{"id":2715,"date":"2025-06-24T08:08:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T12:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.mathworks.com\/graphics-and-apps\/?p=2715"},"modified":"2025-06-24T14:04:05","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T18:04:05","slug":"introducing-the-tabbed-figure-container","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.mathworks.com\/graphics-and-apps\/2025\/06\/24\/introducing-the-tabbed-figure-container\/","title":{"rendered":"Introducing the Tabbed Figure Container"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\"Brian<\/td>\nGuest Writer: Brian Knolhoff<\/a>
\n<\/strong>Brian is a software engineer on the Figure Infrastructure and Services team at MathWorks. \u00a0After first encountering MATLAB while calibrating radar systems, he now enjoys building and modernizing the tools that support engineers and scientists in their daily work. \u00a0Outside of the office, Brian enjoys playing guitar, hockey, and board games, and maintains a collection of vintage and modern pinball machines.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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Okay everybody, let's all hop in the DeLorean<\/a>, and set the time controls for July 2002. Online gaming<\/a> has finally come to the PS2, Attack of the Clones<\/a> is out (but everyone is really just waiting for The Two Towers<\/a> to come out in December), and here in Massachusetts where I live, everyone is still arguing about The Tuck Rule<\/a>, whatever that is.<\/div>\n
Also, MATLAB R13 just hit the shelves. After installing from your CD-ROM, you run a script that creates figures and captures a screenshot to bring with you back to the future.<\/div>\n
Now, back in 2025, you run a similar script in MATLAB R2023b, and compare.<\/div>\n
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for n = 1:6<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0figure;<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0ord = n+8;<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0m = magic(ord);<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0imagesc(m);<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0title(num2str(ord));<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0axis equal<\/span>;<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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end<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Here's what you see:<\/div>\n
MATLAB R13 (2002) 👇<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
\n

\"\"MATLAB R2023b 👇<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n

R2025a: Bringing Figures into the Future<\/h2>\n
Despite significant changes over the last 20 years, including faster computers and larger widescreen monitors that look great for watching The Two Towers, figures in MATLAB have the same look and feel as they did 20 years ago:<\/div>\n
    \n
  • They are small relative to most monitor sizes<\/li>\n
  • They all launch on top of one another<\/li>\n
  • They lack modern UI elements as seen in the MATLAB Desktop, such as a toolstrip<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
    With MATLAB R2025a, we have redesigned how figures look and feel to take advantage of modern computing resources.By default, figures now launch into an undocked Figure Container:<\/div>\n
    \"\"<\/div>\n

    Figure Container Features<\/h2>\n
    The Figure Container has a variety of new features designed to make data exploration and organization of your figures easier.<\/div>\n

    New Figure Default Size<\/h2>\n
    Figures launch at a larger default size than in previous releases, calculated dynamically based on your screen size. The aspect ratio is different as well, designed with modern widescreen monitors in mind.<\/div>\n

    Enhanced Persistence<\/h2>\n
    When you interactively resize the Figure Container, that new size is remembered throughout your MATLAB session. So, if you close all your docked figures and then open a new one, that interactive position and size is restored.<\/div>\n

    Figures as Tabs for Organization<\/h2>\n
    By default, figures launch as tabs in a Figure Container. This organizes all your data exploration figures into one place. Figures can still be easily undocked \u2013 you can either drag & drop them out of the Figure Container or launch them stand-alone programmatically:<\/div>\n
    \n
    \n
    f = figure('WindowStyle'<\/span>,'normal'<\/span>);<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    Tiling Figures<\/h2>\n
    Figures can be easily tiled within the Figure Container for visual comparisons. You can do this either from the toolstrip, interactively via drag and drop, or through our context menu! Watch this video to see these tips in action.<\/div>\n