input prompt do not work in callback function

i can work around this problem, however because of my OCD i have to ask. the input function do not prompt what it is in a function that is called from UI callback.

function test
    f = figure;
    f.ButtonDownFcn = @func;
end

function func(~,~,~)
    disp('button was down')
    b = input('input prompt here :', 's');
    disp(['the input was: ' b])
end

the output is:

>> test
button was down
this is my data
the input was: this is my data
>>

is it a bug or i missed something?

[Birdman]

What are you trying to do here? It is not clear.

[Stephen23]

@Birdman: the point is that the prompt is not displayed, as one might expect it to be. Check the output.

[Guillaume]

There may be a bug or not (haven't checked) but in my opinion forcing the user to switch from a GUI to the command prompt is very poor UI design. Even if it worked properly, as a user I would not even look at the command prompt after clicking on the GUI and thus would be left wondering why nothing was happening having no clue that the command prompt is waiting for my input.

Use inputdlg if you must and even better put the input fields directly in your GUI.

[shahar hirshfeld]

I agree. However it is not my code and it have multiple files.I tray not to work to hard to fix it.

My solution is overloading the function.

[shahar hirshfeld]

BTW,"poor UI" is realy dependent on the aplication. You cannot setup rules that will work all the time. When using dlg input it hard to see a full log. Also when docking the gui near the command the transition is very intuitive.

[Guillaume]

Well, yes of course, it depends on the application. I would argue though that if your GUI needs inputs from the user, then these inputs should be part of the GUI in the first place. Even inputdlg is problematic, modal dialogs may be simple but they're not flexible as you say.

When designing UI you have to bear in mind that the user may not work the same way you do. For example, if presented with a docked figure, the first thing I'll do is undock it and move it to a different screen and possibly minimise matlab's main window. Hence I probably wouldn't notice your input prompt.

Answer 1

[Jan]

This is a bug. Your code should show the prompt string in the command window.

Please send a bug report to MathWorks. Use the "Contact Us" button.

[Michael Sanchez]

I have also experienced the same bug in R2018a. Reverting to R2017a/b returns expected behavior. Since it was noted months ago, will there be a fix anytime soon?