Configuration

An option changes one command. A preference supplies a default for the whole MTEX session. The central file that sets preferences is mtex_settings.m.

The diagram separates the three scopes. An option is local to one command, while setMTEXpref changes the current session. Editing mtex_settings.m makes that setting take effect when MTEX starts in future sessions.

Inspect the current preferences

Pass a preference name to getMTEXpref to read its current value. With no input, the function returns a structure containing all current preferences. The available fields can depend on the installation.

getMTEXpref

ans = 
  struct with fields:

                   mtexPath: '/home/hielscher/mtex/master'
                   DataPath: '/home/hielscher/mtex/master/data'
                    version: 'mtex-7.0.0'
         generatingHelpMode: 1
                   FontSize: 13
           innerPlotSpacing: 19.5000
                 UTF8Output: 1
                    figSize: 0.5000
                 screenSize: [1920 1080]
        sphericalAxisHeight: 370
                    axisBox: [1096 480]
                   axisArea: 368000
              showMicronBar: 'on'
            showCoordinates: 'off'
               showRefFrame: 'off'
              pfAnnotations: [function_handle]
           outerPlotSpacing: 10
              voronoiMethod: 'jcvoronoi'
                 markerSize: 10.5000
            annotationStyle: {1×8 cell}
       EulerAngleConvention: 'Bunge'
       poleFigureExtensions: {1×30 cell}
             EBSDExtensions: [".osc"    ".ctf"    …    ] (1×13 string)
                     colors: [24×3 double]
                 SaveToFile: 0
                    CIFPath: '/home/hielscher/mtex/master/data/cif'
                   EBSDPath: '/home/hielscher/mtex/master/data/EBSD'
             PoleFigurePath: '/home/hielscher/mtex/master/data/PoleFigure'
                    ODFPath: '/home/hielscher/mtex/master/data/ODF'
                 TensorPath: '/home/hielscher/mtex/master/data/tensor'
                ExamplePath: '/home/hielscher/mtex/master/../examples'
           ImportWizardPath: 'workpath'
            defaultColorMap: [100×3 double]
               colorPalette: 'CSS'
            PhaseColorOrder: {1×17 cell}
    stopOnSymmetryMissmatch: 1
          mtexMethodsAdvise: 1
                      mosek: 0
                 insidepoly: 1
            gridifyOnImport: 1
            textInterpreter: 'LaTeX'
                     memory: 512000
                FFTAccuracy: 0.0100
             maxS1Bandwidth: 1024
             maxS2Bandwidth: 512
            maxSO3Bandwidth: 64
                 degreeChar: '°'
                  arrowChar: '→'

Change one preference temporarily

For example, getMTEXpref('FontSize') reads the current default font size, while setMTEXpref('FontSize',14) would change it to 14 for this session. Documentation scripts should not change global figure preferences, so the executable example instead uses the preference for UTF-8 Command Window output.

The sequence saves the current value, changes it, reads the changed value, and restores the original. Keeping the restoration in the same section makes the example safe to run repeatedly.

oldUTF8Output = getMTEXpref('UTF8Output');
setMTEXpref('UTF8Output',false);
getMTEXpref('UTF8Output')
setMTEXpref('UTF8Output',oldUTF8Output);

ans =
  logical
   0

Make a preference persistent

Use the command edit mtex_settings to open the settings file. MTEX runs this file at startup, so an active setting there applies to every later session. The file groups related settings and documents the accepted values.

Settings in mtex_settings.m include:

The file contains additional preferences beyond this summary.

Keep scripts reproducible

setMTEXpref changes only the running session. A permanent change must be placed in mtex_settings.m, but then the same MTEX script can behave differently on another computer. A script shared or published for others should therefore pass important settings as command options where possible instead of assuming a local configuration.

Plot alignment is not an ordinary preference

The alignment of plots is no longer an ordinary preference. It belongs to the reference frame in which the data is expressed. A reference frame identifies the coordinate system and basis of the data; it is distinct from the symmetry attached to that frame.

The frame supplies a plotting convention that determines how its axes are laid out on screen. See On-Screen Coordinate System Alignment to set that convention explicitly instead of relying on a legacy axis-direction preference.

References

This page documents MTEX configuration behavior and does not rely on an external method reference.

Next

Continue with Vectors to create the basic geometric objects used for directions, axes, and positions throughout MTEX.