Matlab2tikz

What is Matlab2tikz

Matlab2tikz is a set of m-files, which generate tikz-format vector graphics from Matlab figures. The tikz format is easy to import into LaTex documents, and allows for user modifications once created. You will obtain beautiful vector graphics output from LaTex where all fonts and styles in plots are coherent and you will never again have to use psfrag.

How do I get started - a minimal example

If you are using one of the computers at the department, it should be automatically available. Otherwise, download the files from https://github.com/nschloe/matlab2tikz and place them somewhere so they end up on your Matlab path.

Here is a minimal example, which you may try in Matlab:

figure;plot(dftmtx(5));matlab2tikz

You will be presented a save dialouge. Select a file name of your choice, ending in .tex (in our example myfig.tikz). Once saved, you may open and edit the tex file, but first, let's use it in a LaTeX document. In this guide we will assume the use of pdflatex to compile LaTex documents. If you use something else, parts of the tutorial might not apply. Create a tex file with the following contents (name it e.g. mydoc.tex).

\documentclass{pm}                                                     
\usepackage{tikz,pgfplots}
\begin{document}
\input{myfig.tikz}
\end{document}

Run pdflatex. If everything is correctly set up, you will obtain a file mydoc.pdf. Open it and have a look. The alignment might be strange, but we can notice that the font of the tic marks is that of the LaTex document, rather than that used in Matlab. Now that we have basic functionality, let's first work on getting the picture pretty, then on how to use it in the LaTex document.

Pretty Plots

This section contains one example of how to make a pretty plot. Much more can be learnt by reading the PGF/Tikz manual (which is very well written but several 100 pages long.)

Automating Generation and Sizing

First, create an m-file with name of your choice containing the following:

close all; clear all; clc % fresh start
plot(dftmtx(5)); % same as previous example

% save the picture programatically
matlab2tikz('myfig2.tikz','height','\pgfigheight','width','\pgfigwidth')

When run, the above m-file will generate the file myfig2.tikz. If you open it in an editor and compare it to myfig.tikz, you will see that the width and height specifications have changed from fixed numbers into \pgfigwidth and \pgfigheight, respectively. These can now be set in your LaTex document, to change the dimensions of the important graphic. Modify mydoc.tex:

\documentclass{pm}                                                     
\usepackage{tikz,pgfplots}
\newlength{\pgfigheight}
\newlength{\pgfigwidth}
\begin{document}
\setlength{\pgfigheight}{5cm}
\setlength{\pgfigwidth}{.8\linewidth}
\input{myfig.tikz}
\end{document}

Try it out. Alignment is still not pretty, but the dimensions of the figure are now easy to set. (You can change \pgwidth and \pgheight throughout the document, to import graphics of different dimensions.)

Axis and Labels