How do I get interactive plots again in Spyder/IPython/matplotlib?

I upgraded from Python(x,y) 2.7.2.3 to 2.7.6.0 in Windows 7 (and was happy to see that I can finally type function_name? and see the docstring in the Object Inspector again) but now the plotting doesn't work as it used to.

Previously (Spyder 2.1.9, IPython 0.10.2, matplotlib 1.2.1), when I plotted this script, for instance, it would plot the subplots side-by-side in an interactive window:

Now (Spyder 2.2.5, IPython 1.2.0, Matplotlib 1.3.1) when I try to plot things, it does the subplots as tiny inline PNGs, which is a change in IPython:

So I went into options and found this:

which seems to say that I can get the old interactive plots back, with the 4 subplots displayed side-by-side, but when I switch to "Automatic", and try to plot something, it does nothing. No plots at all.

If I switch this drop-down to Qt, or uncheck "Activate support", it only plots the first subplot, or part of it, and then stops:

How do I get the old behavior of 4 side-by-side subplots in a single figure that I can interact with?

Solution 1:

Change the backend to automatic:

Tools > preferences > IPython console > Graphics > Graphics backend > Backend: Automatic

Then close and open Spyder.

Solution 2:

You can quickly control this by typing built-in magic commands in Spyder's IPython console, which I find faster than picking these from the preferences menu. Changes take immediate effect, without needing to restart Spyder or the kernel.

To switch to "automatic" (i.e. interactive) plots, type:

%matplotlib auto

then if you want to switch back to "inline", type this:

%matplotlib inline

(Note: these commands don't work in non-IPython consoles)

See more background on this topic: Purpose of "%matplotlib inline"

Solution 3:

After applying : Tools > preferences > Graphics > Backend > Automatic Just restart the kernel

And you will get Interactive Plot.

Solution 4:

As said in the comments, the problem lies in your script. Actually, there are 2 problems:

• There is a matplotlib error, I guess that you're passing an argument as None somewhere. Maybe due to the defaultdict ?
• You call show() after each subplot. show() should be called once at the end of your script. The alternative is to use interactive mode, look for ion in matplotlib's documentation.

Solution 5:

This is actually pretty easy to fix and doesn't take any coding:

1.Click on the Plots tab above the console. 2.Then at the top right corner of the plots screen click on the options button. 3.Lastly uncheck the "Mute inline plotting" button

Now re-run your script and your graphs should show up in the console.