Creating Graphical User Interfaces

Laying Out GUIs - The Layout Editor

The Layout Editor enables you to select GUI components from a palette and arrange them in a figure window. The component palette contains the GUI components (uicontrol objects) that are available for you to use in your user interface. The layout area becomes the figure window upon activation.

Placing an Object In the Layout Area

Select the type of component you want to place in your GUI by clicking on it in the component palette. The cursor changes to a cross, which you can then use to select the position of the upper-left corner of the control, or you can set the size of the control by clicking in the layout area and then dragging the cursor to the lower-right corner before releasing the mouse button.

Activating the Figure

You can generate a functioning GUI by activating the figure you have designed with the Layout Editor. Activate the figure by selecting the Activate Figure item in the Tools menu or by clicking figure activator in the toolbar.

When you activate a figure, the following occurs:

• GUIDE first saves both the M-file and FIG-file. If you have not yet saved the layout, GUIDE opens a Save As dialog so you can select a name for the M-file GUIDE is going to generate. GUIDE then saves the companion FIG-file with the same name as the M-file, but with a .fig extension.
• If an M-file with the same name exists, GUIDE prompts you to replace or append to the existing code in the M-file.

Replace - writes over the existing file.

Append - inserts new callbacks for components added since the last save and make changes to the code based on change made from the Application Options dialog.

• MATLAB executes the M-file to display the GUI. The options specified in the Application Options dialog are functional in the GUI. Callbacks that you have not yet implemented, but that GUIDE inserted as stubs in the M-file, simply return a message to the command line indicating they are not yet implemented.

Note    GUIDE automatically saves both the application M-file and the FIG-file when you activate the GUI.

GUI Building Tools

Layout Editor Context Menus