saveas for figures no longer works properly

Why is "saveas" cutting off my figure and giving me a warning?

Warning: The figure is too large for the page and will be cut off. Resize the figure, adjust the output size by setting the figure's PaperPosition property, use the 'print' command with either the '-bestfit' or '-fillpage' options, or use the 'Best fit' or 'Fill page' options on the 'Print Preview' window.

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

To save large figures without them getting cut off:

The warning message is suggesting you use the "print" function instead of the "saveas" function. Setting the "resize" option in "print" with the '-bestfit' or '-fillpage' options will fix the sizing issue.

bestfit:

Maximize the size of the figure to fill the page, but preserve the aspect ratio of the figure. The figure might not fill the entire page. This option leaves a minimum page margin of .25 inches

fillpage:

Maximize the size of the figure to fill the page. Leaves a .25 inch margin on all sides of the page. The tick marks, layout, and aspect ratio of the figure might change.

If you prefer to use the "saveas" function, another method is to change the figure's PaperPositionMode to 'manual' and set the figure's PaperPosition as desired.

I have attached an M-file with an example explaining both of the above methods. Running the program will create PDF files that show the differences between executing each option.

You can also find more properties and functions related to saving figures in these links:

https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/creating_plots/save-figure-at-specific-size-and-resolution.html

https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/ref/print.html?searchHighlight=print#inputarg_resize

To change the default for "saveas" to not cut off large figures:

1. Set the default value of "PaperPositionMode" to 'manual'. This preference will persist across MATLAB sessions.

>> matlab.graphics.internal.setPrintPreferences('DefaultPaperPositionMode','manual')

2. Set the default "FigurePaperPositionMode" to 'manual' before creating the figures.

>> set(groot,'defaultFigurePaperPositionMode','manual')

Note: This will need to be executed again every time you open MATLAB. If you would like this to persist across MATLAB sessions, place the above line of code in your "startup.m" file.

If you do not have a startup.m file, create a "startup.m" file in a folder on the MATLAB search path.

For more options and details on the above see the two links below.

Details on saveas properties: https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/ref/saveas.html

Creating a "startup.m" file: https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/ref/startup.html