How can I output an array (with column, row headers) as an image?

This is a very basic question, but one I can't seem to figure out on my own.

I have a 5x6 array of data that I'd like to output as a table. I would like this table to be in the form of an an image file, I.e. a pdf, png etc. with row names, column names, and my data in the table. I don't want to output this as a text file, because I want to output this as a figure to be placed in a paper.

It may seem like this is something that I should simply enter manually into a table in Word (or similar), but the particular data changes frequently, and I'd like this process to be automated.

I found this helpful file: http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/33815-printing-a-formatted-table

But I can't seem to save this as a PDF (perhaps I'm simply doing something wrong), and the program seems to be written for LaTex, which I do not use.

Any help appreciated. Best, Jonathan

Answer 1

[Walter Roberson]

Use uitable() to create the table with appropriate headers. Set the 'data' property of the uitable() to a cell array of the values. For example if the values are stored in an array, then

set(handle_of_control, 'data', num2cell(YourArray));

Once you are done, use getframe() to record the table as an image data array, after which you can imwrite() as an image file.

Answer 2

[Jan]

Installing LaTeX would be a good idea, when you want to create nice tables to be included in a PDF. LaTeX is free, powerful and state-of-the-art for nicely rendered text.

[Jonathan]

Hi Jan and Walter,

Thanks for the responses. These answers are what I needed to make sure I wasn't missing something! Looks like the GUI approach is the easiest, but the graphic itself that comes from it is pretty unappealing, so it sounds like I should invest in learning some LaTeX. I'll search for some resources. Feel free to suggest any good resources for the relatively coding-illiterate that might not obviously come up on a Google search...

While we're on the topic, though, I understand that there is a fair amount of difficulty rendering text nicely in graphical form, but this is surely a functionality Matlab should have--the more things Matlab does, the more I'll use it after all!

Thanks again, Jonathan