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Display Format for Numeric Values

By default, MATLAB® uses a 5-digit short format to display numbers. For example, 

x = 4/3
x =

    1.3333

You can change the display in the Command Window or Editor using the format function.

format long
x
x =

   1.333333333333333

Using the format function only sets the format for the current MATLAB session. To set the format for subsequent sessions, click Preferences on the Home tab in the Environment section. Select MATLAB > Command Window, 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 for double values, and 7 digits after the decimal point for single 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 for double values, and 7 digits after the decimal point for single 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.

See Also

Related Topics