MATLAB App Designer: Tab Group Example

MATLAB App Designer is an integrated development environment (IDE) that enables users to create professional apps without having to be an expert in programming. One of the key components in app development is creating a user-friendly interface, and tab groups play a crucial role in organizing content within the app. In this article, we will explore how to implement a tab group in MATLAB's App Designer, guiding you through the steps to build, configure, and customize the tabs in your app.

1. Introduction to Tab Groups

Tab groups in MATLAB App Designer allow you to organize different panels of information under individual tabs, creating a cleaner and more intuitive user interface (UI). This becomes especially important when dealing with complex apps that require the display of different sets of data or control options, without cluttering the UI.

2. Creating a Tab Group

To create a tab group in MATLAB App Designer:

1. Open MATLAB App Designer: Start MATLAB and open App Designer by selecting New > App from the home menu.

2. Drag a Tab Group Component: Once the app opens, go to the Component Library on the left side of the interface. Scroll down until you see the Tab Group component under Containers. Drag this component onto the app canvas.

3. Add Tabs: By default, the tab group will contain two tabs, but you can add or remove tabs by right-clicking on the tab headers. To add more tabs, right-click and select "Add Tab". Each tab will have a title (e.g., "Tab 1", "Tab 2") which you can rename to suit the content that will be displayed on each.

4. Customizing Tabs: Click on each tab to change its properties. For example, you can change the tab title, background color, or content inside the tab using the Inspector panel on the right. You can also drag other components such as buttons, labels, or tables into each tab.

3. Working with Tab Callbacks

Once you've created your tabs, you might want to control the behavior when switching between tabs, especially if the content or functionality of each tab differs. For example, in a data visualization app, switching to a specific tab might trigger a new plot to appear. To implement such functionality, you can use callbacks.

1. Tab Selection Change Callback: To execute specific code when a tab is selected, use the SelectionChangedFcn callback. This can be set in the Component Browser or the Inspector panel. Here’s how to add it:

   • Click on the Tab Group in the Component Browser.
   • Go to the Callbacks section in the Inspector panel.
   • Click on the Add button next to the SelectionChangedFcn to create a new function. This will open the code view, allowing you to write custom MATLAB code.

For example, the following code could be used to update a plot when a user switches to a new tab:

matlab
function TabGroupSelectionChanged(app, event)
    selectedTab = app.TabGroup.SelectedTab;
    
    if strcmp(selectedTab.Title, 'Tab 1')
        plot(app.UIAxes, rand(1,10));  % Example plot in Tab 1
    elseif strcmp(selectedTab.Title, 'Tab 2')
        plot(app.UIAxes, rand(1,10)*10);  % Example plot in Tab 2
    end
end

In this example, the function checks the title of the selected tab and generates different random plots for each tab.

4. Advanced Customization

Besides the basic creation and management of tabs, you can further customize the tab group to suit more complex app requirements:

1. Dynamic Tab Creation: You can create tabs dynamically at runtime using MATLAB code. This can be useful if the number of tabs needed is determined by user input or external data. For example:

matlab
tab = uitab(app.TabGroup, 'Title', 'New Tab');
uicontrol(tab, 'Style', 'text', 'String', 'Hello, this is a dynamically created tab.');

1. Tab Deletion: Similarly, tabs can be deleted using MATLAB code. For example, to remove a specific tab:

matlab
delete(app.TabGroup.Children(1));  % Deletes the first tab

1. Icons in Tabs: You can enhance the visual appeal of your app by adding icons to the tab titles. This is done by setting the Icon property of the tab. You can either specify a path to an image file or use a predefined icon from MATLAB’s icon library.

matlab
app.TabGroup.Tab(1).Icon = 'myIcon.png';  % Replace 'myIcon.png' with the path to your icon

5. Case Study: Building a Data Visualization App

To illustrate the use of tab groups in a real-world scenario, let's build a simple data visualization app with three tabs. The first tab will display a random line plot, the second will display a bar graph, and the third will show a table of random data.

Step-by-Step App Design:

1. Create a Tab Group: Follow the steps mentioned earlier to create a tab group with three tabs labeled "Line Plot", "Bar Graph", and "Data Table".

2. Add Axes to the First Two Tabs: Drag UIAxes components from the Component Library into the first two tabs for plotting the graphs.

3. Add a Table to the Third Tab: Drag a UITable component into the third tab for displaying data.

4. Configure Tab Callbacks: In the code view, set up a SelectionChangedFcn callback for the Tab Group. This will determine which graph or data to display when a user switches between tabs. Here’s an example:

matlab
function TabGroupSelectionChanged(app, event)
    selectedTab = app.TabGroup.SelectedTab;
    
    switch selectedTab.Title
        case 'Line Plot'
            plot(app.UIAxes, rand(10,1));
        case 'Bar Graph'
            bar(app.UIAxes, randi(10,5,1));
        case 'Data Table'
            app.UITable.Data = rand(5);
    end
end

This function updates the content in each tab based on the user's selection.

6. Conclusion

The tab group in MATLAB App Designer provides an efficient way to manage and display multiple views or datasets in a single app interface. By using callbacks and other advanced features, you can create highly interactive apps with clear organization, making it easier for users to navigate and interact with the content. As you become more familiar with tab groups, you can customize them further to suit your needs, whether you're building data visualization apps, control panels, or multi-step workflows.

Key Takeaways:

• Tab groups allow for easy content organization.
• You can customize tabs by adding components like graphs, tables, and buttons.
• Tab selection callbacks enable dynamic content updates.
• Advanced features include dynamic tab creation, deletion, and icon customization.