MATLAB: How to set the properties for multiple objects created with the plot3 function

graphicslineMATLABplot3propertiespropertyset

How can I use the 'set' command to set the "xdata", "ydata", and "zdata" properties of multiple 3D objects created with the "plot3" function?
I am currently attempting to plot 2 independent entities in 3D space, so I've created an appropriate object:
org = plot3(x1,y1,z1,x2,y2,z2); 
% ...

% Do some conditional math on (x,y,z) data
% ...
set(org, 'xdata1', x1, 'ydata1', y1, 'zdata1', z1, 'xdata2', x2, 'ydata2', y2, 'zdata2', z2); % Update the appropriate values, based-upon the above Conditional Math.
However, when I attempt to perform this operation, I of course get an error – because "xdata1" is not a Line Property.
Must I use a different command than <set()> to accomplish my goals? If so, what?

Best Answer

There are two ways to set the properties of multiple graphics objects.
1. When you create a "plot" or "plot3" object with multiple sets of data, the object becomes a Line array, in which each index of the array contains one of those sets of data. So all of your (x1,y1,z1) data is part of the "org(1)" line, and all of your (x2,y2,z2) data is part of the "org(2)" line.
>> set(org(1),'xdata',x1,'ydata',y1,'zdata',z1);
>> set(org(2),'xdata',x2,'ydata',y2,'zdata',z2);
2. You can also use the "set" command with cell array inputs in order to set values for multiple lines at once. Here, you must define two cell arrays for each property - one containing the property name and one containing the desired value of the corresponding property for each line. This allows you to set the data of all of the lines in a single command, which I believe was your original intent:
>> set(org,{'xdata'},{x1;x2},{'ydata'},{y1;y2},{'zdata'},{z1;z2});
For more information about setting graphics object properties, please refer to the following documentation, which explains both setting a property value for one object, as well as setting property values for multiple objects:
https://www.mathworks.com/help/releases/R2016b/matlab/learn_matlab/understanding-handle-graphics-objects.html#btc_la2-1
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