MATLAB: How to format tick labels before R2016b

decimallabel;MATLABplacesprecisionticklabelticksxtickxticklabelxticksytickyticklabelyticks

I have an axis with tick labels and I want them all to have 3.1 format. For example, I do a plot (1:5) and I change my tick labels using the command
set(gca, 'XTick', [1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0])
However, they appear as:
[1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5]
I would like to get them to appear as I typed them in the above command.
Also, I want to know if it is possible to specify the format of the plot axes tick label which is automatically placed by MATLAB.

Best Answer

For MATLAB R2015b and newer versions:
This functionality was added to MATLAB graphics system in R2015b. The following code shows the simplest way to achieve this:
plot(1:10);
ax = gca;
ax.XAxis.TickLabelFormat = '%,.1f';
For more information on individual axis customizations, please refer to the following blog:
https://blogs.mathworks.com/loren/2015/09/16/individual-axis-customization/
For MATLAB R2015a and older versions:
You can use one of the following methods to format your tick labels:
1. Use the SPRINTF function to format your tick labels using the format of your choice then set the 'XTickLabel' or 'YTickLabel' property of the axis to use those strings as tick labels.
An example which demonstrates this is:
x=[1 1.53 4];
y=[1 2 3];
plot(x,y)
set(gca,'XTick',x)
set(gca,'XTickLabel',sprintf('%3.4f|',x))
set(gca,'YTick',y)
set(gca,'YTickLabel',sprintf('%+1.2f|',y))
For more information on the available formats, consult the documentation for the SPRINTF function. Also, consult the documentation for the XTickLabel in the 'Axes properties' section.
NOTE: for MATLAB R2014b and later you will have to use new line character instead of the | symbol. For instance, the following command will work for MATLAB R2014b and later.
set(gca,'XTickLabel',sprintf('%3.4f\n',x))
2. Use the STR2MAT function to create a use the tick labels of your choice. An example which demonstrates this is:
x=[1 1.53 4];
y=[1 2 3];
plot(x,y)
set(gca,'XTick',x)
set(gca,'XTickLabel',str2mat('1.00','1.530','2'))
set(gca,'YTick',y)
set(gca,'YTickLabel',str2mat('1.00','2.00','3.00'))
You can change the auto generated tick marks by first getting them using get(gca,'XTickLabel') followed by one of the two methods listed above.
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