How to place two .fig files together into one .fig file?

Just wonder something like this:

figureList = {'figure1.fig','figure2.fig'};
subplot(1,2,1)
plot(figureList{1});
subplot(1,2,2)
plot(figureList{2});

Is it possible?

Answer 1

[Voss]

First, I create 2 figures and save them to .fig files, for demonstration:

f1 = figure();
plot(1:10)
legend()

●

f2 = figure();
plot(2:20,'r')

savefig(f1,'figure1.fig')
savefig(f2,'figure2.fig')

Now copy the current axes and any associated legend from each .fig file to subplots in a new figure:

figureList = {'figure1.fig','figure2.fig'};
N = numel(figureList);
newf = figure();
for ii = 1:N
    oldf = openfig(figureList{ii},'invisible');
    ax = oldf.CurrentAxes;
    axl = copyobj([ax,ax.Legend],newf);
    subplot(1,N,ii,axl(1),'Parent',newf)
    delete(oldf)
end

Answer 2

[Walter Roberson]

In the general case, you cannot merge two .fig files into one .fig file. .fig files are each a combination of graphics information and behaviour associated with the graphics, and although you can potentially merge the graphics information, you cannot generally merge the associated behaviour.

If you know that you do not have any associated behaviour, and you know that you do not have any special toolbar behaviour configured, then the general mechanism is

fig1 = openfig('FigFile1.fig', 'handlevisibility', 'on');
fig2 = openfig('FigFile1.fig', 'handlevisibility', 'on');
sfig1 = struct(fig1);
sfig2 = struct(fig2);
isuif1 = isfield(sfig1, 'isUIFigure');
isuif2 = isfield(sfig2, 'isUIFigure');
if isuif1 || isuif2
    fig3 = uifigure();
else
    fig3 = figure();
end
t1 = uipanel(fig3, 'Units', 'normalized', 'Position', [0 .5 1 0.5]);
t2 = uipanel(fig3, 'Units', 'normalized', 'Position', [0  0 1 0.5]);
copyobj(get(fig1, 'Children'), t1);
copyobj(get(fig2, 'Children'), t2);
delete(fig1);
delete(fig2);