title: Show plots in new window instead of inline (not answered by previous posts)
body: <p>Several existing posts address this question, but none of the solutions worked for me. </p>
  
  <p>I am using Spyder 3.2.4 with Python 3.6.
  I'd like plots to show up in a new window instead of as tiny in-line figures in the IPython console.</p>
  
  <p>I tried Tools > Preferences > IPython console > Graphics > Graphics backend > Automatic. I also tried Qt5 and Qt4 here, and closed and reopened the file I was trying to run (see code below).</p>
  
  <p>I also tried </p>
  
  <pre><code> matplotlib qt 
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>directly in the console, with no result.</p>
  
  <p>I checked whether the windows might be popping up in the background, but they are not. </p>
  
  <p>Any ideas?</p>
  
  <p>Code:</p>
  
  <pre><code>import numpy as np
  import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
  
  x = np.arange(10)
  y = x**2
  
  plt.ion()   
  plt.plot(x,y)
  plt.show()
  </code></pre>