Display Format for Numeric Values - MATLAB & Simulink (original) (raw)
By default, MATLAB® uses a 5-digit short format to display numbers. For example,
You can change the display in the Command Window or Editor using the format function.
Using the format function only sets the format for the current MATLAB session. To set the format for subsequent sessions, click
Settings on the Home tab in theEnvironment section. Select > , and then choose a Numeric format option.
The following table summarizes the numeric output format options.
| Style | Result | Example |
|---|---|---|
| short (default) | Short, fixed-decimal format with 4 digits after the decimal point. | 3.1416 |
| long | Long, fixed-decimal format with 15 digits after the decimal point fordouble values, and 7 digits after the decimal point forsingle values. | 3.141592653589793 |
| shortE | Short scientific notation with 4 digits after the decimal point. | 3.1416e+00 |
| longE | Long scientific notation with 15 digits after the decimal point fordouble values, and 7 digits after the decimal point forsingle values. | 3.141592653589793e+00 |
| shortG | Short, fixed-decimal format or scientific notation, whichever is more compact, with a total of 5 digits. | 3.1416 |
| longG | Long, fixed-decimal format or scientific notation, whichever is more compact, with a total of 15 digits for double values, and 7 digits for single values. | 3.14159265358979 |
| shortEng | Short engineering notation (exponent is a multiple of 3) with 4 digits after the decimal point. | 3.1416e+000 |
| longEng | Long engineering notation (exponent is a multiple of 3) with 15 significant digits. | 3.14159265358979e+000 |
| + | Positive/Negative format with +, -, and blank characters displayed for positive, negative, and zero elements. | + |
| bank | Currency format with 2 digits after the decimal point. | 3.14 |
| hex | Hexadecimal representation of a binary double-precision number. | 400921fb54442d18 |
| rat | Ratio of small integers. | 355/113 |
The display format only affects how numbers are displayed, not how they are stored in MATLAB.