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

Question

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?

Answer 1

Change the backend to automatic:

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

Then close and open Spyder.

Answer 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"

Answer 3

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

And you will surely get Interactive Plot. Happy Coding!

Answer 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.