How to save graphs as vector images?

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Nathan Robertson
Nathan Robertson on 27 Mar 2015
Commented: Cool Symbol Fonts on 27 Dec 2021
How do I save graphs as vector images and with custom image size? Right now I'm using print("gcf",-dpdf, "...") but I'm hoping there's a better function because I'm forced to create 8.5"x11" size images. The file format isn't important as long as it's a vector image format.
Thank you.
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Cool Symbol Fonts
Cool Symbol Fonts on 27 Dec 2021
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Answers (2)

Richard Quist
Richard Quist on 30 Mar 2015
Edited: Richard Quist on 30 Mar 2015
The output size is controlled by the figure's PaperPosition property. PaperPosition is a 4 element vector that specifies an x- and y-offset (used only by "paged" formats like PDF, PostScript, and printing to paper), and a width and height. The units it uses is specified in the figure's PaperUnits property.
For example, if you want the figure to be 2" by 2" in the PDF file you would do something like this (specifying the width and height to use):
f = figure;
plot(rand(4))
% Specify that the image in the PDF should be 2x2
% My PaperUnits is inches
f.PaperPosition(3:4) = [2 2];
print -dpdf foo.pdf
With the above code the 2x2 image is placed on a full size page (8.5" x 11" for me). If you wanted the PDF to be sized so it was just big enough to hold the image, change the figure's PaperSize property to match the output size, and change the x- and y-offsets of the PaperPosition property to 0. Continuing the example from above:
% Make the "page" just big enough to hold the size output I want
f.PaperSize = [2 2];
% Specify that we start at the lower-left corner of the page
f.PaperPosition(1:2) = [0 0];
print -dpdf foo2.pdf
Because my PaperUnits are 'inches', this will put my plot onto a PDF file with a "page" that is 2" x 2".
See the the print command documentation: for more information on figure properties that affect printing/exporting.
Hope that helps.

John Zucker
John Zucker on 4 May 2018
Hey, check the official document for saving and exporting graphics.
About customize size, do you mean by its dimension? If so, I know an simpler online app - DesignEvo that has vector and raster support but requires you to draw the graphics within the app.
Otherwise, if you mean the attribute size, I don't think there is a way to control the size. It's defined by the math and the software.

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