3D matplotlib figure inside a Spyder terminal

Question

I'm plotting a 3D plot in mathplotlib:

fig = plt.figure()
ax = fig.add_subplot(111, '3d')
ax.scatter(x,y,z)
plt.show()

The figure however open in the terminal so I cannot inspect it. How can I open it in a new window for inspection?

Thanks.

Answer 1

The default location for plots is in the IPython console. I guess that's what you mean by the terminal?

You can specify where they show up in Preferences > IPython console > Graphics > Backend. Change to Automatic.

As this question suggests, I had to restart Spyder to get it to pay attention to the change.