated with a gui

buttondownfcn

Using 2014b, I have a script that creates a figure with three axes, and plots some lines and a legend on each.

When the user clicks or zooms on one of the axes, I want it to call a certain function. I am attempting to use ButtonDownFcn for this, but the function is not being called.

I set all axes children to have HitTest off, and verified this is the case.

The code I use when creating the figure is:

set(fig_handle.CurrentAxes,'ButtonDownFcn', @set_ticks)

What am I doing wrong?

Best Answer

Zoom and Pan mode replace the ButtonDownFcn with their own. For a broad range of versions before R2014b a work-around was known involving turning off a setting that was preventing the callbacks from being changed back. With Handle Graphics 2 in R2014b the way that Zoom and Pan work changed, and I have not yet heard any method to achieve this purpose (there might be one, I just might not have encountered it.)

Related Solutions

MATLAB: WindowButtonDownFcn conflicting with ButtonDownFcn

You can insert an axes object spanning this whole figure as a background and use its ButtonDownFcn:

BGcolor = get(0, 'DefaultFigureColor');
BGaxes = axes('Units', 'normalized', 'Position', [0,0,1,1], ...
              'XTicks, [], 'YTicks', [], ...
              'Color', BGcolor, 'XColor', BGcolor, 'YColor', BGcolor, ...
              'ButtonDownFcn', 'disp(''Background'')');
DataAxes = axes('ButtonDownFcn', 'disp(''Data'')';

MATLAB: Is the “ButtonDownFcn” callback for the axes not activated when I click on an object in the axes

An axes' "ButtonDownFcn" callback is only executed when you click on the axis itself, not the objects in the axis. The "ButtonDownFcn" callback for the child objects will be executed instead.

If you want the axes' "ButtonDownFcn" callback function to be executed regardless of where you click in the axes, try the following:

1. Set the "HitTest" property for the axis' child objects to 'off'. The "HitTest" property determines whether the object can become the current object when it is clicked on. If the "HitTest" property is set to 'off', then the object below it will become the current object, which could be another of the axes' child objects or the axes itself. If all of the axes' child objects have their "HitTest" property set to 'off', then the axes will become the current object and its "ButtonDownFcn" callback will be executed.

set(h,'HitTest','off')

2. Specify the desired callback function as the figure's "WindowButtonDownFcn" property. The "WindowButtonDownFcn" callback is executed whenever you click in the figure, and is executed before the "ButtonDownFcn" callback of any objects, including the figure itself.

set(gcf,'WindowButtonDownFcn','disp(''axis callback'')')

3. Define the "ButtonDownFcn" callbacks for the axes' child objects, so they have the same effect as calling the axes' "ButtonDownFcn" callback. This may include determining the object's Parent (the axes), and passing its handle as an input instead of the object's handle.

set(h,'ButtonDownFcn','disp(''axis callback'')')

Best Answer

Related Solutions

MATLAB: WindowButtonDownFcn conflicting with ButtonDownFcn

MATLAB: Is the “ButtonDownFcn” callback for the axes not activated when I click on an object in the axes

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