How to change precision of variable output

I have an array with 3 entries. When I print the array values, I get the full precision, down to several decimal points. When I view it in the Workspace, I see to only 4 decimal places. That would be fine, however;

I am plotting a graph, and want to add a value to the legend. I have done so using:

legend(['b=' num2str(Gauss(2))]

But it only displays the values as they are seen in the array, to 4 decimal places.

If I view the value using Gauss(2) in the command window, it prints 50.75625. The workspace shows the value as 50.7563 and so then the legend does too.

How can I make the legend show the FULL values?

Thank you

Answer 1

[Stephen23]

Read about sprintf, it gives you lots of control over how numbers are displayed:

legend(sprintf('b=%.5f',Gauss(2)))

sprintf has many options, so read the documentation carefully.

[Jason Sharkey]

Excellent! Thank you so much!

[Steven Lord]

If you just want to change the number of displayed decimal places, NUM2STR can do that without the need to use a *PRINTF format string, by specifying a number as the second input. NUM2STR can also accept a *PRINTF format string as well.