Is there a way to remove a single plot from existing axes?

Question

Is there an easy way to remove a plotted line from a set of axes without clearing everything else on the axes? I'm trying to implement a GUI with a listbox containing several data sets. I can make the callback function plot the selected data, but I'm not sure how to 'unplot' it when I deselect a data set. Any ideas?

you might be interested in `clickableLegend` on FEX: http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/21799-clickablelegend — Amro, Aug 02 '10 at 19:57
@Amro: Excellent suggestion! Thanks for bringing this to my attention. — Doresoom, Aug 02 '10 at 20:08

score 17 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 02 '10 at 14:23

17

If you save a handle to the created graphics object, you can call DELETE on it to remove it from the plot:

hLine = plot(...);  %# Create a line with PLOT
delete(hLine);      %# ...and delete it

Alternatively, if you didn't save the handle in a variable, you can search for it using FINDOBJ, then delete it when you find it.

If you don't actually want to delete it, but simply turn the visibility of the line on and off, you can set the 'Visible' property of the graphics object accordingly:

set(hLine,'Visible','off');  %# Make it invisible
set(hLine,'Visible','on');   %# Make it visible

answered Aug 02 '10 at 14:23

gnovice

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I swear I tried this, but it didn't work then, and now it does. – Doresoom Aug 02 '10 at 14:41
Ah, I was using `delete plothandle` not `delete(plothandle)` – Doresoom Aug 02 '10 at 14:44
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@Doresoom: That explains it. The command syntax `delete plothandle` would be looking for a *file* named `plothandle` to delete. – gnovice Aug 02 '10 at 14:47
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@Doresoom, `delete plothandle` is equivalent to `delete('plothandle')` – yuk Aug 03 '10 at 15:11
But this does not remove the legend if there is one, does it? – Mathias Soeken Sep 10 '11 at 12:28
@RupertJones, true, but this will fix the legend: `legend('off'),legend('show')` – Juhl Sep 22 '11 at 08:19
@Juhl: Thanks, but I meant the individual legend for the plot. I only figured out the way by hiding each individual component (text, line, ...) of the respective legend item. – Mathias Soeken Sep 23 '11 at 17:24
@RupertJones I've switched from legend(...) towards plot(..., ,'DisplayName',{'V_x','V_y','V_z'}) which will keep annotations for each line. – Juhl Sep 26 '11 at 13:28

Is there a way to remove a single plot from existing axes?

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