% create some subplots with varying TightInsets:
figure('Color','g'); % (color the figure to see its extent in the plots here in MATLAB Answers)
h_ax = zeros(2,2);
for ii = 1:4
h_ax(ii) = subplot(2,2,ii);
plot(1:10);
if ii < 4
xlabel(sprintf('x_{%d}',ii));
if ii < 3
ylabel(sprintf('y_{%d}',ii));
end
end
if ii < 3
title('Title');
end
end
copyobj(gcf(),groot()); % make a copy for demonstrating before/after setting the subplots' Positions
% get the TightInsets, to be used to calculate the sizes of the spaces
% necessary to fit any labels, etc.:
inset = get(h_ax,'TightInset');
inset = vertcat(inset{:})
% left margin should be the bigger of the left margin required for subplot
% 1 and the left margin required for subplot 3 (similarly for the others):
left_margin = max(inset([1 3],1));
right_margin = max(inset([2 4],3));
top_margin = max(inset([1 2],4));
bottom_margin = max(inset([3 4],2));
middle_space_x = max(inset([1 3],3)+inset([2 4],1));
middle_space_y = max(inset([1 2],2)+inset([3 4],4));
% the axes take up all the space left over after subtracting the size of
% the spaces from the figure size ('normalized' axes Units assumed, so
% that the figure width and height are both 1), and all axes are the same
% size:
axes_width = (1-left_margin-right_margin-middle_space_x)/2;
axes_height = (1-top_margin-bottom_margin-middle_space_y)/2;
% write down the axes' new positions in terms of the space sizes:
new_pos = [ ...
left_margin bottom_margin+axes_height+middle_space_y axes_width axes_height; ...
left_margin+axes_width+middle_space_x bottom_margin+axes_height+middle_space_y axes_width axes_height; ...
left_margin bottom_margin axes_width axes_height; ...
left_margin+axes_width+middle_space_x bottom_margin axes_width axes_height; ...
];
% apply the new positions:
for ii = 1:numel(h_ax)
set(h_ax(ii),'Position',new_pos(ii,:));
end
