Appdesigner window ends up in background after uigetfile
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I am creating a graphic program using appdesigner but when I call a function where the user can choose a file (uigetfile) the figure window is often put behind some other of my open windows after the file has been chosen. For example if I have a word document open at the same time as my program, the word document gets focus when the file has been chosen and I have to click at the bottom bar to get back to my program. I was using GUIDE before and then I didn't have that problem. I am running on Windows. Is there a way to solve this?
2 Comments
Chris McRaven
on 16 Jun 2017
I am also seeing this problem. I think this is unexpected behavior. The focus should return to the uifigure which called uigetfile(). My steps to reproduce are
- Make a mlapp in App Designer that has a button that calls uigetfile()
- Run the new program from App Designer
- Click on the Matlab main window
- Click back on the new program
- Click the button which calls uigetfile()
- Select a file, and click 'open'
- Focus will return to the Matlab main window, not the new program as expected
This also works if I have another figure window open. That is, if I click away from the new program to any open figure window, then click back to the new program to run uigetfile(), the focus is returned to that open figure window.
I've tried calling figure(app.NewProgram) immediately after to no effect. I have also tried various drawnow calls as described below, but none worked. Has anybody found a workaround?
Accepted Answer
Onur Ozdemir
on 14 Mar 2022
Edited: Onur Ozdemir
on 14 Mar 2022
As WTxnitz said, all these answers address getting the app window back as focus after uigetfile but what is preferred is to prevent it from minimizing in the first place. Here I made a small change to WTxnitz's answer, this way a non visible dummy figure is created instead of sending everything to background.
f = figure('Renderer', 'painters', 'Position', [-100 -100 0 0]); %create a dummy figure so that uigetfile doesn't minimize our GUI
[filename,path] = uigetfile('*.txt', 'Open text file','MultiSelect','on');
delete(f); %delete the dummy figure
This prevents uigetfile from sending appdesigner window to background while !
Best of luck.
5 Comments
Jonas
on 18 Apr 2023
@Onur Ozdemir In addition, I would also suggest to set
'CloseRequestFcn',''
since if the user closes the dummy window manually, the workaround will not work (at least for me in 2022a)
More Answers (8)
Chris McRaven
on 16 Jun 2017
I believe I have a (somewhat ugly) workaround. Immediately after calling uigetfile(), simply make the main uifigure window invisible and then visible. Assuming the name of your uifigure window is 'UIFigure', add
...
filename = uigetfile(...);
app.UIFigure.Visible = 'off';
app.UIFigure.Visible = 'on';
...
right after the call to uigetfile().
13 Comments
Friedrich
on 6 Sep 2019
Edited: Friedrich
on 6 Sep 2019
For MATLAB R2018a and newer you can use the figure command to focus your app again,
uigetfile; % Could be other dialogs here
drawnow;
figure(app.UIFigure)
For releases prior either turn the visibility off and on again or use the attached p file (change extension from .zip to .p). The usage then would be
uigetfile; % Could be other dialogs here
drawnow;
FocusUIFigure(app.UIFigure)
7 Comments
Onur Ozdemir
on 14 Mar 2022
This answer correctly restores the window! but you can prevent it from minimizing too (which I prefer), check out my answer. Thanks and good luck.
Tomas Åhlman
on 12 Jun 2018
Try using:
filename = uigetfile(...); figure(app.UIFigure);
(assuming UIFigure is the name of your main window)
3 Comments
Shaul Shvimmer
on 4 Mar 2020
Edited: Shaul Shvimmer
on 4 Mar 2020
Worked for me as well, thank you!
(MATLAB 2019b)
WTxnitz
on 20 Apr 2020
All these answers address getting the app window back as focus after uigetfile.
The other side of the problem for me is the uigetfile dialog itself launches behind all other windows.
Here is a workaround I found. This works on 2020a and macOS Mojave
% open dummy figure
f=figure();
%bring figure to front focus
drawnow;
%the uigetfile dialog now opens properly in front focus
[xl_file,xl_path] = uigetfile('*.*');
% after user closes dialog
% delete dummy
delete(f);
%use solution elsewhere to return focus to app
app.your_app_here.Visible = 'off';
app.your_app_here.Visible = 'on';
This seems to work both from within the app embedded code and with "external" files
in the main Matlab window.
5 Comments
WTxnitz
on 19 Dec 2021
Not sure what didn't work
my answer is to get the uigetfile dialog itself in front focus
I did check my code and there is one difference, as to returning focus to the app
Based on other people's input instead of:
%use solution elsewhere to return focus to app
app.your_app_here.Visible = 'off';
app.your_app_here.Visible = 'on';
I use
figure(app.your_app_here)
both seem to work
NbrOneProcastinator
on 13 Jan 2023
2023 and still no official fix to this issue. Matlab App Designer users have been beta testers since years now!
0 Comments
Syed Hussain
on 25 Jan 2019
Hi
Its is really strange behaviour
My Solution was just to use
...
filename = uigetfile(...);
app.UIFigure.Visible = 'on';
...
It removed the glichy behaviour.
Thanks
0 Comments
Riyadh Abbas
on 26 May 2017
Hi there, I found a solution to this issue provided by http://undocumentedmatlab.com/blog/solving-a-matlab-hang-problem, which suggested adding two lines drawnow; pause(0.05);
I tried it and it did work for me, hope can solve your problem.
4 Comments
James Ryan
on 6 Dec 2017
Perhaps you misread the question. This is not a hang (as in your link). The window simply end up behind others.
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