CheckBoxTree Properties

Control check box tree appearance and behavior

Check box trees are UI components for presenting a list of items in a hierarchy in an app, where each item has an associated check box. Properties control the appearance and behavior of a check box tree. Use dot notation to refer to a specific object and property.

For example, this code creates a basic check box tree with two nested nodes, stores the CheckBoxTree object as cbt, and then sets the CheckedNodes property using dot notation.

fig = uifigure;
cbt = uitree(fig,'checkbox');
n1 = uitreenode(cbt);
n1.Text = 'Node 1';
n2 = uitreenode(n1);
n2.Text = 'Node 2';
cbt.CheckedNodes = [n1 n2];

For more examples of how to create and configure check box trees, see uitree.

Nodes

CheckedNodes — Checked nodes

[] (default) | TreeNode object | array of TreeNode objects

Checked nodes, specified as a TreeNode object or an array of TreeNode objects. Use this property to programmatically get or set the checked nodes in a check box tree.

If CheckedNodes contains a parent node, all the children of the parent node are automatically added to CheckedNodes. If CheckedNodes contains all the children of a parent node, the parent node is automatically added to CheckedNodes.

SelectedNodes — Selected node

[] (default) | TreeNode object

Selected node, specified as a TreeNode object. Use this property to get or set the selected node in a check box tree.

In the check box tree UI component, the selected node is indicated by a blue highlight.

Font and Color

FontName — Font name

system supported font name

Font name, specified as a system supported font name. The default font depends on the specific operating system and locale.

If the specified font is not available, then MATLAB^® uses the best match among the fonts available on the system where the app is running.

Example: 'Arial'

FontSize — Font size

positive number

Font size, specified as a positive number. The units of measurement are pixels. The default font size depends on the specific operating system and locale.

Example: 14

FontWeight — Font weight

'normal' (default) | 'bold'

Font weight, specified as one of these values:

• 'normal' — Default weight as defined by the particular font

• 'bold' — Thicker character outlines than 'normal'

Not all fonts have a bold font weight. Therefore, specifying a bold font weight can result in the normal font weight.

FontAngle — Font angle

'normal' (default) | 'italic'

Font angle, specified as 'normal' or 'italic'. Setting this property to italic selects a slanted version of the font, if it is available on the app user’s system.

FontColor — Font color

[0 0 0] (default) | RGB triplet | hexadecimal color code | 'r' | 'g' | 'b' | ...

Font color, specified as an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, or one of the options listed in the table.

RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes are useful for specifying custom colors.

• An RGB triplet is a three-element row vector whose elements specify the intensities of the red, green, and blue components of the color. The intensities must be in the range [0,1]; for example, [0.4 0.6 0.7].

• A hexadecimal color code is a character vector or a string scalar that starts with a hash symbol (#) followed by three or six hexadecimal digits, which can range from 0 to F. The values are not case sensitive. Thus, the color codes '#FF8800', '#ff8800', '#F80', and '#f80' are equivalent.

Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the named color options, the equivalent RGB triplets, and hexadecimal color codes.

Color Name	Short Name	RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
'red'	'r'	[1 0 0]	'#FF0000'
'green'	'g'	[0 1 0]	'#00FF00'
'blue'	'b'	[0 0 1]	'#0000FF'
'cyan'	'c'	[0 1 1]	'#00FFFF'
'magenta'	'm'	[1 0 1]	'#FF00FF'
'yellow'	'y'	[1 1 0]	'#FFFF00'
'black'	'k'	[0 0 0]	'#000000'
'white'	'w'	[1 1 1]	'#FFFFFF'

Here are the RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes for the default colors MATLAB uses in many types of plots.

RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
[0 0.4470 0.7410]	'#0072BD'
[0.8500 0.3250 0.0980]	'#D95319'
[0.9290 0.6940 0.1250]	'#EDB120'
[0.4940 0.1840 0.5560]	'#7E2F8E'
[0.4660 0.6740 0.1880]	'#77AC30'
[0.3010 0.7450 0.9330]	'#4DBEEE'
[0.6350 0.0780 0.1840]	'#A2142F'

BackgroundColor — Background color

[1 1 1] (default) | RGB triplet | hexadecimal color code | 'r' | 'g' | 'b' | ...

Background color, specified as an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, or one of the color options listed in the table.

RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes are useful for specifying custom colors.

• An RGB triplet is a three-element row vector whose elements specify the intensities of the red, green, and blue components of the color. The intensities must be in the range [0,1]; for example, [0.4 0.6 0.7].

• A hexadecimal color code is a character vector or a string scalar that starts with a hash symbol (#) followed by three or six hexadecimal digits, which can range from 0 to F. The values are not case sensitive. Thus, the color codes '#FF8800', '#ff8800', '#F80', and '#f80' are equivalent.

Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the named color options, the equivalent RGB triplets, and hexadecimal color codes.

Color Name	Short Name	RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
'red'	'r'	[1 0 0]	'#FF0000'
'green'	'g'	[0 1 0]	'#00FF00'
'blue'	'b'	[0 0 1]	'#0000FF'
'cyan'	'c'	[0 1 1]	'#00FFFF'
'magenta'	'm'	[1 0 1]	'#FF00FF'
'yellow'	'y'	[1 1 0]	'#FFFF00'
'black'	'k'	[0 0 0]	'#000000'
'white'	'w'	[1 1 1]	'#FFFFFF'

Here are the RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes for the default colors MATLAB uses in many types of plots.

RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
[0 0.4470 0.7410]	'#0072BD'
[0.8500 0.3250 0.0980]	'#D95319'
[0.9290 0.6940 0.1250]	'#EDB120'
[0.4940 0.1840 0.5560]	'#7E2F8E'
[0.4660 0.6740 0.1880]	'#77AC30'
[0.3010 0.7450 0.9330]	'#4DBEEE'
[0.6350 0.0780 0.1840]	'#A2142F'

Interactivity

Visible — State of visibility

'on' (default) | on/off logical value

State of visibility, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

• 'on' — Display the object.

• 'off' — Hide the object without deleting it. You still can access the properties of an invisible UI component.

To make your app start faster, set the Visible property to 'off' for all UI components that do not need to appear at startup.

Editable — Node text editability

'off' (default) | on/off logical value

Node text editability, specified as 'off' or 'on', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

Set this property to 'on' to allow the user to edit the node text at run time. The Enable property must also be set to 'on' to make the text editable.

Enable — Operational state of tree

'on' (default) | on/off logical value

Operational state of tree, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

• If you set this property to 'on', the app user can interact with the tree and its nodes.

• If you set this property to 'off', the component appears dimmed, indicating that the app user cannot interact with it or its nodes, and that it will not trigger a callback.

Set this property to 'off' to make the tree and its nodes appear dim, indicating that the user cannot interact with the tree or its nodes.

Tooltip — Tooltip

'' (default) | character vector | cell array of character vectors | string array | 1-D categorical array

Tooltip, specified as a character vector, cell array of character vectors, string array, or 1-D categorical array. Use this property to display a message when the user hovers the pointer over the component at run time. The tooltip displays even when the component is disabled. To display multiple lines of text, specify a cell array of character vectors or a string array. Each element in the array becomes a separate line of text. If you specify this property as a categorical array, MATLAB uses the values in the array, not the full set of categories.

ContextMenu — Context menu

empty GraphicsPlaceholder array (default) | ContextMenu object

Context menu, specified as a ContextMenu object created using the uicontextmenu function. Use this property to display a context menu when you right-click on a component.

Position

Position — Location and size

[20 20 150 300] (default) | [left bottom width height]

Location and size, specified as a four-element vector of the form [left bottom width height]. This table describes each element in the vector. All measurements are in pixel units.

Element	Description
left	Distance from the inner left edge of the parent container to the left edge of the bounding box that encloses the tree
bottom	Distance from the inner bottom edge of the parent container to the bottom edge of the bounding box that encloses the tree
width	Distance between the right and left edges of the bounding box
height	Distance between the top and bottom edges of the bounding box

InnerPosition — Location and size

[20 20 150 300] (default) | [left bottom width height]

Location and size, specified as a four-element vector of the form, [left bottom width height]. The values in the vector are relative to the parent container. All measurements are in pixel units. This property value is identical to the Position property.

OuterPosition — Location and size

[20 20 150 300] (default) | [left bottom width height]

This property is read-only.

Location and size, returned as a four-element vector of the form, [left bottom width height]. The values in the vector are relative to the parent container. All measurements are in pixel units. This property value is identical to the Position property.

Layout — Layout options

empty LayoutOptions array (default) | GridLayoutOptions object

Layout options, specified as a GridLayoutOptions object. This property specifies options for components that are children of grid layout containers. If the component is not a child of a grid layout container (for example, it is a child of a figure or panel), then this property is empty and has no effect. However, if the component is a child of a grid layout container, you can place the component in the desired row and column of the grid by setting the Row and Column properties on the GridLayoutOptions object.

For example, this code places a check box tree in the third row and second column of its parent grid.

g = uigridlayout([4 3]);
cbt = uitree(g,'checkbox');
cbt.Layout.Row = 3;
cbt.Layout.Column = 2;

To make the tree span multiple rows or columns, specify the Row or Column property as a two-element vector. For example, this tree spans columns 2 through 3:

cbt.Layout.Column = [2 3];

Callbacks

CheckedNodesChangedFcn — Checked nodes changed callback

'' (default) | function handle | cell array | character vector

Checked nodes changed callback, specified as one of these values:

• A function handle.

• A cell array in which the first element is a function handle. Subsequent elements in the cell array are the arguments to pass to the callback function.

• A character vector containing a valid MATLAB expression (not recommended). MATLAB evaluates this expression in the base workspace.

Use this callback function to execute commands when the user checks or unchecks a node in the tree.

This callback function can access specific information about the user’s interaction with the tree, such as the previously checked nodes. MATLAB passes this information in a CheckedNodesChangedData object as the second argument to your callback function. In App Designer, the argument is called event. You can query the object properties using dot notation. For example, event.CheckedNodes returns the checked TreeNode object or objects. The CheckedNodesChangedData object is not available to callback functions specified as character vectors.

The following table describes properties of the CheckedNodesChangedData object.

Property	Description
CheckedNodes	Currently checked TreeNode objects
PreviousCheckedNodes	Previously checked TreeNode objects
IndeterminateCheckedNodes	Parent TreeNode objects that currently have both checked and unchecked children
PreviousIndeterminateCheckedNodes	Parent TreeNode objects that previously had both checked and unchecked children
LeafCheckedNodes	Currently checked TreeNode objects with no child nodes
PreviousLeafCheckedNodes	Previously checked TreeNode objects with no child nodes
ParentCheckedNodes	Currently checked TreeNode objects with child nodes
PreviousParentCheckedNodes	Previously checked TreeNode objects with child nodes
Source	Component that executes the callback
EventName	'CheckedNodesChanged'

Properties that return a list of nodes return them in a hierarchical order. For example, the CheckedNodes property first lists all checked nodes in the first level of the tree in the order in which they appear in the tree component. Then, it lists all checked nodes in the second level of the tree, again in the order in which they appear. This pattern continues until finally it lists the nodes in the last level of the tree. This matches the order that the findall function returns nodes in.

For more information about writing callbacks, see Write Callbacks in App Designer.

SelectionChangedFcn — Selection changed callback

'' (default) | function handle | cell array | character vector

Selection changed callback, specified as one of these values:

• A function handle.

• A cell array in which the first element is a function handle. Subsequent elements in the cell array are the arguments to pass to the callback function.

• A character vector containing a valid MATLAB expression (not recommended). MATLAB evaluates this expression in the base workspace.

Use this callback function to execute commands when the user selects a different node in the tree.

This callback function can access specific information about the user’s interaction with the tree, such as the selected node. MATLAB passes this information in a SelectedNodesChangedData object as the second argument to your callback function. In App Designer, the argument is called event. You can query the object properties using dot notation. For example, event.SelectedNodes returns the selected TreeNode object. The SelectedNodesChangedData object is not available to callback functions specified as character vectors.

The following table describes properties of the SelectedNodesChangedData object.

Property	Description
SelectedNodes	Most recently selected TreeNode object
PreviousSelectedNodes	Previously selected TreeNode object
Source	Component that executes the callback
EventName	'SelectionChanged'

For more information about writing callbacks, see Write Callbacks in App Designer.

NodeExpandedFcn — Node expanded callback

'' (default) | function handle | cell array | character vector

Node expanded callback, specified as one of these values:

• A function handle.

• A cell array in which the first element is a function handle. Subsequent elements in the cell array are the arguments to pass to the callback function.

• A character vector containing a valid MATLAB expression (not recommended). MATLAB evaluates this expression in the base workspace.

Use this callback function to execute commands when the user expands a node in the tree.

This callback function can access specific information about the user’s interaction with the node. MATLAB passes this information in a NodeExpandedData object as the second argument to your callback function. In App Designer, the argument is called event. You can query the object properties using dot notation. For example, event.Node returns the TreeNode object that the user collapsed. The NodeExpandedData object is not available to callback functions specified as character vectors.

The following table describes properties of the NodeExpandedData object.

Property	Description
Node	TreeNode object that the user expanded
Source	Component that executes the callback
EventName	'NodeExpanded'

For more information about writing callbacks, see Write Callbacks in App Designer.

NodeCollapsedFcn — Node collapsed callback

'' (default) | function handle | cell array | character vector

Node collapsed callback, specified as one of these values:

• A function handle.

• A cell array in which the first element is a function handle. Subsequent elements in the cell array are the arguments to pass to the callback function.

• A character vector containing a valid MATLAB expression (not recommended). MATLAB evaluates this expression in the base workspace.

Use this callback function to execute commands when the user collapses a node in the tree.

This callback function can access specific information about the user’s interaction with the node. MATLAB passes this information in a NodeCollapsedData object as the second argument to your callback function. In App Designer, the argument is called event. You can query the object properties using dot notation. For example, event.Node returns the TreeNode object that the user collapsed. The NodeCollapsedData object is not available to callback functions specified as character vectors.

The following table describes properties of the NodeCollapsedData object.

Property	Description
Node	TreeNode object that the user collapsed
Source	Component that executes the callback
EventName	'NodeCollapsed'

For more information about writing callbacks, see Write Callbacks in App Designer.

NodeTextChangedFcn — Node text changed callback

'' (default) | function handle | cell array | character vector

Node text changed callback, specified as one of these values:

• A function handle.

• A cell array in which the first element is a function handle. Subsequent elements in the cell array are the arguments to pass to the callback function.

• A character vector containing a valid MATLAB expression (not recommended). MATLAB evaluates this expression in the base workspace.

Use this callback function to execute commands when the user changes the text for a node in the tree.

This callback function can access specific information about the user’s interaction with the tree node. MATLAB passes this information in a NodeTextChangedData object as the second argument to your callback function. In App Designer, the argument is called event. You can query the object properties using dot notation. For example, event.PreviousText returns the previous node text. The NodeTextChangedData object is not available to callback functions specified as character vectors.

The following table describes the properties of the NodeTextChangedData object.

Property	Description
Node	TreeNode object that has changed text
Text	New node text
PreviousText	Previous node text
Source	Component that executes the callback
EventName	'NodeTextChanged'

For more information about writing callbacks, see Write Callbacks in App Designer.

CreateFcn — Creation function

'' (default) | function handle | cell array | character vector

Object creation function, specified as one of these values:

• Function handle.

• Cell array in which the first element is a function handle. Subsequent elements in the cell array are the arguments to pass to the callback function.

• Character vector containing a valid MATLAB expression (not recommended). MATLAB evaluates this expression in the base workspace.

For more information about specifying a callback as a function handle, cell array, or character vector, see Write Callbacks in App Designer.

This property specifies a callback function to execute when MATLAB creates the object. MATLAB initializes all property values before executing the CreateFcn callback. If you do not specify the CreateFcn property, then MATLAB executes a default creation function.

Setting the CreateFcn property on an existing component has no effect.

If you specify this property as a function handle or cell array, you can access the object that is being created using the first argument of the callback function. Otherwise, use the gcbo function to access the object.

DeleteFcn — Deletion function

'' (default) | function handle | cell array | character vector

Object deletion function, specified as one of these values:

• Function handle.

• Cell array in which the first element is a function handle. Subsequent elements in the cell array are the arguments to pass to the callback function.

• Character vector containing a valid MATLAB expression (not recommended). MATLAB evaluates this expression in the base workspace.

For more information about specifying a callback as a function handle, cell array, or character vector, see Write Callbacks in App Designer.

This property specifies a callback function to execute when MATLAB deletes the object. MATLAB executes the DeleteFcn callback before destroying the properties of the object. If you do not specify the DeleteFcn property, then MATLAB executes a default deletion function.

If you specify this property as a function handle or cell array, you can access the object that is being deleted using the first argument of the callback function. Otherwise, use the gcbo function to access the object.

Callback Execution Control

Interruptible — Callback interruption

'on' (default) | on/off logical value

Callback interruption, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

This property determines if a running callback can be interrupted. There are two callback states to consider:

• The running callback is the currently executing callback.

• The interrupting callback is a callback that tries to interrupt the running callback.

Whenever MATLAB invokes a callback, that callback attempts to interrupt the running callback (if one exists). The Interruptible property of the object owning the running callback determines if interruption is allowed.

• A value of 'on' allows other callbacks to interrupt the object's callbacks. The interruption occurs at the next point where MATLAB processes the queue, such as when there is a drawnow, figure, uifigure, getframe, waitfor, or pause command.

  • If the running callback contains one of those commands, then MATLAB stops the execution of the callback at that point and executes the interrupting callback. MATLAB resumes executing the running callback when the interrupting callback completes.

  • If the running callback does not contain one of those commands, then MATLAB finishes executing the callback without interruption.

• A value of 'off' blocks all interruption attempts. The BusyAction property of the object owning the interrupting callback determines if the interrupting callback is discarded or put into a queue.

Note

Callback interruption and execution behave differently in these situations:

• If the interrupting callback is a DeleteFcn, CloseRequestFcn or SizeChangedFcn callback, then the interruption occurs regardless of the Interruptible property value.

• If the running callback is currently executing the waitfor function, then the interruption occurs regardless of the Interruptible property value.

• Timer objects execute according to schedule regardless of the Interruptible property value.

When an interruption occurs, MATLAB does not save the state of properties or the display. For example, the object returned by the gca or gcf command might change when another callback executes.

BusyAction — Callback queuing

'queue' (default) | 'cancel'

Callback queuing, specified as 'queue' or 'cancel'. The BusyAction property determines how MATLAB handles the execution of interrupting callbacks. There are two callback states to consider:

• The running callback is the currently executing callback.

• The interrupting callback is a callback that tries to interrupt the running callback.

Whenever MATLAB invokes a callback, that callback attempts to interrupt a running callback. The Interruptible property of the object owning the running callback determines if interruption is permitted. If interruption is not permitted, then the BusyAction property of the object owning the interrupting callback determines if it is discarded or put in the queue. These are possible values of the BusyAction property:

• 'queue' — Puts the interrupting callback in a queue to be processed after the running callback finishes execution.

• 'cancel' — Does not execute the interrupting callback.

BeingDeleted — Deletion status

on/off logical value

This property is read-only.

Deletion status, returned as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

MATLAB sets the BeingDeleted property to 'on' when the DeleteFcn callback begins execution. The BeingDeleted property remains set to 'on' until the component object no longer exists.

Check the value of the BeingDeleted property to verify that the object is not about to be deleted before querying or modifying it.

Parent/Child

Parent — Parent container

Figure object (default) | Panel object | Tab object | ButtonGroup object | GridLayout object

Parent container, specified as a Figure object created using the uifigure function, or one of its child containers: Tab, Panel, ButtonGroup, or GridLayout. If no container is specified, MATLAB calls the uifigure function to create a new Figure object that serves as the parent container.

Children — Children

empty GraphicsPlaceholder array (default) | array of TreeNode objects

Children, returned as an array of TreeNode objects.

You cannot add or remove children using the Children property, but you can use the property to view the list of children. The order of the children reflects the order of the child nodes displayed on the screen. To add a child to this list, set the Parent property of the child component to be the Tree object.

To reorder the children, use the move function.

Objects with the HandleVisibility property set to 'off' are not listed in the Children property.

HandleVisibility — Visibility of object handle

'on' (default) | 'callback' | 'off'

Visibility of the object handle, specified as 'on', 'callback', or 'off'.

This property controls the visibility of the object in its parent's list of children. When an object is not visible in its parent's list of children, it is not returned by functions that obtain objects by searching the object hierarchy or querying properties. These functions include get, findobj, clf, and close. Objects are valid even if they are not visible. If you can access an object, you can set and get its properties, and pass it to any function that operates on objects.

HandleVisibility Value	Description
'on'	The object is always visible.
'callback'	The object is visible from within callbacks or functions invoked by callbacks, but not from within functions invoked from the command line. This option blocks access to the object at the command-line, but allows callback functions to access it.
'off'	The object is invisible at all times. This option is useful for preventing unintended changes to the UI by another function. Set the HandleVisibility to 'off' to temporarily hide the object during the execution of that function.

Identifiers

Type — Type of graphics object

'uicheckboxtree'

This property is read-only.

Type of graphics object, returned as 'uicheckboxtree'.

Tag — Object identifier

'' (default) | character vector | string scalar

Object identifier, specified as a character vector or string scalar. You can specify a unique Tag value to serve as an identifier for an object. When you need access to the object elsewhere in your code, you can use the findobj function to search for the object based on the Tag value.

UserData — User data

[] (default) | array

User data, specified as any MATLAB array. For example, you can specify a scalar, vector, matrix, cell array, character array, table, or structure. Use this property to store arbitrary data on an object.

If you are working in App Designer, create public or private properties in the app to share data instead of using the UserData property. For more information, see Share Data Within App Designer Apps.