API Reference: FastPlot

The core plotting class. Manages data lines, thresholds, bands, shadings, fills, and markers with automatic downsampling on zoom/pan. Inherits from handle.

Constructor

fp = FastPlot();
fp = FastPlot('Parent', axHandle);
fp = FastPlot('Theme', 'dark', 'LinkGroup', 'sensors');
fp = FastPlot('YScale', 'log', 'DefaultDownsampleMethod', 'lttb');
fp = FastPlot('LiveInterval', 1.0, 'Verbose', true);

Creates a new FastPlot instance. All options are name-value pairs. Defaults are loaded from FastPlotDefaults (via getDefaults) and can be overridden per-instance.

Constructor Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`Parent`	axes handle	`[]`	Target axes handle. If empty, `render()` creates a new figure and axes
`LinkGroup`	char	`''`	Synchronization group ID. Plots sharing the same LinkGroup have linked zoom/pan
`Theme`	char, struct, or FastPlotTheme	(from `FastPlotDefaults`)	Theme preset name (`'default'`, `'dark'`, `'light'`, `'industrial'`, `'scientific'`, `'ocean'`), partial override struct, or FastPlotTheme object
`Verbose`	logical	`false`	Print diagnostic messages to the console during render, zoom, and live updates
`MinPointsForDownsample`	double	`5000`	Lines with fewer points than this are plotted raw without downsampling
`DownsampleFactor`	double	`2`	Points per pixel. Higher values render more points per pixel column
`PyramidReduction`	double	`100`	Compression factor per pyramid level. Controls the ratio between successive LOD levels
`DefaultDownsampleMethod`	char	`'minmax'`	Default downsampling algorithm: `'minmax'` (preserves extremes) or `'lttb'` (preserves visual shape)
`XScale`	char	`'linear'`	X-axis scale: `'linear'` or `'log'`
`YScale`	char	`'linear'`	Y-axis scale: `'linear'` or `'log'`
`LiveInterval`	double	`2.0`	Polling interval in seconds for live mode

Properties

Public Configurable Properties

Set these before calling render(). Some can be changed after rendering (noted below).

Property	Type	Default	Description
`ParentAxes`	handle	`[]`	Target axes handle. Empty means `render()` creates a new figure
`LinkGroup`	char	`''`	String ID for linked zoom/pan across multiple FastPlot instances
`Theme`	struct	(from `FastPlotDefaults`)	Active theme struct. Change after render via `reapplyTheme()`
`Verbose`	logical	`false`	Print diagnostics to the console
`DeferDraw`	logical	`false`	Skip `drawnow` calls during render. Used by `FastPlotFigure` for batch rendering of dashboard tiles
`ShowProgress`	logical	`true`	Show `ConsoleProgressBar` during render
`XScale`	char	`'linear'`	X-axis scale. Change after render via `setScale()`
`YScale`	char	`'linear'`	Y-axis scale. Change after render via `setScale()`
`ViolationsVisible`	logical	`true`	Global toggle for violation marker visibility. Change after render via `setViolationsVisible()`
`LiveViewMode`	char	`''`	View behavior during live updates: `'preserve'` (keep current view), `'follow'` (scroll to latest), `'reset'` (show all). Empty means no view mode applied
`LiveFile`	char	`''`	Path to .mat file for live polling
`LiveUpdateFcn`	function_handle	`[]`	Callback `f(fp, data)` called on each live poll when the file changes
`LiveIsActive`	logical	`false`	Whether live polling is currently running
`LiveInterval`	double	`2.0`	Polling interval in seconds for live mode
`MetadataFile`	char	`''`	Path to .mat file containing metadata
`MetadataVars`	cell	`{}`	Cell array of variable names to extract from the metadata file
`MetadataLineIndex`	double	`1`	Which line index receives metadata loaded from `MetadataFile`

Performance Tuning Properties

These are public and can be set before render() or via the constructor.

Property	Type	Default	Description
`MinPointsForDownsample`	double	`5000`	Lines with fewer points are plotted raw. Also determines the `IsStatic` flag on each line
`DownsampleFactor`	double	`2`	Target points per pixel (min + max). Higher values produce denser traces
`PyramidReduction`	double	`100`	Reduction factor per pyramid level. Each level stores `N/R` points from the level above
`DefaultDownsampleMethod`	char	`'minmax'`	`'minmax'` preserves per-bucket min/max extremes; `'lttb'` (Largest-Triangle-Three-Buckets) preserves visual shape

Read-Only / Private-Set Properties

These are set internally by FastPlot. Read access is public.

Property	Type	Description
`Lines`	struct array	Added data lines. Fields: `X`, `Y`, `Options`, `DownsampleMethod`, `hLine`, `Pyramid`, `HasNaN`, `Metadata`, `IsStatic`
`Thresholds`	struct array	Added thresholds. Fields: `Value`, `X`, `Y`, `Direction`, `ShowViolations`, `Color`, `LineStyle`, `Label`, `hLine`, `hMarkers`
`Bands`	struct array	Added bands. Fields: `YLow`, `YHigh`, `FaceColor`, `FaceAlpha`, `EdgeColor`, `Label`, `hPatch`
`Markers`	struct array	Added markers. Fields: `X`, `Y`, `Marker`, `MarkerSize`, `Color`, `Label`, `hLine`
`Shadings`	struct array	Added shaded regions. Fields: `X`, `Y1`, `Y2`, `FaceColor`, `FaceAlpha`, `EdgeColor`, `DisplayName`, `hPatch`, `CacheX`, `CacheY1`, `CacheY2`
`IsRendered`	logical	`true` after `render()` has been called
`hFigure`	handle	Figure handle (created by `render()` if no `Parent` was given)
`hAxes`	handle	Axes handle
`XType`	char	`'numeric'` or `'datenum'` (auto-detected from data)
`IsDatetime`	logical	`true` if X data was MATLAB `datetime` (auto-converted to datenum internally)

Internal Private Properties

Not accessible externally. Listed for architecture reference.

Property	Type	Description
`Listeners`	array	Event listeners (XLim, resize)
`hRefineTimer`	timer	One-shot timer for deferred MinMax/LTTB refinement after stride preview
`IsRefined`	logical	`false` while showing coarse stride preview, `true` after refinement
`CachedXLim`	1x2 double	Last known XLim for lazy skip of unchanged zoom events
`CachedViolationLim`	1x5 double	`[xmin xmax ymin ymax pixelWidth]` dirty-flag for violation skip
`FullXLim`	1x2 double	Full data X range stored at render time for Home button restore
`FullYLim`	1x2 double	Full data Y range stored at render time for Home button restore
`PixelWidth`	double	Cached axes width in pixels (minimum 100)
`IsPropagating`	logical	Guard against re-entrant link propagation
`HasLimitRate`	logical	Cached: does `drawnow` support `'limitrate'`? (MATLAB yes, Octave no)
`DeferredTimer`	timer	Timer for deferred Home button re-downsample via `scheduleDeferredXLimCheck`
`ColorIndex`	double	Tracks auto color cycling position across `addLine` calls
`LiveTimer`	timer	Timer object for live polling
`LiveFileDate`	double	Last known file modification datenum for change detection
`MetadataFileDate`	double	Last known metadata file modification datenum

Public Methods

addLine(x, y, ...)

Add a data line for downsampled rendering. Must be called before render().

fp.addLine(x, y);
fp.addLine(x, y, 'DisplayName', 'Pressure', 'Color', [0 0.4 0.8], 'LineWidth', 1.5);
fp.addLine(x, y, 'DownsampleMethod', 'lttb');
fp.addLine(x, y, 'XType', 'datenum');
fp.addLine(dt, y);              % MATLAB datetime auto-detected
fp.addLine(x, y, 'Metadata', metaStruct);
fp.addLine(x, y, 'AssumeSorted', true, 'HasNaN', false);

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`x`	1xN double or datetime	(required)	Monotonically increasing X values. Datetime objects are auto-converted to datenum
`y`	1xN double	(required)	Y values. NaN allowed for gaps
`DownsampleMethod`	char	(from constructor `DefaultDownsampleMethod`)	Per-line override: `'minmax'` or `'lttb'`
`Metadata`	struct	`[]`	Struct with a `.datenum` field for forward-fill tooltip lookup via `lookupMetadata`
`AssumeSorted`	logical	`false`	Skip the monotonicity check on X. Use when you guarantee X is sorted to save time on very large arrays
`HasNaN`	logical	`[]` (auto-detect)	Override NaN detection. When `[]`, FastPlot scans Y with `any(isnan(y))`. Set explicitly to skip the scan on large arrays
`XType`	char	`'numeric'`	Set to `'datenum'` for datenum X values. Auto-set when datetime X is detected
`Color`	1x3 RGB or char	(auto-cycled from theme `LineColorOrder`)	Line color
`LineStyle`	char	`'-'`	Line style: `'-'`, `'--'`, `':'`, `'-.'`
`LineWidth`	double	(from theme `LineWidth`)	Line width in points
`DisplayName`	char	`''`	Legend label

Any additional name-value pairs not listed above (e.g., 'MarkerSize', 'MarkerEdgeColor') are passed through to the MATLAB line() object as graphics properties.

Behavior:

X must be monotonically increasing. Validated in chunks of 1M elements unless AssumeSorted is true
Column vectors are silently converted to row vectors
NaN values in Y create visual gaps -- each contiguous non-NaN segment is downsampled independently
Colors auto-cycle from the theme's LineColorOrder palette when Color is not specified
Lines with fewer than MinPointsForDownsample points are flagged as static and skip re-downsampling on zoom/pan
Errors if called after render()

Example -- Multiple sensor lines:

fp = FastPlot('Theme', 'scientific');
x = linspace(0, 10, 5e6);
fp.addLine(x, sin(x), 'DisplayName', 'Channel A');
fp.addLine(x, cos(x), 'DisplayName', 'Channel B', 'LineStyle', '--');
fp.addLine(x, sin(2*x) * 0.5, 'DisplayName', 'Channel C', 'LineWidth', 1.5);
fp.render();

Example -- Data with NaN gaps:

y = sin(x);
y(1000:2000) = NaN;  % Sensor dropout
y(5000:5500) = NaN;
fp.addLine(x, y, 'DisplayName', 'Sensor');

addThreshold(value, ...) / addThreshold(thX, thY, ...)

Add a constant or time-varying threshold line with optional violation markers. Must be called before render().

The calling convention is auto-detected: if the first two arguments are both numeric vectors and the first has more than one element, the call is treated as time-varying.

Constant threshold (scalar):

fp.addThreshold(4.5);
fp.addThreshold(4.5, 'Direction', 'upper', 'ShowViolations', true, 'Color', 'r', 'Label', 'High Limit');
fp.addThreshold(-2.0, 'Direction', 'lower', 'ShowViolations', true, 'Color', 'b', 'Label', 'Low Limit');

Time-varying threshold (step function):

fp.addThreshold(thX, thY, 'Direction', 'upper', 'ShowViolations', true, 'Label', 'Dynamic Limit');

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`value`	double (scalar)	(required)	Constant threshold value (scalar form)
`thX`	1xN double	(required)	Time-varying threshold X coordinates (vector form)
`thY`	1xN double	(required)	Time-varying threshold Y coordinates (vector form)
`Direction`	char	`'upper'`	`'upper'` (violation when y > threshold) or `'lower'` (violation when y < threshold)
`ShowViolations`	logical	`false`	Render violation markers where data crosses the threshold
`Color`	1x3 RGB or char	(theme `ThresholdColor`)	Line and marker color
`LineStyle`	char	(theme `ThresholdStyle`)	Line style
`Label`	char	`''`	Legend/display label

Behavior:

Scalar thresholds draw a horizontal line spanning the full X range of all data lines
Time-varying thresholds draw a piecewise-constant or piecewise-linear line from the provided X/Y vectors
Threshold lines are rendered with LineWidth of 1.5 and HandleVisibility off (hidden from legend)
Violation markers are rendered as '.' markers with MarkerSize 6, colored to match the threshold
Markers are pixel-culled on zoom via violation_cull -- only one marker per pixel column is rendered to avoid overdraw
Violations are computed against all data lines (not just the first)
Errors if called after render()

Example -- Industrial alarm levels:

fp = FastPlot('Theme', 'industrial');
fp.addLine(x, y, 'DisplayName', 'Temperature');
fp.addThreshold(95, 'Direction', 'upper', 'ShowViolations', true, 'Color', [1 0 0], 'Label', 'HH Alarm');
fp.addThreshold(85, 'Direction', 'upper', 'ShowViolations', false, 'Color', [1 0.5 0], 'Label', 'H Warning');
fp.addThreshold(15, 'Direction', 'lower', 'ShowViolations', false, 'Color', [0 0.5 1], 'Label', 'L Warning');
fp.addThreshold(5, 'Direction', 'lower', 'ShowViolations', true, 'Color', [0 0 1], 'Label', 'LL Alarm');
fp.render();

addBand(yLow, yHigh, ...)

Add a horizontal band (shaded zone spanning the full X range). Bands are rendered as patches behind data lines and are not re-downsampled on zoom. Must be called before render().

fp.addBand(85, 95, 'FaceColor', [1 0.3 0.3], 'FaceAlpha', 0.15, 'Label', 'High Alarm Zone');
fp.addBand(-95, -85, 'FaceColor', [0.3 0.3 1], 'FaceAlpha', 0.15, 'Label', 'Low Alarm Zone');

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`yLow`	double	(required)	Lower Y bound
`yHigh`	double	(required)	Upper Y bound
`FaceColor`	1x3 RGB	(theme `ThresholdColor`)	Fill color
`FaceAlpha`	double	(theme `BandAlpha`)	Fill transparency (0 = invisible, 1 = opaque)
`EdgeColor`	char or RGB	`'none'`	Edge line color
`Label`	char	`''`	Legend label

Example -- 4-level alarm bands:

fp.addBand(90, 100, 'FaceColor', [1 0 0], 'FaceAlpha', 0.12, 'Label', 'HH');
fp.addBand(80, 90, 'FaceColor', [1 0.6 0], 'FaceAlpha', 0.10, 'Label', 'H');
fp.addBand(10, 20, 'FaceColor', [0 0.6 1], 'FaceAlpha', 0.10, 'Label', 'L');
fp.addBand(0, 10, 'FaceColor', [0 0 1], 'FaceAlpha', 0.12, 'Label', 'LL');

addShaded(x, y1, y2, ...)

Add a shaded region between two curves. The shading is dynamically re-downsampled on zoom/pan just like data lines. Must be called before render().

fp.addShaded(x, y_upper, y_lower, 'FaceColor', [0.3 0.7 1], 'FaceAlpha', 0.2, 'DisplayName', 'Envelope');

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`x`	1xN double	(required)	Monotonically increasing X values
`y1`	1xN double	(required)	Upper boundary curve
`y2`	1xN double	(required)	Lower boundary curve
`FaceColor`	1x3 RGB	`[0 0.45 0.74]`	Fill color
`FaceAlpha`	double	`0.15`	Fill transparency
`EdgeColor`	char or RGB	`'none'`	Edge line color
`DisplayName`	char	`''`	Legend label

Behavior:

X must be monotonically increasing. Validated the same way as addLine
All three arrays must have the same number of elements
For datasets larger than 20,000 points, a pre-downsampled cache (CacheX, CacheY1, CacheY2) of 10,000 points is built during render to speed up zoom updates
The shading is rendered as a patch with vertices [x, fliplr(x)] / [y1, fliplr(y2)]
Column vectors are silently converted to row vectors
Errors if called after render()

Example -- Confidence envelope:

fp.addLine(x, y_mean, 'DisplayName', 'Mean');
fp.addShaded(x, y_mean + 2*y_std, y_mean - 2*y_std, ...
    'FaceColor', [0.3 0.7 1], 'FaceAlpha', 0.2, 'DisplayName', '2-sigma');

addFill(x, y, ...)

Area fill from a curve to a constant baseline. Convenience wrapper around addShaded. Must be called before render().

fp.addFill(x, y, 'FaceColor', [0 0.5 1], 'Baseline', 0, 'DisplayName', 'Energy');

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`x`	1xN double or datetime	(required)	X values. Datetime auto-converted to datenum
`y`	1xN double	(required)	Y values
`Baseline`	double	`0`	Constant Y value for the fill bottom
`FaceColor`	1x3 RGB	`[0 0.45 0.74]`	Fill color
`FaceAlpha`	double	`0.15`	Transparency
`EdgeColor`	char or RGB	`'none'`	Edge line color
`DisplayName`	char	`''`	Legend label

Behavior:

Internally calls addShaded(x, y, baseline_vector, ...) where baseline_vector is a constant array of the Baseline value
Datetime X is auto-converted to datenum

Example -- Shaded area under a curve:

x = linspace(0, 2*pi, 1000);
fp.addFill(x, sin(x), 'Baseline', 0, ...
    'FaceColor', [0.2 0.6 1], 'FaceAlpha', 0.3, 'DisplayName', 'Signal');

addMarker(x, y, ...)

Add custom event markers at specific data points. Markers are drawn as a line object with LineStyle='none', rendered in front of data lines. They are not downsampled. Must be called before render().

fp.addMarker([50 150 250], [3 3 3], 'Marker', 'v', 'MarkerSize', 10, 'Color', [1 0 0], 'Label', 'Faults');

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`x`	1xN double	(required)	Marker X positions
`y`	1xN double	(required)	Marker Y positions
`Marker`	char	`'o'`	Marker shape: `'o'`, `'v'`, `'^'`, `'s'`, `'d'`, `'x'`, `'+'`, `'*'`, `'.'`, etc.
`MarkerSize`	double	`6`	Marker size in points
`Color`	1x3 RGB or char	(theme `ThresholdColor`)	Marker color
`Label`	char	`''`	Legend label

Behavior:

Column vectors are silently converted to row vectors
Markers are not downsampled -- provide only the points you want drawn
Rendered with HandleVisibility off (hidden from legend)
Errors if called after render()

addSensor(sensor, ...)

Add a resolved Sensor object's data line, threshold lines, and violation markers in one call. Must be called before render().

fp.addSensor(sensor);
fp.addSensor(sensor, 'ShowThresholds', true);
fp.addSensor(sensor, 'ShowThresholds', false);

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`sensor`	Sensor	(required)	Resolved Sensor object. Must have fields: `X`, `Y`, `Name`, `Key`, `ResolvedThresholds`
`ShowThresholds`	logical	`true`	Display threshold step-function lines and enable violation markers

Behavior:

Calls addLine for the sensor's X/Y data, using sensor.Name (or sensor.Key as fallback) as the DisplayName
When ShowThresholds is true, calls addThreshold for each entry in sensor.ResolvedThresholds with ShowViolations set to true
Threshold color and line style from the sensor are resolved against the theme via resolveThresholdStyle (empty color/style falls back to theme defaults)
Errors if called after render()

Example:

s = sensorLib.resolve('temperature');
fp.addSensor(s);
fp.render();

render()

Render the plot: create figure/axes, downsample all data, draw graphics objects, install zoom/pan listeners. Can only be called once per FastPlot instance.

fp.render();
fp.render(progressBar);  % Use an existing ConsoleProgressBar (for dashboard batch rendering)

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`progressBar`	ConsoleProgressBar	`[]`	Optional external progress bar handle. If empty and `ShowProgress` is true, creates one internally

Render Pipeline (in order):

Creates a figure and axes (or uses ParentAxes). Sets PositionConstraint to 'innerposition'
Applies the theme (background, grid, font) via applyTheme
Sets axis scale (XScale, YScale)
Computes the full X range from all lines' endpoints
Renders bands as patches spanning the full X range (back layer)
Renders shaded regions. For datasets >20k points, builds a pre-downsampled cache (10k points) for fast zoom updates
Downsamples and renders all data lines:
- When DeferDraw is true: full synchronous MinMax/LTTB downsample
- When DeferDraw is false: fast stride preview (every K-th point), followed by async refinement via timer
Renders threshold lines (scalar as horizontal lines, time-varying as step functions) with LineWidth 1.5
Computes and renders violation markers via violation_cull (pixel-culled, one per pixel column)
Renders custom markers (front layer)
Sets axis limits with 5% additive padding (linear) or 10% multiplicative padding (log Y)
Auto-formats datetime X ticks via datetick when XType is 'datenum'
Shows legend when there are multiple data lines
Creates an invisible anchor line spanning the full X range for correct resetplotview behavior
Installs XLim PostSet listener for re-downsampling on zoom/pan
Installs XLimMode PostSet listener to catch resetplotview (Home button)
Installs ButtonDownFcn for double-click loupe (on axes and all children)
Installs ResizeFcn (only when FastPlot owns the figure)
Enables zoom mode (only when FastPlot owns the figure)
Stores FullXLim/FullYLim and calls resetplotview('SaveCurrentView')
Registers in LinkGroup if set
Schedules async refinement timer (10ms delay) for stride-previewed lines
Makes figure visible and calls drawnow (unless DeferDraw is true)

Errors:

FastPlot:alreadyRendered if called more than once
FastPlot:noLines if no lines have been added

setScale(...)

Change axis scale ('linear' or 'log') before or after render.

fp.setScale('YScale', 'log');
fp.setScale('XScale', 'log', 'YScale', 'log');

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`XScale`	char	(current value)	`'linear'` or `'log'`
`YScale`	char	(current value)	`'linear'` or `'log'`

Behavior:

Before render: stores the values for use during render()
After render: applies the new scale to the axes and re-downsamples all lines, shadings, and violations
When XScale changes: all pyramid caches are invalidated (log-space bucketing differs from linear)
When only YScale changes: only LTTB pyramids are invalidated (MinMax is order-invariant along Y)
Errors on invalid scale values

setViolationsVisible(visible)

Toggle violation marker visibility programmatically.

fp.setViolationsVisible(false);  % Hide all markers
fp.setViolationsVisible(true);   % Show markers and recompute

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
`visible`	logical	`true` to show violation markers, `false` to hide

Behavior:

Sets the global ViolationsVisible flag
When set to true: clears the violation cache, recomputes violations via updateViolations, and sets Visible='on' only on thresholds that have ShowViolations=true
When set to false: sets Visible='off' on all violation marker handles without recomputing

setLineMetadata(lineIdx, meta)

Attach or replace a metadata struct on a rendered line for tooltip display.

fp.setLineMetadata(1, struct('datenum', [1 5 10], 'batch', {{'A','B','C'}}));

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
`lineIdx`	double	Integer index of the data line (1-based)
`meta`	struct	Metadata struct. Should contain a `.datenum` field with sorted timestamps for forward-fill lookup

Behavior:

Silently does nothing if lineIdx is out of range
Primarily used by FastPlotFigure to attach metadata loaded from a separate file after render

lookupMetadata(lineIdx, xValue)

Get active metadata at a given X value using forward-fill (last-observation-carried-forward) logic.

result = fp.lookupMetadata(1, 7.5);

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
`lineIdx`	double	Integer index of the data line (1-based)
`xValue`	double	Scalar X position (datenum or numeric)

Returns: Struct with one value per metadata field at the matching timestamp, or [] if no metadata is available.

Behavior:

Binary-searches the metadata's .datenum field for the largest value <= xValue
Returns all fields except .datenum at the found index
Cell array fields return the cell element; numeric fields return the scalar
Returns [] if: lineIdx is out of range, no metadata attached, or xValue precedes all timestamps

Example:

meta = struct('datenum', [1 5 10], 'operator', {{'A','B','C'}});
fp.addLine(1:20, randn(1,20), 'Metadata', meta);
fp.render();
info = fp.lookupMetadata(1, 7);  % returns struct with operator='B'

reapplyTheme()

Re-apply the current Theme to axes, figure, and line widths. Call this after changing the Theme property on an already-rendered plot.

fp.Theme = FastPlotTheme('dark');
fp.reapplyTheme();

Behavior:

Has no effect before render() has been called
Calls applyTheme() to refresh background, foreground, grid, and font
Updates all existing line widths to Theme.LineWidth

resetColorIndex()

Reset the auto color cycling counter to zero.

fp.resetColorIndex();
fp.addLine(x, y);  % Uses first palette color again

Behavior:

Sets ColorIndex to 0
The next addLine() call without an explicit Color option will use the first color from Theme.LineColorOrder

openLoupe()

Open a standalone enlarged copy of this plot in a new figure.

fp.openLoupe();  % Also triggered by double-clicking on the axes

Behavior:

Creates a new FastPlot instance and deep-copies all lines, thresholds, bands, shadings, and markers
Preserves the current zoom state (XLim/YLim) from the source
Datetime data is converted back from datenum to datetime before adding to the new plot
The new figure is offset by [+30, -30] pixels from the source figure
A FastPlotToolbar is created on the new figure
Uses DeferDraw=true during render so the figure appears at the correct zoom rather than flashing at full range first
The source tile's axes title is used as the loupe figure name

updateData(lineIdx, newX, newY, ...)

Replace data for a line and re-downsample. Must be called after render(). This is the primary method for live data updates.

fp.updateData(1, newX, newY);
fp.updateData(1, newX, newY, 'Metadata', newMeta);
fp.updateData(1, newX, newY, 'SkipViewMode', true);
fp.updateData(1, newX, newY, true);  % Legacy positional boolean for SkipViewMode

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`lineIdx`	double	(required)	Integer index of the data line (1-based)
`newX`	1xN double	(required)	New X data (monotonic)
`newY`	1xN double	(required)	New Y data (same length as newX)
`Metadata`	struct	`[]`	Replace line metadata
`SkipViewMode`	logical	`false`	Skip `LiveViewMode` adjustments

Behavior:

Replaces raw X/Y data and clears the pyramid cache
Updates HasNaN and IsStatic flags
Applies LiveViewMode (follow/preserve/reset) unless SkipViewMode is true
Re-downsamples all lines, shadings, and violations via updateLines, updateShadings, updateViolations
Flushes the display via drawnow limitrate

Errors:

FastPlot:notRendered if called before render()
FastPlot:indexOutOfRange if lineIdx is out of range
FastPlot:sizeMismatch if X and Y have different lengths

Live Mode Methods

startLive(filepath, updateFcn, ...)

Start live mode -- poll a .mat file for changes. Must be called after render().

fp.startLive('data.mat', @(fp, s) fp.updateData(1, s.x, s.y));
fp.startLive('data.mat', @updateFcn, 'Interval', 1, 'ViewMode', 'follow');
fp.startLive('data.mat', @updateFcn, 'MetadataFile', 'meta.mat', ...
    'MetadataVars', {'batch', 'operator'}, 'MetadataLineIndex', 1);

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`filepath`	char	(required)	Path to a .mat file to poll
`updateFcn`	function_handle	(required)	Callback `@(fp, data)` called when the file changes. `data` is the result of `load(filepath)`
`Interval`	double	(from `LiveInterval`)	Polling period in seconds
`ViewMode`	char	`'preserve'`	`'preserve'`, `'follow'`, or `'reset'`
`MetadataFile`	char	`''`	Path to a separate metadata .mat file
`MetadataVars`	cell	`{}`	Variable names to extract from the metadata file
`MetadataLineIndex`	double	`1`	Which line index receives metadata

Behavior:

Stops any existing live mode first
Records the current file modification date for change detection
Creates a MATLAB timer with fixedSpacing execution mode
Installs a cleanup callback on the figure's DeleteFcn so the timer stops when the figure is closed
On Octave (where timer is unavailable), use runLive() after this method for a blocking poll loop
Errors if called before render()

stopLive()

Stop live mode polling.

fp.stopLive();

Behavior:

Stops and deletes the live timer and deferred timer
Stops the refinement timer
Sets LiveIsActive to false
Safe to call even if live mode is not active

refresh()

Manual one-shot reload from LiveFile.

fp.refresh();

Behavior:

Loads the current LiveFile and calls LiveUpdateFcn(fp, data)
Updates LiveFileDate timestamp
Also reloads MetadataFile if configured
Errors if LiveFile or LiveUpdateFcn have not been set
Warns if the file does not exist

setViewMode(mode)

Change the live view mode at runtime.

fp.setViewMode('follow');
fp.setViewMode('preserve');
fp.setViewMode('reset');

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
`mode`	char	`'preserve'` (keep current zoom), `'follow'` (scroll to track latest data), or `'reset'` (fit full X range)

runLive()

Blocking poll loop for live mode (Octave compatibility).

fp.startLive('data.mat', @updateFcn);
fp.runLive();  % Blocks on Octave, no-op on MATLAB

Behavior:

On MATLAB: no-op (the timer is already running)
On Octave: enters a blocking loop that polls LiveFile for changes at LiveInterval. Blocks until the figure is closed or Ctrl+C
Installs an onCleanup guard to call stopLive() when the loop exits

onLiveTimerPublic()

Public wrapper for testing the live timer callback directly.

fp.onLiveTimerPublic();

Behavior:

Delegates to the private onLiveTimer method
Exists solely for unit tests to invoke the timer callback without relying on real timers

delete()

Clean up timers and release resources. Called automatically when the FastPlot object is destroyed (cleared from workspace or figure closed).

% Implicit -- called by MATLAB when fp goes out of scope
clear fp;

Behavior:

Stops the refinement timer
Stops the live timer via stopLive()

Static Methods

FastPlot.distFig(...)

Distribute figure windows across the screen in a grid layout.

FastPlot.distFig();                      % Auto-arrange all open figures
FastPlot.distFig('Rows', 2, 'Cols', 3); % Arrange in a 2x3 grid

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`Rows`	double	(auto)	Number of grid rows
`Cols`	double	(auto)	Number of grid columns

Behavior:

Delegates to the vendored distFig function (in vendor/distFig/)
Automatically adds the vendor directory to the MATLAB path if not already present
Figures are sorted by number and tiled left-to-right, top-to-bottom

FastPlot.resetDefaults()

Force reload of FastPlotDefaults on next constructor call.

FastPlot.resetDefaults();
fp = FastPlot();  % Picks up new defaults

Behavior:

Calls clearDefaultsCache() to clear the persistent variable in getDefaults
Useful after editing FastPlotDefaults.m in a running MATLAB session

Internal Architecture

Zoom/Pan Pipeline

When the user zooms or pans, the following chain executes:

XLim PostSet listener fires onXLimChanged
onXLimChanged guards against re-entrancy (IsPropagating) and unchanged limits (CachedXLim)
Calls updateLines -- for each non-static line:
- Binary-searches raw X for the visible index range
- Selects the coarsest pyramid level with enough resolution via selectPyramidLevel
- Lazy-builds missing pyramid levels via buildPyramidLevel
- MinMax/LTTB downsamples the visible slice to screen pixel width
- Updates the line handle's XData/YData
Calls updateShadings -- binary-search + MinMax downsample for each shaded region
Calls updateViolations -- dirty-flag check, then violation_cull per threshold per line
Updates datetime tick formatting if applicable
Propagates XLim to all members of the LinkGroup
Flushes via drawnow limitrate

Pyramid Cache

Each line maintains a multi-level pyramid cache (Lines(i).Pyramid):

Level 1: MinMax downsample of raw data by PyramidReduction (100x)
Level 2: MinMax downsample of Level 1 by another 100x
Level N: Continues until levelSize < target (2 * pixelWidth)
Levels are built lazily on first access during zoom
The coarsest level with sufficient resolution for the visible range is selected
Cache is invalidated when: X scale changes (all levels), Y scale changes (LTTB levels only), or updateData is called

Home Button / resetplotview

MATLAB's resetplotview (Home button) defers its XLim update, bypassing the XLim PostSet listener. FastPlot handles this via:

XLimMode PostSet listener fires onXLimModeChanged
If XLimMode is 'auto': immediately restores FullXLim/FullYLim and re-downsamples
Otherwise: schedules a 10ms deferred timer (scheduleDeferredXLimCheck) that reads the new XLim after MATLAB's deferred update completes

Stride Preview + Async Refinement

During render() (when DeferDraw is false):

Large lines display a fast stride preview (every K-th point) for instant figure visibility
A 10ms one-shot timer schedules refineLines()
refineLines() replaces the stride preview with proper MinMax/LTTB downsampled data
On Octave or when timer is unavailable, refinement happens synchronously

Usage Patterns

Minimal plot

fp = FastPlot();
fp.addLine(x, y);
fp.render();

Themed plot with thresholds

fp = FastPlot('Theme', 'dark');
fp.addLine(x, y, 'DisplayName', 'Sensor');
fp.addThreshold(0.8, 'Direction', 'upper', 'ShowViolations', true, 'Label', 'HI');
fp.render();
tb = FastPlotToolbar(fp);

Datetime X-axis

dt = datetime(2024,1,1) + hours(0:1e5-1);
fp = FastPlot();
fp.addLine(dt, randn(1, 1e5), 'DisplayName', 'Sensor');
fp.render();

Log-scale plot

fp = FastPlot('XScale', 'log', 'YScale', 'log');
fp.addLine(logspace(0, 6, 1e6), logspace(-1, 3, 1e6));
fp.render();

LTTB downsampling

fp = FastPlot('DefaultDownsampleMethod', 'lttb');
fp.addLine(x, y);
fp.render();

Embedded in existing axes

fig = figure;
ax = axes('Parent', fig);
fp = FastPlot('Parent', ax);
fp.addLine(x, y);
fp.render();

Linked zoom/pan

fp1 = FastPlot('LinkGroup', 'group1');
fp1.addLine(x, y1, 'DisplayName', 'Temp');
fp1.render();
fp2 = FastPlot('LinkGroup', 'group1');
fp2.addLine(x, y2, 'DisplayName', 'Pressure');
fp2.render();
% Zooming fp1 automatically zooms fp2

Live polling

fp = FastPlot();
fp.addLine(x, y);
fp.render();
fp.startLive('data.mat', @(fp, d) fp.updateData(1, d.x, d.y), ...
    'Interval', 1, 'ViewMode', 'follow');

Shaded confidence envelope

fp = FastPlot();
fp.addLine(x, y_mean, 'DisplayName', 'Mean');
fp.addShaded(x, y_mean + 2*sigma, y_mean - 2*sigma, ...
    'FaceColor', [0.3 0.7 1], 'FaceAlpha', 0.2, 'DisplayName', '2-sigma');
fp.render();

Full industrial dashboard tile

fp = FastPlot('Theme', 'industrial');
fp.addLine(x, y, 'DisplayName', 'Temperature');
fp.addBand(90, 100, 'FaceColor', [1 0 0], 'FaceAlpha', 0.1, 'Label', 'HH');
fp.addThreshold(95, 'Direction', 'upper', 'ShowViolations', true, ...
    'Color', [1 0 0], 'Label', 'HH Alarm');
fp.addMarker(event_x, event_y, 'Marker', 'v', 'Color', [1 0 0], 'Label', 'Trips');
fp.render();

API Reference: FastPlot

API Reference: FastPlot

Constructor

Constructor Parameters

Properties

Public Configurable Properties

Performance Tuning Properties

Read-Only / Private-Set Properties

Internal Private Properties

Public Methods

addLine(x, y, ...)

addThreshold(value, ...) / addThreshold(thX, thY, ...)

addBand(yLow, yHigh, ...)

addShaded(x, y1, y2, ...)

addFill(x, y, ...)

addMarker(x, y, ...)

addSensor(sensor, ...)

render()

setScale(...)

setViolationsVisible(visible)

setLineMetadata(lineIdx, meta)

lookupMetadata(lineIdx, xValue)

reapplyTheme()

resetColorIndex()

openLoupe()

updateData(lineIdx, newX, newY, ...)

Live Mode Methods

startLive(filepath, updateFcn, ...)

stopLive()

refresh()

setViewMode(mode)

runLive()

onLiveTimerPublic()

delete()

Static Methods

FastPlot.distFig(...)

FastPlot.resetDefaults()

Internal Architecture

Zoom/Pan Pipeline

Pyramid Cache

Home Button / resetplotview

Stride Preview + Async Refinement

Usage Patterns

Minimal plot

Themed plot with thresholds

Datetime X-axis

Log-scale plot

LTTB downsampling

Embedded in existing axes

Linked zoom/pan

Live polling

Shaded confidence envelope

Full industrial dashboard tile

See Also

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