Using imshow to Display Images :: Displaying and Exploring Images (Image Processing Toolbox User's Guide)

Image Processing Toolbox User's Guide

Using imshow to Display Images

You can use the imshow function to display an image that has already been imported into the MATLAB workspace or to display an image stored in a graphics file. For example, this code reads an image into the MATLAB workspace and then displays it in a MATLAB figure window.

moon = imread('moon.tif');
imshow(moon);

The imshow function displays the image in a MATLAB figure window, as shown in the following figure.

Image Displayed in a Figure Window by imshow

The imshow filename syntax

```
imshow('moon.tif');
```

can be useful for scanning through images. Note, however, that when you use this syntax, the image data is not stored in the MATLAB workspace. If you want to bring the image into the workspace, you must use the getimage function, which retrieves the image data from the current Handle Graphics image object. For example,

```
moon = getimage;
```

assigns the image data from moon.tif to the variable moon if the figure window in which it is displayed is currently active.

For more information about using imshow, see these additional topics.

For more information about using imshow to display the various image types supported by the toolbox, see Displaying Different Image Types.

Understanding Handle Graphics Object Property Settings Specifying the Initial Image Magnification