hidden — Control axes hidden-line-removal state for surface and mesh workflows.
hidden is MATLAB's legacy command-form helper for toggling hidden-line removal on axes. RunMat stores the state on the target axes as the HiddenLineRemoval property and exposes it through get/set, so older plotting scripts using hidden on or hidden off run without requiring code changes.
Syntax
enabled = hidden()
enabled = hidden(mode)
enabled = hidden(ax)
enabled = hidden(ax, mode)Inputs
| Name | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
mode | StringScalar | No | "toggle" | Hidden-line-removal mode token ('on'|'off'). |
ax | AxesHandle | Yes | — | Target axes handle. |
Returns
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
enabled | LogicalArray | Hidden-line-removal state after command execution. |
Errors
| Identifier | When | Message |
|---|---|---|
RunMat:hidden:InvalidArgument | Hidden-line-removal mode or axes target is unsupported. | hidden: invalid argument |
How hidden works
hidden onsetsHiddenLineRemovalto'on'on the current axes.hidden offsetsHiddenLineRemovalto'off'on the current axes.hiddenwith no mode toggles the current axes state.hidden(ax, mode)andhidden(ax)operate on the supplied axes handle without changing unrelated axes.- When hidden-line removal is off, mesh edges and wireframe surface lines use a no-depth line pipeline so obscured lines remain visible. Filled surface faces continue to render through the normal surface pipeline.
GPU memory and residency
hidden is a graphics-state command. It does not inspect or gather numeric plot data, and it does not add provider kernels. The no-depth line behavior is implemented in runmat-plot's renderer for mesh and wireframe surface render data, so existing GPU-resident plot buffers remain in their plot renderer paths.
Examples
Disable hidden-line removal for a mesh workflow
[X, Y, Z] = peaks(30);
mesh(X, Y, Z);
hidden off;Toggle a specific subplot
ax1 = subplot(1, 2, 1);
surf(peaks(20));
ax2 = subplot(1, 2, 2);
mesh(peaks(20));
hidden(ax1, 'off');
hidden(ax2, 'on');Query or set the axes property directly
hidden off;
state = get(gca, 'HiddenLineRemoval');
set(gca, 'HiddenLineRemoval', 'on');Using hidden with coding agents
Open a RunMat example with live inputs, then ask the agent to explain how hidden changes the result.
Run a small hidden example, explain the result, then change one input and compare the output.
FAQ
Is hidden the same as making a plot invisible?⌄
No. hidden controls hidden-line-removal state for surface-family rendering. Use the Visible property to show or hide graphics objects.
Can I use normal property syntax instead?⌄
Yes. The command updates the same axes property that get(gca, 'HiddenLineRemoval') and set(gca, 'HiddenLineRemoval', 'off') use.
Does hidden affect every subplot?⌄
No. Hidden-line-removal state is axes-local. Use hidden(ax, mode) when you want to update a specific axes.
Related Plotting functions
2D Charts
area · bar · errorbar · heatmap · hist · histogram · loglog · pie · plot · scatter · semilogx · semilogy · stairs · stem
Other
addpoints · ancestor · animatedline · axes · barh · caxis · cla · clf · clim · colorcube · colororder · copyobj · daspect · datacursormode · dataTipTextRow · fcontour · figure · fill · fill3 · findobj · fsurf · gobjects · groot · hgload · hgsave · histogram2 · hold · line · linkaxes · openfig · opengl · pan · parula · patch · plotmatrix · plotyy · polarhistogram · polarplot · polarscatter · print · quiver3 · ribbon · saveas · savefig · sphere · stackedplot · subtitle · suptitle · text · textscatter · textscatter3 · triplot · waitbar · wordcloud · xlabel · xlim · xline · xscale · xtickangle · xtickformat · xticklabels · xticks · ylabel · ylim · yline · yscale · ytickangle · ytickformat · yticklabels · yticks · zlim · zoom
Open-source implementation
Unlike proprietary runtimes, every RunMat function is open-source. Read exactly how hidden is executed, line by line, in Rust.
- View the source for hidden in Rust on GitHub
- Learn how the RunMat runtime works
- Found a bug? Open an issue with a minimal reproduction.
About RunMat
RunMat is an open-source runtime that executes MATLAB-syntax code blazing on any GPU. It is licensed under the Apache 2.0 license.
- RunMat automatically optimizes your math for GPU execution on Apple, Nvidia, and AMD hardware. No code changes needed. Simulations that took hours now take minutes.
- Start running code in seconds. RunMat runs in the browser, on the desktop, or from the CLI. No license server, no IT ticket.