MATLAB®

Desktop Tools and Development Environment

R2018b
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MATLAB® Desktop Tools and Development Environment
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Revision History
June 2004 First printing New for MATLAB 7.0 (Release 14). Formerly
part of Using MATLAB.
October 2004 Online only Revised for Version 7.0.1 (Release 14SP1)
March 2005 Online only Revised for Version 7.0.4 (Release 14SP2)
March 2005 Second printing Revised for Version 7.0.4 (Release 14SP2)
June 2005 Third printing Minor revision for Version 7.0.4 (Release
14SP2)
September 2005 Online only Revised for Version 7.1 (Release 14SP3)
March 2006 Online only Revised for Version 7.2 (Release 2006a)
September 2006 Online only Revised for Version 7.3 (Release 2006b)
March 2007 Online only Revised for Version 7.4 (Release 2007a)
September 2007 Online only Revised for Version 7.5 (Release 2007b)
March 2008 Online only Revised for Version 7.6 (Release 2008a)
October 2008 Online only Revised for Version 7.7 (Release 2008b)
March 2009 Online only Revised for Version 7.8 (Release 2009a)
September 2009 Online only Revised for Version 7.9 (Release 2009b)
March 2010 Online only Revised for Version 7.10 (Release 2010a)
September 2010 Online only Revised for Version 7.11 (Release 2010b)
April 2011 Online only Revised for Version 7.12 (Release 2011a)
September 2011 Online only Revised for Version 7.13 (Release 2011b)
March 2012 Online only Revised for Version 7.14 (Release 2012a)
September 2012 Online only Revised for Version 8.0 (Release 2012b)
March 2013 Online only Revised for Version 8.1 (Release 2013a)
September 2013 Online only Revised for Version 8.2 (Release 2013b)
March 2014 Online only Revised for Version 8.3 (Release 2014a)
October 2014 Online only Revised for Version 8.4 (Release 2014b)
March 2015 Online only Revised for Version 8.5 (Release 2015a)
September 2015 Online only Revised for Version 8.6 (Release 2015b)
October 2015 Online only Rereleased for Version 8.5.1 (Release
2015aSP1)
March 2016 Online only Revised for Version 9.0 (Release 2016a)
September 2016 Online only Revised for Version 9.1 (Release 2016b)
March 2017 Online only Revised for Version 9.2 (Release 2017a)
September 2017 Online only Revised for Version 9.3 (Release 2017b)
March 2018 Online only Revised for Version 9.4 (Release 2018a)
September 2018 Online only Revised for Version 9.5 (Release 2018b)
 Contents

Startup and Shutdown

1
Start MATLAB on Windows Platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Select MATLAB Icon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Call matlab from Windows System Command Line . . . . . . . . . 1-3
Call matlab from MATLAB Command Prompt . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
Open File Associated with MATLAB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
Select MATLAB Executable from Windows Explorer Tool . . . . 1-4

Speed Up MATLAB Startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5

Associate Files with MATLAB on Windows Platforms . . . . . . . . 1-6

Associate .mat Files with MATLAB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7

Start MATLAB on Linux Platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9

Startup Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9
Execute MATLAB Script from Remote ssh Login . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9

Start MATLAB on Mac Platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11

Start from Applications Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11
Start from Terminal Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11

Exit MATLAB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-13

Ways to Quit or Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-13
Confirm Exiting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-13
Run Script When Exiting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-14

Recovering Data After Abnormal Termination . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-15

Error Log Reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-16

Emailing Error Log Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-16

When MATLAB Terminates Unexpectedly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-17

v
 Specifying Java Startup Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-18

MATLAB Startup Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20

Default Startup Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20
Change Startup Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-21
userpath as Initial Working Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-21

Commonly Used Startup Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-23

Specify Startup Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-25

Startup Options from Operating System Prompt . . . . . . . . . . 1-25
Startup Options in Shortcut on Windows Systems . . . . . . . . . 1-25
Startup Options in MATLAB Startup File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-26
Passing Perl Variables on Startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-26
Startup and Calling Java Software from MATLAB . . . . . . . . . 1-27

Toolbox Path Caching in MATLAB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-28

About Toolbox Path Caching in MATLAB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-28
Using the Cache File Upon Startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-28
Updating the Cache and Cache File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-28

Desktop
2
Change Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
Font Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
Help and Web Browser Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
Adding Fonts on Windows Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3

Fonts Custom Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5

Change Color Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

Change Text and Background Colors in Desktop Tools . . . . . . . 2-6
Change Syntax Highlighting Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Change Command Window Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Change Code Analyzer Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8

Access Frequently Used Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9

vi Contents
Optimize Desktop Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
Desktop Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
Document Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14

Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Navigate MATLAB . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16

MATLAB Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Additional Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18

Customize Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20

View Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20
Customize Keyboard Shortcuts for Individual Actions . . . . . . 2-22
Manage Sets of Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-25

Set Print Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-27

Page Setup Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-27
Layout Options for Page Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-27
Header Options for Page Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-28
Fonts Options for Page Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-28

Web Browsers and MATLAB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-30

About Web Browsers and MATLAB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-30
Display Pages in Web Browsers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-32
Specify Proxy Server Settings for Connecting to the
Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-32
Specify the System Browser for Linux Platforms . . . . . . . . . . 2-33

Manage Your Licenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-34

Check for Software Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-36

Macintosh Platform Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-37

Mouse Instructions and Macintosh Platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-37
Navigating Within the MATLAB Root Folder on Macintosh
Platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-37
MATLAB Dock Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-38

Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-39
Set Preferences for MATLAB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-39
Where MATLAB Stores Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-39
Preferences MATLAB Uses When Multiple Releases Are
Installed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-40
General Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-42
Confirmation Dialog Boxes Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-43

vii
 Source Control Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-45
Keyboard Shortcuts Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-45
Colors Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-46
Colors Programming Tools Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-47
Comparison Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-48
Toolbars Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-49

Web Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-51

Entering Commands
3
Enter Statements in Command Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2

Find Functions to Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4

Format Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7

Format Line Spacing in Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Format Floating-Point Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Wrap Lines of Code to Fit Window Width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Suppress Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
View Output by Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Clear the Command Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9

Stop Execution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11

Find Text in Command Window or History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12

Find Text in the Command Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12
Find Text in the Command History Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14

Rerun Favorite Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15

Create and Run Favorite Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15
Organize Favorite Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16

Set Command Window Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18

Set Keyboard Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-21

Check Syntax as You Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-24

Syntax Highlighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-24

viii Contents
 Delimiter Matching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25
Code Suggestions and Completions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25
Function Syntax Hints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-28

Set Command History Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30

Change the Command History Date Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-32

Help and Product Information

4
Ways to Get Function Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2

MATLAB Code Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4

Standalone Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
Inline Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5

Search Syntax and Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7

Bookmark and Share Page Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-10

Bookmark Favorite Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-10
View Page Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-11

Contact Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-12

Help Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-14

Translated Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-16

Set Documentation Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-16
View Installed Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-16
View Documentation on the Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-17

Information About Your Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-18

ix
 Workspace Browser and Variable Editor
5
Create and Edit Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Create Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
View Workspace Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
View Variable Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
Edit Variable Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
Resize or Reshape Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Copy, Rename, and Delete Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Navigate Variable Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12

Display Statistics in the Workspace Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14

Improve Workspace Browser Performance During Statistical
Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Include or Exclude NaN Values in Statistical Calculations . . . 5-14

Save and Load Workspace Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16

Save Workspace Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Load Workspace Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
View Contents of MAT-File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17

Workspace and Variable Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19

Workspace Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
Variables Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21

Managing Files in MATLAB

6
Find Files and Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Simple Search for File and Folder Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Advanced Search for Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2

Compare Files and Folders and Merge Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6

Compare Files and Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Compare Folders, Zip Files, and Simulink Manifests . . . . . . . . 6-8
Compare and Merge Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-11
Compare Files with Autosave Version or Version on Disk . . . . 6-15
Compare and Merge Live Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-15

x Contents
 Compare and Merge MAT-Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-19
Compare Binary Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-22
Comparison Report Tools and Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-23
Source Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-24

Compare XML Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-25

Choose XML Files to Compare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-26
Change Comparison Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-27
Navigate the XML Comparison Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-27
Save Comparison Log Files in a Zip File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-29
Export Results to the Workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-29

Manage Files and Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-32

Manage Files and Folders in MATLAB Online . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-35

Files and Folders that MATLAB Accesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-36

Where Does MATLAB Look for Files? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-36
Files and Folders You Should Add to the Search Path . . . . . . 6-36
When Multiple Files Have the Same Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-37
Locations of MathWorks Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-37

Current Folder Browser Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-39

Specify File Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-41

Construct Valid Path and File Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-41
Case Sensitivity of File Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-43

Create and Extract from Zip Archives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-45

Create a Zip Archive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-45
Add Files to a Zip Archive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-46
Extract Files from a Zip Archive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-46
Compare Zip Archive to Unzipped Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-47

What Is the MATLAB Search Path? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-48

userpath Folder on the Search Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-48
MATLABPATH Environment Variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-49
Determine If Files and Folders Are on the Search Path . . . . . 6-49
The Search Path Is Not the System Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-50
How MATLAB Stores the Search Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-51

Change Folders on the Search Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-52

For Current and Future Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-52
For the Current Session Only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-54

xi
 Use Search Path with Different MATLAB Installations . . . . . 6-55

Add Folders to the MATLAB Search Path at Startup . . . . . . . 6-56

Use a startup.m File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-56
Set the MATLABPATH Environment Variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-56

Assign userpath as Startup Folder (Macintosh or UNIX) . . . . 6-58

Path Unsuccessfully Set at Startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-59

Errors When Updating Folders on Search Path . . . . . . . . . . . 6-61

Troubleshoot Invalid or Unresponsive Windows Change

Notification Handles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-62
Control How MATLAB Detects Changes in Files and
Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-62
Clear Functions from Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-63
Configure Change Notification Handle Warnings . . . . . . . . . 6-63

Editor Preferences
7
Editor/Debugger Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2
General Preferences for the Editor/Debugger . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2
Editor/Debugger Display Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-4
Editor/Debugger Tab Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-5
Editor/Debugger Language Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-6
Editor/Debugger Code Folding Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-9
Editor/Debugger Backup Files Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-10
Editor/Debugger Autoformatting Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-11
Editor/Debugger Autocoding Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13

Code Analyzer Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-16

Code Analyzer Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-16
Searching Messages in the Code Analyzer Preferences Dialog
Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-17

xii Contents
 Add-Ons
8
Get Add-Ons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-2
Install Add-Ons Manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-3

Manage Your Add-Ons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4

Run Apps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5
Default Add-Ons Installation Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5

Internationalization
9
Locale Settings for MATLAB Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Default Locale Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Supported Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Platform-Specific Localized Formats for Current
Folder Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3

Limitations to International Character Support . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4

Set Locale on Windows Platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5

Locale on Windows 10 Platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Locale on Windows 8 Platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Locale on Windows 7 Platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6

Set Locale on Mac Platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7

Set Locale on Linux Platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-9

Unexpected Behavior on Mac Platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-10

Characters Incorrectly Displayed on Windows Systems . . . . . 9-11

datenum Might Not Return Correct Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-12

Numbers Display Period for Decimal Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-13

File or Folder Names Incorrectly Displayed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-14

xiii
 Script Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-15

MATLAB Desktop Language Preference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-16

X Servers and International Keyboard Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-17

MATLAB Online
10
Share and Restore Files in MATLAB Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
Share Folders in MATLAB Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
Restore Previous Versions of Files in MATLAB Online . . . . . . 10-4

xiv Contents
 1

Startup and Shutdown

• “Start MATLAB on Windows Platforms” on page 1-2

• “Speed Up MATLAB Startup” on page 1-5
• “Associate Files with MATLAB on Windows Platforms” on page 1-6
• “Associate .mat Files with MATLAB” on page 1-7
• “Start MATLAB on Linux Platforms” on page 1-9
• “Start MATLAB on Mac Platforms” on page 1-11
• “Exit MATLAB” on page 1-13
• “Recovering Data After Abnormal Termination” on page 1-15
• “Error Log Reporting” on page 1-16
• “When MATLAB Terminates Unexpectedly” on page 1-17
• “Specifying Java Startup Options” on page 1-18
• “MATLAB Startup Folder” on page 1-20
• “Commonly Used Startup Options” on page 1-23
• “Specify Startup Options” on page 1-25
• “Toolbox Path Caching in MATLAB” on page 1-28
1 Startup and Shutdown

Start MATLAB on Windows Platforms

Choose one of these ways to start MATLAB.

• “Select MATLAB Icon” on page 1-2

• “Call matlab from Windows System Command Line” on page 1-3
• “Call matlab from MATLAB Command Prompt” on page 1-3
• “Open File Associated with MATLAB” on page 1-3
• “Select MATLAB Executable from Windows Explorer Tool” on page 1-4

When you start MATLAB, it automatically adds the userpath folder to the search path.
MATLAB also reopens any desktop components that were open when you last shut down.

To customize startup, see “Specify Startup Options” on page 1-25.

The MATLAB startup folder is the folder you are in when you get the MATLAB prompt. To
change the default startup folder, see “MATLAB Startup Folder” on page 1-20.

If you have trouble starting MATLAB, then see MATLAB Installation, Activation & Startup
Help.

Select MATLAB Icon

On Microsoft Windows platforms, double-click the MATLAB icon. The term Release
refers to your MATLAB release number; for example, R2017a.

• Installer shortcut on your Windows desktop — Double-click the MATLAB icon .

• Windows 10 systems — Start > All apps > MATLAB Release
• Windows 8 systems — On the Start screen or the desktop, click MATLAB Release.
• Windows 7 systems — If you chose to have the installer put a shortcut to the MATLAB
program on the Windows Start menu, then select Start > MATLAB Release

With this option, the startup folder is the last working folder from the previous MATLAB
session or the custom path specified in the Initial working folder preference described
in “General Preferences” on page 2-42.

You also can specify a custom startup folder in the MATLAB shortcut icon using the Start
in field. However, this technique is the same as setting a custom path in the Initial

1-2
 Start MATLAB on Windows Platforms

working folder preference. If you enter an invalid path in the Start in field, then the
startup folder is unpredictable. To set a custom path in the Start in field:

1 Right-click the shortcut icon for MATLAB and select Properties from the context
menu. The Properties dialog box for MATLAB opens to the Shortcut pane.
2 In the Start in field, type the full path to a folder on your system, and then click OK.

Call matlab from Windows System Command Line

From the Windows system prompt, type matlab.

The startup folder is the folder in which you run the matlab command. To use the folder
specified by the Initial working folder preference, type:

matlab -useStartupFolderPref

Call matlab from MATLAB Command Prompt

If you start another MATLAB session from within MATLAB, then the startup folder is
folder where you call the command:

!matlab

To display the startup folder, type pwd before calling matlab.

Open File Associated with MATLAB

The MATLAB installer sets up associations between certain file types and MathWorks®
products. MATLAB starts when you open one of those files. The startup folder is the folder
containing the file.

For example, using the Windows Explorer tool, double-click a file with a .m extension.
MATLAB starts and opens the file in the MATLAB Editor.

For more information, see “Associate Files with MATLAB on Windows Platforms” on page
1-6.

1-3
1 Startup and Shutdown

Select MATLAB Executable from Windows Explorer Tool

When you double-click the matlab.exe file from the Windows Explorer, the startup
folder is one of the following:

• The last working folder from the previous MATLAB session.

• The custom path specified in the Initial working folder preference.

See Also
matlab (Windows) | userpath

More About
• “Specify Startup Options” on page 1-25
• “MATLAB Startup Folder” on page 1-20
• “General Preferences” on page 2-42
• “Associate Files with MATLAB on Windows Platforms” on page 1-6
• MATLAB Installation, Activation & Startup Help

1-4
 Speed Up MATLAB Startup

Speed Up MATLAB Startup

On Windows systems, the MathWorks Installer installs and configures a utility program
that can speed up MATLAB startup. For information about the MATLAB Startup
Accelerator program, including information about how to modify the configuration, see
“Start the License Manager” (Installation, Licensing, and Activation).

See Also

1-5
1 Startup and Shutdown

Associate Files with MATLAB on Windows Platforms

When you install MATLAB on Windows platforms, the installer sets up associations
between certain file types and MathWorks products. When you double-click one of these
files in the Windows Explorer (file manager), Windows executes the open action specified
by the file association. If Windows starts MATLAB, then it opens the version of MATLAB
associated with that file type.

By default, MATLAB associates the latest installed version to MATLAB file types. If you
use the Windows file manager or the Control Panel to associate a MATLAB version to a
file type, then that version remains associated with the file type even when you install
another MATLAB. If, instead, you always want to use the latest MATLAB version, then you
must manually reassociate the type with each new installation of MATLAB. If you want to
return to the default behavior, then uninstall every MATLAB that is manually associated to
any MATLAB file type. Then reinstall the latest MATLAB release.

Sometimes double-clicking a MATLAB file in the Windows file manager opens a new
instance of the version of MATLAB that is already open. To work around this issue,
uninstall versions of MATLAB, release R2010a or earlier. Then reinstall MATLAB R2010b
or later.

Alternatively, change the security setting on the matlabroot\toolbox\local

\pathdef.m file to allow the Users group to write to the file. For more information, see
https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/93468-why-is-a-new-instance-of-
matlab-opened-when-i-double-click-on-a-matlab-file-in-windows-explorer-even.

See Also

More About
• “Associate .mat Files with MATLAB” on page 1-7

1-6
 Associate .mat Files with MATLAB

Associate .mat Files with MATLAB

To associate a .mat extension type with MATLAB R2010b or later, use the Microsoft
Windows Default Programs control panel.

1 Open the Windows Control Panel. The Control Panel is typically available from the
Windows Start menu, or refer to your Windows documentation.
2 From View by: Category, select Programs.
3 Select Default Programs.
4 Select Set your default programs. The Programs pane shows installed versions of
MATLAB, R2010b and later.
5 Select a MATLAB release, then Choose defaults for this program.
6 Check the box next to the .mat entry.
7 Select Save.
8 Close all dialog boxes and menus, and exit the Control Panel.

If you want to use MATLAB R2010a or earlier, then choose the Associate a file type or
protocol with a program options from the Default Programs menu instead. Scroll
down the list of file types to the .mat entry. Select Change Program... and choose a
version of MATLAB from the Recommended Programs list. Do not use the Browse
button.

For information about using these options, see your Windows documentation.

Note By default, MATLAB associates the latest installed version to MATLAB file types.
However, once you use the Windows Control Panel or the file manager to associate a
MATLAB version to a file type, you must manually reassociate the type with each new
installation of MATLAB. If you want to return to the default behavior, then uninstall every
MATLAB that is manually associated to any MATLAB file type. Then reinstall the latest
MATLAB release.

1-7
1 Startup and Shutdown

See Also

More About
• “Associate Files with MATLAB on Windows Platforms” on page 1-6

1-8
 Start MATLAB on Linux Platforms

Start MATLAB on Linux Platforms

To start MATLAB on Linux platforms, type matlab at the operating system prompt. If you
did not set up symbolic links in the installation procedure, then type matlabroot/bin/
matlab. matlabroot is the name of the folder in which you installed MATLAB. To see
the folder, type matlabroot.

After starting MATLAB, the desktop opens. Desktop components that were open when you
last shut down MATLAB reopen. If the DISPLAY environment variable is not set or is
invalid, then the desktop does not display.

MATLAB automatically adds the userpath folder to the search path.

To customize startup, see “Specify Startup Options” on page 1-25.

The MATLAB startup folder is the folder you are in when you get the MATLAB prompt. To
change the default startup folder, see “MATLAB Startup Folder” on page 1-20.

If you have trouble starting MATLAB, then see MATLAB Installation, Activation & Startup
Help.

Startup Folder
On Linux platforms, the default startup folder is the folder from which you started
MATLAB.

To specify the userpath as the startup folder, set the value of the environment variable
MATLAB_USE_USERWORK to 1 before startup. By default, userpath is userhome/
Documents/MATLAB. To specify a different folder for userpath, and for other options,
call the MATLAB userpath function.

Execute MATLAB Script from Remote ssh Login

To execute a MATLAB script hello.m via a remote ssh login, in a terminal window type:

ssh local.foo.com matlab -nodisplay -nojvm < hello.m

The ssh command pipes hello.m to MATLAB running on the remote host
local.foo.com. The -nodisplay option starts MATLAB without the desktop.

1-9
1 Startup and Shutdown

See Also
matlab (Linux) | matlabroot | userpath

More About
• “Specify Startup Options” on page 1-25
• “MATLAB Startup Folder” on page 1-20
• “General Preferences” on page 2-42
• MATLAB Installation, Activation & Startup Help

1-10
 Start MATLAB on Mac Platforms

Start MATLAB on Mac Platforms

Choose one of these ways to start MATLAB.

• “Start from Applications Folder” on page 1-11

• “Start from Terminal Window” on page 1-11

When you start MATLAB, it automatically adds the userpath folder to the search path.
MATLAB also reopens any desktop components that were open when you last shut down.

To customize startup, see “Specify Startup Options” on page 1-25.

The MATLAB startup folder is the folder you are in when you get the MATLAB prompt. To
change the default startup folder, see “MATLAB Startup Folder” on page 1-20.

If MATLAB fails to start due to a problem with required system components such as Java®
software, then diagnostics run automatically. The software advises you of the problem and
offers suggestions to correct it. For information about other startup problems, see
MATLAB Installation, Activation & Startup Help.

Start from Applications Folder

• Double-click the MATLAB icon in the matlabroot folder. Replace matlabroot with
the name of the folder in which you installed MATLAB.

The startup folder is the last working folder from the previous MATLAB session or the
custom path specified in the Initial working folder preference described in “General
Preferences” on page 2-42.

Start from Terminal Window

• To start from the Terminal window, you need to know the value of matlabroot, the
full path to the folder where MATLAB is installed. If you do not know the path, then
open MATLAB from the Applications folder, type matlabroot, and note the value. Exit
MATLAB.
• Open a Terminal window.
• Navigate to the following location from your terminal window:

matlabroot/bin

1-11
1 Startup and Shutdown

• Start MATLAB.

./matlab

The startup folder is the MATLAB installation folder.

See Also
matlab (Mac) | matlabroot | userpath

More About
• “Specify Startup Options” on page 1-25
• “MATLAB Startup Folder” on page 1-20
• “General Preferences” on page 2-42
• MATLAB Installation, Activation & Startup Help

1-12
 Exit MATLAB

Exit MATLAB

In this section...
“Ways to Quit or Exit” on page 1-13
“Confirm Exiting” on page 1-13
“Run Script When Exiting” on page 1-14

Ways to Quit or Exit

At any time, do one of the following:

• Click the close button on the MATLAB desktop.

• Click on the left side of the desktop title bar and select Close.
• Type quit or exit at the command prompt.

MATLAB closes after:

• Prompting you to confirm exiting on page 1-13, if that preference is specified.

• Prompting you to save any unsaved files
• Running a script when exiting on page 1-14, if the finish.m script exists in the
current folder or on the search path.

Confirm Exiting
To set a preference that displays a confirmation dialog box when you exit:

1 On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences.

2 Select MATLAB > General > Confirmation Dialogs.
3 Select the Confirm before exiting MATLAB check box and click OK.

MATLAB then displays the following dialog box when you exit.

1-13
1 Startup and Shutdown

You can also display your own exit confirmation dialog box using a finish.m script, as
described in the following section.

Run Script When Exiting

When MATLAB exits, it runs the script finish.m, if the file exists in the current folder or
anywhere on the search path. You create the script containing statements such as saving
the workspace or displaying a confirmation dialog box. For more information, see
finish.

There are two sample files in matlabroot/toolbox/local that you can use as the
basis for your own finish.m file:

• finishsav.m — Includes a save function so the workspace is saved to a MAT-file.

• finishdlg.m — Displays a confirmation dialog box that allows you to cancel quitting.

See Also
exit | finish | quit

More About
• “Confirmation Dialog Boxes Preferences” on page 2-43
• “Recovering Data After Abnormal Termination” on page 1-15
• “Error Log Reporting” on page 1-16
• MATLAB Installation, Activation & Startup Help

1-14
 Recovering Data After Abnormal Termination

Recovering Data After Abnormal Termination

If MATLAB terminates unexpectedly, then you might lose information. After you start
MATLAB again, you can try the following suggestions to recover some of the information.
Some of these suggestions refer to actions you need to take during the session before
MATLAB terminates. If you did not take those actions, then consider regularly performing
them to help you recover from any future abnormal terminations you might experience.

• Use the Command History or the file on which it is based, history.m, to run
statements from the previous session. You might be able to recreate data as it was
before the termination.
• If you used the diary function or -logfile startup option for the session in which
MATLAB terminated unexpectedly, then you might be able to recover output.
• If you saved the workspace to a MAT-file during the session, then you can recover it by
loading the MAT-file.
• If you were editing a file in the Editor when MATLAB terminated unexpectedly, and
you had the backup feature enabled, then you should be able to recover changes you
made to files you had not saved. To recover, open the backup version filename.asv
in the Editor. Then save it as filename.m to use the last good version of filename.
• If you were in a Simulink® session when a segmentation violation occurred, and you
have the Simulink Autosave Options preference selected, then the last autosave file
for the model reflects the state of the autosave data before the segmentation violation.
Because Simulink models might be corrupted by a segmentation violation, a model is
not autosaved after a segmentation violation occurs. To recover the file, open the
model.

See Also
diary | load | save

Related Examples
• “Save and Load Workspace Variables” on page 5-16
• “Save Files”

More About
• “Commonly Used Startup Options” on page 1-23

1-15
1 Startup and Shutdown

Error Log Reporting

Upon startup, if MATLAB detects an error log generated by a serious problem during the
previous session, then an Error Log Reporter prompts you to email the log to MathWorks
for analysis. The error log contains the stack trace and information about the MATLAB
software configuration. If the problem occurs repeatedly, then make note of what seems
to cause it, look for information about it in the MathWorks Bug Reports database, and if
the problem is reproducible, submit a Service Request via https://www.mathworks.com/
support/contact_us/ts/help_request_1.html.

Emailing Error Log Reports

There are some situations where the Error Log Reporter does not open, for example,
when you start MATLAB with a -r option or run in deployed mode. It also does not open if
you selected the Never Send option the last time the Error Log Reporter opened. If you
experience abnormal termination but do not see the Error Log Reporter on subsequent
startups, then you can email the reports instead. To locate the error log reports, type:

dir(fullfile(tempdir,'matlab_crash_dump.*.*'))

Copy the contents of the file into the body of an email message and send to
[email protected]. After you send the log file, delete it or move it to another location.
If you do not delete it, then the Error Log Reporter might detect it on the next startup and
prompt you to send it, even if you already did.

See Also
tempdir

1-16
 When MATLAB Terminates Unexpectedly

When MATLAB Terminates Unexpectedly

In the event MATLAB experiences a segmentation violation (segv) or other serious
problem, the MATLAB System Error dialog box opens to notify you about the problem.
When this occurs, the internal state of MATLAB is unreliable and not suitable for further
use. Exit as soon as possible and then restart. However, you might want to first try to save
your work in progress.

To exit and restart without trying to save your work, follow these steps:

1 If you want to view the stack trace for the problem, then click Details.
2 Click Close to terminate MATLAB.
3 Restart MATLAB. If the Error Log Reporter dialog box opens, then select the option
to send a report to MathWorks.

If you are debugging a MEX file, consider the following steps:

1 If you want to view the stack trace for the problem, then click Details.
2 Click Attempt to Continue. MATLAB tries to return to the Command Window or tool
you were using.

The Command Window displays the message Please exit and restart MATLAB
to the left of the prompt, which reminds you to discontinue use.
3 From the Command Window or tool, try to save the workspace and unsaved files.

Caution Because the internal state of MATLAB might be corrupted, do not save
existing files to the same file name. Instead, specify a new file name. The information
in the new file might be corrupted or incomplete.
4 Exit MATLAB immediately after saving because any further usage would be
unreliable.
5 Restart MATLAB. If the Error Log Reporter dialog box opens, then select the option
to send a report to MathWorks.

1-17
1 Startup and Shutdown

Specifying Java Startup Options

You can specify custom Java startup options by creating a java.opts file, a text file
containing one option per line. For example, use the -Dproperty=value command to
assign a value to a system property.

Put the java.opts file in one of the following folders:

• MATLAB startup folder, if starting MATLAB from an operating system prompt. For
more information, see “MATLAB Startup Folder” on page 1-20.
• If there is no java.opts file in the startup folder, then MATLAB checks the
matlabroot/bin/arch folder. matlabroot is the output of the matlabroot
function. arch is the output of the MATLAB computer('arch') function, for
example glnxa64.

A java.opts file in this location applies to all users, but individual users might not
have permissions to modify files there.

Do not use a java.opts file in the following situations:

• To enable the use of the Java debugger, use the matlab -jdb command. For
information, see matlab (Linux) or matlab (Mac).
• To adjust the Java heap size on desktop versions of MATLAB, use “Java Heap Memory
Preferences”.
• To modify the static Java class path, create a javaclasspath.txt file. For
information, see “Static Path”.

To modify the library path, create a javalibrarypath.txt file. For information, see
“Locate Native Method Libraries”.
• To override built-in options that MATLAB specifies to Java at startup. Options in
java.opts are appended to the end of the built-in list. Whether or not these
additional options override built-in options is JVM-dependent and can change between
Java versions. To see what options MATLAB provides to Java, run this command:
java.lang.management.ManagementFactory.getRuntimeMXBean.getInputArguments

See Also
matlab (Linux) | matlab (Mac)

1-18
 See Also

Related Examples
• “Java Heap Memory Preferences”
• “Static Path”
• “Locate Native Method Libraries”

More About
• “MATLAB Startup Folder” on page 1-20

1-19
1 Startup and Shutdown

MATLAB Startup Folder

Default Startup Folder

By default, MATLAB sets the startup folder based on the way you start MATLAB. To
identify the startup folder, type pwd at the command line immediately after starting
MATLAB and before typing any other commands. You can change the startup folder using
the General Preferences panel. For convenience, make this folder a folder that you
frequently use.

Note If a startup.m file changes the current folder, then this value overrides the initial
working folder value. Do not add cd statements to startup.m. For more information
about user-defined options, see startup.

Default Folder on Windows Platforms

How You Start MATLAB Startup Folder

Double-click the MATLAB icon Last working folder from the previous MATLAB
on your Windows desktop or in session or the custom path specified in the Initial
the Start menu working folder preference, described in “General
Preferences” on page 2-42
From a Windows system prompt Folder in which you run the matlab command (To use
the folder specified by the Initial working folder
preference, use the -useStartupFolderPref
startup option.)
From the MATLAB command Folder in which you run the !matlab command
prompt
Double-click a file type Folder containing the file
associated with MATLAB
Double-click the matlab.exe Last working folder from the previous MATLAB
executable file from Windows session or the custom path specified in the Initial
Explorer Tool working folder preference

For more information, see “Start MATLAB on Windows Platforms” on page 1-2.

1-20
 MATLAB Startup Folder

Default Folder on Mac Platforms

How You Start MATLAB Startup Folder

Double-click the MATLAB Last working folder from the previous MATLAB
application session or the custom path specified in the Initial
working folder preference described in “General
Preferences” on page 2-42
Start MATLAB from a Terminal MATLAB installation folder
window

For more information, see “Start MATLAB on Mac Platforms” on page 1-11.

Default Folder on Linux Platforms

On Linux platforms, the default startup folder is the folder from which you started
MATLAB.

For more information, see “Start MATLAB on Linux Platforms” on page 1-9.

Change Startup Folder

Starting in R2014b, you can change the startup folder using the General Preferences
panel. On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select
MATLAB > General. Choose an option for the Initial working folder preference.

Alternatively on Windows platforms, specify the initial working folder in the MATLAB
shortcut icon. For more information, see “Select MATLAB Icon” on page 1-2.

userpath as Initial Working Folder

Using userpath as the Initial working folder value offers these benefits.

• You can store the MATLAB files you work with in one folder, such as Documents/
MATLAB.
• You can always run your files because MATLAB automatically adds the userpath
folder to the top of the search path.
• The first time you run a new version of MATLAB, the software automatically creates
the userpath folder if it does not exist.

1-21
1 Startup and Shutdown

• When you upgrade to a newer version of MATLAB, the software automatically

continues to use the same startup folder and your existing files.
• The default userpath uses the benefits provided by the standard location in the
Windows and Mac environments for storing personal files. Files in the Documents/
MATLAB folder are available to you when you use other machines. Each user has an
individual Documents/MATLAB folder. Other users, even those using your machine,
cannot access files in your Documents/MATLAB folder.

See Also
startup

Related Examples
• “Start MATLAB on Windows Platforms” on page 1-2
• “Start MATLAB on Mac Platforms” on page 1-11
• “Start MATLAB on Linux Platforms” on page 1-9

More About
• “General Preferences” on page 2-42

1-22
 Commonly Used Startup Options

Commonly Used Startup Options

This table lists commonly used startup options for the matlab command. For a complete
list of options, refer to the input arguments for matlab (Windows), matlab (Mac), or
matlab (Linux).

Platform Option Description

All -c licensefile Set LM_LICENSE_FILE to licensefile. It can have the form
port@host.
All -h or -help Display startup options (without starting MATLAB).
All -logfile Automatically write output from MATLAB to the specified log
"logfilename" file.
Windows -minimize Start MATLAB with the desktop minimized. Any desktop tools or
platforms documents that were undocked when MATLAB was last closed
are not minimized at startup.
Mac and -nojvm Start MATLAB without loading the JVM™ software. This
Linux minimizes memory usage and improves initial startup speed,
platforms but restricts functionality. With nojvm, you cannot use the
desktop, figures, or any tools that require Java software.

For example, you cannot set preferences if you start MATLAB

with the -nojvm option. However, you can start MATLAB once
without the -nojvm option, set the preference, and quit
MATLAB. MATLAB remembers that preference when you start it
again, even if you use the -nojvm option.
All -nosplash Start MATLAB without displaying its splash screen.
All -r "statement" Automatically run the specified statement immediately after
MATLAB starts. This usage is sometimes referred to as calling
MATLAB in batch mode. Files you run must be in the startup
folder for MATLAB or on the search path. Do not include path
names or file extensions. Enclose the statement in double
quotation marks ("statement"). To separate multiple
statements, use semicolons or commas.
All - Limit MATLAB to a single computational thread. By default,
singleCompThread Windows uses the multithreading capabilities of the computer
on which it is running.

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1 Startup and Shutdown

See Also
matlab (Linux) | matlab (Mac) | matlab (Windows)

1-24
 Specify Startup Options

Specify Startup Options

In this section...
“Startup Options from Operating System Prompt” on page 1-25
“Startup Options in Shortcut on Windows Systems” on page 1-25
“Startup Options in MATLAB Startup File” on page 1-26
“Passing Perl Variables on Startup” on page 1-26
“Startup and Calling Java Software from MATLAB” on page 1-27

Startup Options from Operating System Prompt

Startup options instruct MATLAB to perform certain operations when you start the
program. Startup options also are called command flags or command-line switches. When
you start at the operating system prompt, specify the options as arguments to the matlab
command. For example, the following starts MATLAB and suppresses the display of the
splash screen.

matlab -nosplash

On Windows platforms, you can precede a startup option with either a hyphen (-) or a
slash (/). For example, -nosplash and /nosplash are equivalent.

Startup Options in Shortcut on Windows Systems

You can add selected startup options to the target path for your shortcut on the Windows
platform for MATLAB.

To use startup options for the MATLAB shortcut icon, follow these steps:

1 Right-click the shortcut icon for MATLAB and select Properties from the context
menu. The Properties dialog box for MATLAB opens to the Shortcut pane.
2 In the Target field, after the target path for "matlab.exe", add the startup option,
and click OK.

This example runs the MATLAB results script or function after startup, where
results.m is in the startup folder or on the MATLAB search path. The text in the Target
field is similar to the following:

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1 Startup and Shutdown

"C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2016b\bin\matlab.exe" -r "results"

Include the statement, but not the option (-r) in double quotation marks.

Use semicolons or commas to separate multiple statements. This example changes the
format to short, and then runs the MATLAB code file results:

"... matlab.exe" -r "format('short');results"

Separate multiple options with spaces. This example starts MATLAB without displaying
the splash screen, and then runs the MATLAB code file results:

"... matlab.exe" -nosplash -r "results"

Startup Options in MATLAB Startup File

The startup.m file is a file you create to specify startup options. Create the startup.m
file in a folder on the MATLAB search path. Use startup.m to modify the default search
path, predefine variables in your workspace, or define defaults for graphics objects. For
example, the following statement adds the user-defined folder /home/myname/mytools
to the search path.

addpath /home/myname/mytools

To change the current folder on startup to mytools, set the Initial working folder
value, described in “General Preferences” on page 2-42, to:

/home/myname/mytools

At startup, MATLAB automatically executes the matlabrc.m file and startup.m, if it

exists on the MATLAB search path. The file matlabrc.m, which is in the matlabroot/
toolbox/local folder, is reserved for use by MathWorks and by system administrators
on multiuser systems. To locate the startup.m file, type:

which startup

If MATLAB finds a startup.m file, then it displays the path to the file.

Passing Perl Variables on Startup

You can pass Perl variables to MATLAB on startup by using the -r option of the matlab
function. For example, assume a MATLAB function test that takes one input variable:

1-26
 See Also

function test(x)

To pass a Perl variable instead of a constant as the input parameter, follow these steps.
This command starts MATLAB and runs test with the input argument 10.

1 Create a Perl script such as

#!/usr/local/bin/perl
$val = 10;
system('matlab -r "test(' . ${val} . ')"');
2 Invoke the Perl script at the prompt using a Perl interpreter.

For more information, see the -r option in matlab (Windows), matlab (Mac), or
matlab (Linux).

Startup and Calling Java Software from MATLAB

When MATLAB starts, it constructs the class path for Java software using
javaclasspath.txt and javalibrarypath.txt files. For more information, see “Java
Class Path” and “Locate Native Method Libraries”.

For information about memory allocation for Java objects, see “Java Heap Memory
Preferences”.

See Also
matlab (Linux) | matlab (Mac) | matlab (Windows)

More About
• “Commonly Used Startup Options” on page 1-23
• “What Is the MATLAB Search Path?” on page 6-48

1-27
1 Startup and Shutdown

Toolbox Path Caching in MATLAB

In this section...
“About Toolbox Path Caching in MATLAB” on page 1-28
“Using the Cache File Upon Startup” on page 1-28
“Updating the Cache and Cache File” on page 1-28

About Toolbox Path Caching in MATLAB

For performance reasons, MATLAB disables folder change detection for the matlabroot
folder and caches the folder information across sessions. The disabled folder change
detection and caching features are mostly transparent to you. However, if MATLAB does
not see the latest versions of your MATLAB code files or if you receive warnings about the
path cache, then you might need to update the cache.

Using the Cache File Upon Startup

Upon startup, MATLAB gets information from a cache file to build the matlabroot folder
cache. Because of the cache file, startup is faster, especially if you run MATLAB from a
network server or if you have many folders within the matlabroot folder. When you end
a session, MATLAB updates the cache file.

MATLAB does not use the cache file at startup if you clear the Enable toolbox path
cache check box in General Preferences. Instead, it creates the cache by reading from
the operating system folders, which is slower than using the cache file.

Updating the Cache and Cache File

How the Toolbox Path Cache Works

MATLAB caches (essentially, stores in a known files list) the names and locations of files
in the matlabroot folder. This folder is for files provided with MathWorks products that
should not change except for product installations and updates. Caching those folders
provides better performance during a session because MATLAB does not actively monitor
those folders.

We strongly recommend that you save any MATLAB code files you create and any files
provided by MathWorks that you edit in a folder that is not in the matlabroot folder

1-28
 Toolbox Path Caching in MATLAB

tree. If you keep your files in the matlabroot folder, then they might be overwritten
when you install a new version of MATLAB.

When to Update the Cache

When you add files to the matlabroot folder, the cache and the cache file need to be
updated. MATLAB updates the cache and cache file automatically when you install
toolboxes or toolbox updates using the installer for MATLAB. MATLAB also updates the
cache and cache file automatically when you use MATLAB tools, such as when you save
files from the MATLAB Editor to the matlabroot folder.

When you add or remove files in the matlabroot folder by some other means, MATLAB
might not recognize those changes. For example, when you:

• Save new files in the matlabroot folder using an external editor

• Use operating system features and commands to add or remove files in the
matlabroot folder

and then attempt to use one of the new files,MATLAB displays this message:

Undefined function or variable

Update the cache so MATLAB recognizes the changes you made in the matlabroot
folder.

Steps to Update the Cache

To update the cache and the cache file,

1 On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select

MATLAB > General.

The General Preferences pane is displayed.

2 Click Update Toolbox Path Cache and click OK.

Function Alternative

To update the cache, use rehash toolbox. To update both the cache and the cache file,
use rehash toolboxcache. For more information, see rehash.

1-29
 2

Desktop

• “Change Fonts” on page 2-2

• “Fonts Custom Preferences” on page 2-5
• “Change Color Settings” on page 2-6
• “Access Frequently Used Features” on page 2-9
• “Optimize Desktop Layout” on page 2-11
• “Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Navigate MATLAB” on page 2-16
• “Customize Keyboard Shortcuts” on page 2-20
• “Set Print Options” on page 2-27
• “Web Browsers and MATLAB” on page 2-30
• “Manage Your Licenses” on page 2-34
• “Check for Software Updates” on page 2-36
• “Macintosh Platform Conventions” on page 2-37
• “Preferences” on page 2-39
• “Web Preferences” on page 2-51
2 Desktop

Change Fonts
In this section...
“Font Preferences” on page 2-2
“Help and Web Browser Fonts” on page 2-3
“Adding Fonts on Windows Systems” on page 2-3

Font Preferences
Change the font for desktop tools using the Fonts Preferences dialog box. Access this
dialog box on the Home tab, in the Environment section, by clicking Preferences.
Select MATLAB > Fonts.

The default font that MATLAB uses for a particular tool depends upon its content:

• Code tools, such as the Command Window and Editor, use a monospaced font to
preserve vertical alignment.
• Text-based tools, such as the Current Folder browser, use your system’s font.
• A few specific tools, including the Profiler, use a custom proportional font.

You can change the font for the group of code tools, for the group of text-based tools, or
for individual tools. To change the font for an individual tool, or to move a tool from one
group to another, click Custom Fonts and set the preferences for that tool.

This table describes the factory defaults for each group of tools. Refer to this table to
restore fonts to their original state.

Font Group Factory Defaults Default Font Group Tools

Desktop code font Monospaced, Plain, 10 point Command History

Command Window

Editor (and Shortcuts Editor)

2-2
 Change Fonts

Font Group Factory Defaults Default Font Group Tools

Desktop text font Your system's current font Current Folder browser (and Path
browser)

Workspace browser

Variables editor

Function Browser
Custom fonts SansSerif, Plain, 10 point Profiler (and Code Analyzer
messages, Function Browser help,
and Supplemental Software help)

Note For the Profiler, you can change the font type and size, but not the style (for
example, bold or italic).

UNIX®1 systems include a preference to apply antialiasing: Use antialiasing to smooth

desktop fonts. Select this preference for a smoother desktop appearance. You must
restart MATLAB for the preference to take effect. This option is not provided on Microsoft
Windows or Apple Macintosh platforms, because MATLAB follows the operating system’s
font settings on these platforms.

Help and Web Browser Fonts

To adjust the font size in the Help browser or MATLAB web browser, right-click the page
and select Zoom In or Zoom Out. You cannot change the font type or style.

Adding Fonts on Windows Systems

MATLAB determines the set of fonts for the Preferences dialog box from your system
settings on the first use of fonts within a session.

If, during a MATLAB session, you install a font that MATLAB can use, restart MATLAB to
include it in the list. A common reason to install additional fonts is to read files created in
different languages. For details on adding fonts to your system, refer to the Microsoft
Windows help.

1. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the United States and other countries.

2-3
2 Desktop

If MATLAB cannot display a particular font, it excludes that font from the list. The criteria
for compatible fonts are as follows:

• For desktop components (such as the Command Window), figure windows, and
uicontrols — Fonts compatible with TrueType and Microsoft OpenType® fonts
• For graphics objects, such as xlabel, ylabel, title, and text — TrueType and
Microsoft OpenType fonts

MATLAB looks for fonts in the following locations:

• The operating system's standard location (see your system administrator for details)
• The /jre/lib/fonts folder where Java software is installed on your system

See Also

Related Examples
• “Set Print Options” on page 2-27

2-4
 Fonts Custom Preferences

Fonts Custom Preferences

You can override font settings for individual desktop tools, as described in the table that
follows. Desktop tools otherwise use the settings that the “Font Preferences” on page 2-2
specify.

On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select MATLAB >
Fonts > Custom, and then set options as described in this table:

Preference Usage
Desktop tools Select the desktop tool for which you want to view or customize
fonts, such as the Command Window or Editor.
Font to use Indicates the font currently being used in the selected desktop
tool. Use one of these fonts to change it.

• Desktop code

Uses the characteristics of the desktop code font, as

described in “Font Preferences” on page 2-2.
• Desktop text

Uses the characteristics of the desktop text font, as described

in “Font Preferences” on page 2-2.
• Custom

Uses the type, style, and size you specify in the fields.

For the Profiler, you can change the font type and size, but
changes to the font style (for example, bold or italic) have no
effect.

2-5
2 Desktop

Change Color Settings

In this section...
“Change Text and Background Colors in Desktop Tools” on page 2-6
“Change Syntax Highlighting Colors” on page 2-6
“Change Command Window Colors” on page 2-7
“Change Code Analyzer Colors” on page 2-8

Change Text and Background Colors in Desktop Tools

To change the colors that MATLAB uses for text and background in desktop tools, follow
these steps:

Note The colors you specify also apply to the Import Wizard, but do not apply to the Live
Editor, the Help display pane, or the web browser.

1 On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select

MATLAB > Colors.
2 Clear Use system colors.

System colors are the text and background colors that your platform (for example,
Microsoft Windows) uses for other applications.
3 Select the colors you want to use from the Text and Background color palettes.

When you choose a color, the Syntax Highlighting sample and Command Window
sample areas in the dialog box update to show you how it looks.

Tip If you use a gray background color, a selection in an inactive window is not
visible.
4 Click OK.

Change Syntax Highlighting Colors

In the Command Window, Command History, Editor, Live Editor, and Shortcuts callback
area, MATLAB conveys syntax information using different colors. This feature, known as

2-6
 Change Color Settings

syntax highlighting, helps you to identify syntax elements, such as if/else statements at
a glance. The Editor also provides syntax highlights colors for other languages.

In the Command Window, only the MATLAB input you type is highlighted. The output from
running MATLAB functions is not highlighted.

To change syntax highlighting colors, follow these steps:

1 On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select

MATLAB > Editor/Debugger > Language.
2 From the Language drop-down menu, select the language for which you want to
change syntax highlighting colors.
3 In the Syntax highlighting section, select Enable syntax highlighting.
4 Change the colors.

• If you set the Language to MATLAB, click the Set syntax colors link, and then
change the colors under MATLAB syntax highlighting colors.
• If you did not set the Language to MATLAB, change the colors under Syntax
highlighting.
5 Click OK.

Change Command Window Colors

To change the colors that MATLAB uses for errors, warnings and hyperlinks in the
Command Window, follow these steps:

1 On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select

MATLAB > Colors.
2 Select the colors you want to use from the Error text and Warning text, and
Hyperlinks color palettes.

When you choose a color, the Command Window sample area in the dialog box
updates to show you how it looks.
3 Click OK.

2-7
2 Desktop

Change Code Analyzer Colors

Code Analyzer helps you to identify potential problems and refine your MATLAB code. By
default, the Editor indicates:

• Code for which there are warnings, by underlining that code with an orange wavy line
and placing an orange line in the message bar.
• Code for which there are errors, by underlining that code with a red wavy line and
placing a red line in the message bar.
• Code that MATLAB can fix automatically (autofix), by highlighting that code in tan.

To change Code Analyzer colors:

1 On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select

MATLAB > Colors > Programming Tools.
2 Under Code analyzer colors, select the colors you want for warnings, autofix
highlighting, or both.
3 Decide if you want autofix highlights to appear in the Editor.

Clear Autofix highlight if you do not want autofix highlights to appear in the Editor;
select Autofix highlight if you do.
4 Click Apply.
5 Decide if you want to change the color that the Code Analyzer uses for errors.

• If you do not, go to step 6.

• If you do, then:

a In the left navigation pane, click Colors.

b Under MATLAB syntax highlighting colors, change the color for Errors.

In addition to changing the color of Code Analyzer indicators for errors, this
action also changes the color for errors in the Command Window, Command
History window, Editor, and Shortcuts callback area.
6 Click OK.

For more information, see “Automatically Check Code in the Editor — Code Analyzer”.
Changes to the Code Analyzer color preferences do not apply in the Live Editor.

2-8
 Access Frequently Used Features

Access Frequently Used Features

The quick access toolbar provides access to frequently used operations. This toolbar is
always visible, even when you navigate between different MATLAB toolstrip tabs.

You can change the location of the quick access toolbar. On the Home tab, in the
Environment section, click Layout, and then select an option for the Quick Access
Toolbar. Moving the quick access toolbar is not supported in MATLAB Online™.

To add a toolstrip item to the quick access toolbar, right-click the button, and then select
Add to Quick Access Toolbar. You also can select from a list of common items by going
to the quick access toolbar and clicking the button. To remove an item from the quick
access toolbar, right-click the item icon and select Remove from Quick Access Toolbar.
To arrange buttons in the quick access toolbar, drag the button icon to the desired
location.

To further configure the quick access toolbar, follow these steps:

1 On the quick access toolbar, click the button and select Customize Toolbar. The
MATLAB Toolbars Preference panel open.
2 In the Controls list, select or clear the check box for controls that you want to
display or remove from the toolbar, respectively.
3 Under Layout, rearrange the controls and separator bars on the selected toolbar, by
doing either of the following:

• Drag the icon for a control or separator bar to another position.

• Select a Layout icon, and then click one of the Layout buttons below the layout
icons.

For instance, to move the MATLAB desktop Cut icon to the beginning of the
toolbar, select the Cut icon , and then click .

2-9
2 Desktop

4 Click Apply or OK.

See Also

More About
• “Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Navigate MATLAB” on page 2-16
• “Customize Keyboard Shortcuts” on page 2-20

2-10
 Optimize Desktop Layout

Optimize Desktop Layout

In this section...
“Desktop Layout” on page 2-11
“Document Layout” on page 2-14

Desktop Layout
You can close, minimize, and undock desktop tools to optimize the desktop layout. Once
you design a layout you like, you can save it for reuse.

This table shows how you can optimize the MATLAB desktop layout on your screen. To
optimize the MATLAB Online desktop, see “Desktop Layout in MATLAB Online” on page
2-13.

Action Procedure
Minimize or restore the MATLAB To minimize, at the lower right corner of the
toolstrip
toolstrip, click .

To restore, select one of the tab labels and in the

lower right corner of the toolstrip, click .
Open or hide a tool On the Home tab, in the Environment section,
click Layout. Then, under Show, select, or clear
desktop tools you want to show or hide.

You also can use a function to open desktop tools.

For example, to open the Editor, use edit. To open
the Profiler, use profile with the viewer option.
Maximize a tool Do one of the following:

• Double-click the title bar in that tool.

• On the title bar of a docked tool, click , and
then select Maximize.

2-11
2 Desktop

Action Procedure
Minimize a tool On the title bar of a docked tool, click , and then
select Minimize .

The button for the tool appears along the edge of

the MATLAB desktop indicated by the arrow in the
Minimize icon. Move the button to a different edge
of the desktop by dragging it.

To use a minimized tool, click the button for the tool

to open the tool temporarily on the desktop. When
you finish using the tool, click another tool.
Restore a tool as it appeared before Do one of the following:
maximizing or minimizing
• Double-click the title bar of the maximized tool,
or the button of the minimized tool.
• On the title bar of the tool, click , and then
select Restore.
• Click the Restore button on the title bar in
that tool.
Move a tool Drag a tool by its title bar to a new location. The
status bar indicates where the tool moves if you
release the mouse.
Close a tool On the title bar of a docked tool, click , and then
select Close.
Show or hide title bars On the Home tab, in the Environment section,
click Layout. Then, under Show, select, or clear
Panel Titles.
Show or hide a toolbar in a figure From the View menu, select the toolbar of interest.
window
Undock tools to move them outside Do one of the following:
the desktop
• Drag a tool by its title bar to a new location
outside of the MATLAB desktop.
• On the title bar of the tool, click , and then
select Undock.

2-12
 Optimize Desktop Layout

Action Procedure
Move undocked tools back to the At the upper right of the tool panel, click , and
desktop then select Dock.
Manage a desktop arrangement On the Home tab, in the Environment section,
click Layout, and then select an option.
• Save an arrangement
• Use an arrangement MATLAB stores the arrangements you save as XML
files in the preferences folder on page 2-40 for
• Rename or delete a saved MATLAB. The layout last used in a session is
arrangement MATLABDesktop.xml. The MATLABDesktop.xml
file loads when you start MATLAB and is
overwritten when you close MATLAB.

When you end a session, MATLAB saves the current desktop arrangement. The next time
you start MATLAB, the desktop appears as you left it. However, tools such as the Help
browser, web browser, and Variables editor do not reopen automatically, even if they were
open when you ended the last session. You can use startup options to specify tools that
you want to open on startup. For more information, see “Specify Startup Options” on page
1-25. Startup options are not available MATLAB Online.

Desktop Layout in MATLAB Online

MATLAB Online provides access to MATLAB from a standard web browser. To change the
desktop layout in MATLAB Online go to the Home tab, click Layout, and then select an
option. To move an individual tool, drag the tool by its title bar to a new location. You
cannot undock a tool in MATLAB Online.

To minimize a tool, collapse the panel in which the tool resides. For example, if the
MATLAB Online desktop is in the default layout with the Current Folder browser in the
left side panel, click the button at the bottom left corner of the panel to collapse the
panel. To restore the panel, click the button.

If the left or right side panel contains multiple tools, you can minimize an individual tool
by clicking the button to the left of the tool's title bar. Multiple tools in the bottom
panel display as tabs and cannot be minimized.

2-13
2 Desktop

Document Layout
When you open MATLAB documents, they open in the associated tool, such as the Editor
or Variables editor. The Editor and Variables editor appear in the position they occupied
when last used. Entries for undocked documents appear on the Windows task bar, or the
equivalent for your platform. Click the task bar entry for a document to make that
document active.

This table shows how to optimize the layout of documents within a tool.

Action Procedure
Change the tabs position On the View tab, in the Document Tabs
section, click Tabs Position , and then
select an option.

In MATLAB Online, on the title bar of the

tool, click , select Tab Position, and then
select an option.
Reorder documents Drag a document tab to a different position.

To alphabetize names of documents, in the

Document Tabs section of the View tab,
select Alphabetize.
Arrange or tile documents In the Editor and Variables editor, select the
View tab. In the Tiles section, click a tile
option.

In a Figure panel, Help browser, or web

browser, select a tile option, , , , or ,
on the right side of the toolbar.

In MATLAB Online, on the title bar of the

tool, click , select Tile All, and then
select a tile option.
Move a tiled document Drag the document tab to another tile. If
you drag it to a tile that already contains a
document, the document you are dragging
covers up the other document.

2-14
 Optimize Desktop Layout

Action Procedure
Undock a document Right-click the document tab and then
select Undock.
Close and save the document currently Click .
displaying
Close a document in the Editor without Click Ctrl + .
saving

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2 Desktop

Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Navigate MATLAB

Using keyboard shortcuts to navigate MATLAB can increase productivity and is useful in
situations where using a mouse is not an option.

This table describes the actions and related keyboard shortcuts useful for navigating
MATLAB without a mouse.

Action Keyboard Shortcut

Move to the next visible panel. Ctrl+Tab
Move to the previous visible panel. Ctrl+Shift+Tab
Move to the next tabbed panel. Ctrl+Page Down
Move to the previous tabbed Ctrl+Page Up
panel.
Make an open tool the active tool. • Command Window: Ctrl+0
• Command History: Ctrl+1
• Current Folder: Ctrl+2
• Workspace: Ctrl+3
• Profiler: Ctrl+4
• Figure Palette: Ctrl+6
• Plot Browser: Ctrl+7
• Property Editor: Ctrl+8
• Editor: Ctrl+Shift+0
• Figures: Ctrl+Shift+1
• Web browser: Ctrl+Shift+2
• Variables Editor: Ctrl+Shift+3
• Comparison Tool: Ctrl+Shift+4
• Help browser: Ctrl+Shift+5
Show access keys for the toolstrip. Alt

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 Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Navigate MATLAB

Action Keyboard Shortcut

Open a toolstrip tab and show Alt+<character>
access keys for the toolstrip.
For example, pressing Alt followed by H accesses
the Home tab and displays access keys for the
features available on that tab.

You cannot customize most of these shortcuts. For information about customizable
keyboard shortcuts and how to view and modify them, see “Customize Keyboard
Shortcuts” on page 2-20.

MATLAB Online
MATLAB Online provides access to MATLAB from a standard web browser. Because
MATLAB Online runs in a browser, navigation using the keyboard is slightly different.

This table describes the actions and related keyboard shortcuts useful for navigating
MATLAB Online without a mouse.

Action Keyboard Shortcut

Move forward through the Ctrl+F6
toolstrip and other tools.
Move backward through the Ctrl+Shift+F6
toolstrip and other tools.
Move into a tool. Tab
Move between controls within a Up/Down Arrow, Left/Right Arrow
tool.
Open context menu on Windows Shift+F10
and UNIX systems.
Show access keys for the toolstrip. Alt
Open a toolstrip tab and show Alt+<character>
access keys for the toolstrip.
For example, pressing Alt followed by H accesses
the Home tab and displays access keys for the
features available on that tab.

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2 Desktop

Action Keyboard Shortcut

Display a compact list of keyboard Ctrl+/
shortcuts.
On Mac systems, you also can use Cmd+/.

Customizing shortcuts is not supported in MATLAB Online.

Additional Keyboard Shortcuts

In addition to navigation, keyboard shortcuts are useful for accessing other frequently
used actions in MATLAB.

This table describes several of these actions and their related keyboard shortcuts. For
additional keyboard shortcuts, see the documentation for a specific tool or feature.

Action Keyboard Shortcut

Cancel the current action. Esc (escape)

For example, if you click the name of the Edit menu,

the whole menu appears. Pressing Esc hides the
menu again.

In the Function Browser, pressing Esc up to three

times has the following effects:

1 Dismiss the search history.

2 Clear the search field.
3 Close the Function Browser.
Interrupt MATLAB execution. Ctrl+C

On Windows and UNIX systems, you also can use

Ctrl+Break. On Mac systems, you also can use
Cmd+. (period).

You cannot customize these shortcuts. For information about customizable keyboard
shortcuts and how to view and modify them, see “Customize Keyboard Shortcuts” on page
2-20.

2-18
 See Also

See Also

More About
• “Customize Keyboard Shortcuts” on page 2-20
• “Rerun Favorite Commands” on page 3-15
• “Access Frequently Used Features” on page 2-9

2-19
2 Desktop

Customize Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts are useful for accessing desktop features quickly. To optimize your
experience, you can customize the current set of keyboard shortcuts in MATLAB.

There are several ways you can modify the current set of keyboard shortcuts. You can:

• Create new keyboard shortcuts or modify existing ones.

• Choose among available sets of keyboard shortcuts.
• Create customized sets of keyboard shortcuts or use existing customized sets.

To view or modify the current set of keyboard shortcuts, use the Keyboard Shortcuts
Preferences panel. To open the Keyboard Shortcuts Preferences panel, go to the Home
tab, and in the Environment section, click Preferences. Then, select MATLAB >
Keyboard > Shortcuts.

View Keyboard Shortcuts

For actions performed with a menu item, keyboard shortcuts appear in the menu itself.
(This is true whether the menu item is in the toolstrip or in a context menu.) If a menu
item does not display a keyboard shortcut, then a keyboard shortcut for the action does
not exist.

For actions that are not performed with a menu item, to find keyboard shortcuts, open the
Keyboard Shortcuts Preferences panel. Then, in the search box, enter the name of the
tool or action for which you want to see the keyboard shortcuts. For example, type
Editor clear to find the keyboard shortcut for clearing selected text in the Editor.

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 Customize Keyboard Shortcuts

To view the shortcuts for an action, select the action name. For example, select Clear
Selection. MATLAB displays the keyboard shortcuts for the selected action. For example,
the keyboard shortcut for the Clear Selection action in the Editor is the Escape key.

Create a List of All Keyboard Shortcuts in a Set

You can create a list of all the keyboard shortcuts in the current set by copying them to
the clipboard and pasting them in a text file or spreadsheet application, such as Microsoft
Excel®. For the best formatting, use a spreadsheet application. To copy all the keyboard
shortcuts, open the Keyboard Shortcuts Preferences panel. Click the Actions button
and from the drop-down menu, choose Copy to Clipboard. Paste the data into the
desired application.

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Customize Keyboard Shortcuts for Individual Actions

Customizing a keyboard shortcut is useful if you frequently perform an action and the
action does not have a keyboard shortcut defined, or if the defined keyboard shortcut is
hard to use or conflicts with a different shortcut. For an overview on customizing
keyboard shortcuts, watch the Customizable Keyboard Shortcuts video. You must have an
internet connection to watch the video.

To customize a keyboard shortcut:

1 Open the Keyboard Shortcuts Preferences panel and, in the search box, type an
existing keyboard shortcut or the name of an action, tool, or menu.

For example, you can type Ctrl+R (shortcut), Delete (action), Command Window
(tool), or File (menu).

You can enter most keyboard shortcuts by either pressing keystrokes or typing the
key names. If using keystrokes for a keyboard shortcut does not work, try typing the
key names instead. For example, if pressing the Ctrl key and then R does not work,
try typing the text Ctrl+R.

MATLAB displays the list of matching actions for which you can customize or define a
keyboard shortcut. If you specify the name of a tool, MATLAB displays actions
associated with the tool or menu, as well as any action names that contain the
specified text.
2 Select the name of the action for which you want to define or modify a keyboard
shortcut.
3
Click the Add button .

An editable text box opens in the Shortcut column.

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 Customize Keyboard Shortcuts

4 Specify the keystrokes you want to use for the keyboard shortcut.

A keystroke can be a single key or the combination of a modifier (Alt, Shift, or Ctrl)
and another key. Specify a keystroke by performing it, not by typing the names of the
keys character by character. For example, press the Ctrl key and the Y key. Do not
type C-t-r-l-+-Y.

Alternatively, you can choose a shortcut from the drop-down menu.

To specify multiple keystrokes for one action, or to limit the number of keystrokes for
an action, click the down arrow next to the key icon in the Shortcuts box. Then,
select either Limit to 1 keystroke, Limit to 2 keystrokes, or Limit to 3
keystrokes. For example, to specify Ctrl+Y, Shift+Z, F9 as the three keystrokes
for an action, select Limit to 3 keystrokes and then type the keystrokes.
5 In the Tools with shortcut column, click the down arrow and select which tools you
want to assign the keyboard shortcut to.

6 Evaluate and resolve any conflicts, indicated by the and icons. The icon
indicates that two different actions within the same tool have the same shortcut. The
icon indicates that two different actions in two different tools have the same
shortcut.

There is no requirement to resolve keyboard shortcut conflicts. However, if the same

shortcut specifies two different actions, the shortcuts can be confusing to use.
Resolving all conflicts indicated by the error icon is recommended, although in
some situations, resolving a conflict might be unnecessary. For example, resolving the
conflict might be unnecessary if the conflict is temporary or the two actions are
associated with different modes of the same tool. Resolving conflicts indicated by the
informational icon is recommended if you use both tools frequently and you
perform both actions frequently.

To resolve a conflict, change or delete shortcuts such that there is a one-to-one

correspondence between shortcuts and frequently used actions.
7 Click OK or Apply.

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New or modified keyboard shortcuts become available immediately. Changed shortcuts

that correspond to menu items immediately appear in the menu.

To delete a keyboard shortcut for a selected action, select the keyboard shortcut that you
want to delete and click the Delete button .

Restore Default Keyboard Shortcut Sets

If you modify keyboard shortcuts, and then decide you do not want to keep the changes,
you can restore the default shortcuts. To restore the default state of a keyboard shortcut,
click the Actions button and select Undo Modifications to <Set Name> Default
Set (modified), where <Set Name> is the name of the modified default set.

Note Undoing modifications reverts all keyboard shortcuts changes that you made to the
set. You cannot undo modifications on a shortcut-by-shortcut basis.

Restrictions When Customizing Keyboard Shortcuts

There are some actions and tools for which you cannot change the keyboard shortcuts.
Actions for which the keyboard shortcut cannot be customized do not appear when you
search for them in the MATLAB Keyboard Shortcuts Preferences panel. Examples of these
actions include canceling the current action (Esc), interrupting MATLAB execution (Ctrl
+C), and some of the navigational actions described in “Use Keyboard Shortcuts to
Navigate MATLAB” on page 2-16.

In addition, you cannot change the keyboard shortcuts associated with these tools or
portions of tools:

• Figure windows — For example, you cannot modify the keyboard shortcut, Ctrl+S, for
saving a MATLAB .fig file.
• Toolboxes — For example, you cannot modify keyboard shortcuts in the SimBiology®
desktop.
• Incremental search — You can modify the keyboard shortcuts for initiating a forward
or backward incremental search. However, you cannot change the keyboard shortcuts
that you use within incremental search mode, such as Ctrl+Shift+S to search
forward.
• Dialog boxes — For example, you cannot create a keyboard shortcut for the OK
button.

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 Customize Keyboard Shortcuts

Manage Sets of Keyboard Shortcuts

Select Set of Keyboard Shortcuts

By default, MATLAB uses the keyboard shortcut settings for your current platform. To
select a different set of keyboard shortcuts, open the Keyboard Shortcuts Preferences
panel and, in Active settings, select from the available options. To use a keyboard
shortcut settings file that is on your system but not in the Active settings list, select
Browse... to find and select the desired file.

This table lists the keyboard shortcut settings files installed with MATLAB.

Operating Keyboard Shortcut Settings Files Installed with MATLAB

System
Windows • Windows Default Set (Default)
• Emacs Default Set
UNIX • Emacs Default Set (Default)
• Windows Default Set
Macintosh • Macintosh Default Set (Default)

You also can download keyboard shortcut settings files from File Exchange. For example,
to restore the MATLAB default keyboard shortcuts that were in place for MATLAB Version
7.9 (R2009a) and earlier releases, go to File Exchange and search for MATLAB Desktop
R2009a Default Keyboard Shortcut sets. Download and extract the set and then
select it as the active settings file. A valid keyboard shortcut settings file appears with a
keyboard key icon .

Compare Sets of Keyboard Shortcuts

To compare the current set of keyboard shortcuts to another set:

1 Open the Keyboard Shortcuts Preferences panel and click the Actions button .
2 From the drop-down menu, choose the set of keyboard shortcuts to which you want
to compare the current set.
3 The Comparison Tool opens and displays the two keyboard shortcut sets side-by-side.
For more information about how to read the results, see “Compare and Merge Text”
on page 6-11.

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Save Set of Keyboard Shortcuts to File

Saving a set of keyboard shortcuts to a settings file is useful if you want to:

• Save the changes you make to a default keyboard shortcut set to a new set.
• Use a set of customized keyboard shortcuts on another system running MATLAB.
• Overwrite a previously saved set of keyboard shortcuts.
• Share a set of keyboard shortcuts with others, for example, on File Exchange.

To save a keyboard shortcut settings file, open the Keyboard Shortcuts Preferences panel.
Then, click the Actions button and select Save As. MATLAB saves the file as
an .xml file in the folder that you specify.

You cannot overwrite the default settings files that install with MATLAB. MATLAB saves
modifications that you make to a default set using the name of the default set appended
with the text (modified), for instance, Windows default (modified).

Delete Set of Keyboard Shortcuts

To delete a previously saved set of keyboard shortcuts, open the Keyboard Shortcuts
Preferences panel and in Active settings, select the set of keyboard shortcuts that you
want to delete. Click the Actions button and select Delete filename, where
filename is the name of a keyboard shortcut set you want to delete. You cannot delete
default keyboard shortcut sets, such as Windows Default Set.

See Also

More About
• “Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Navigate MATLAB” on page 2-16
• “Rerun Favorite Commands” on page 3-15
• “Access Frequently Used Features” on page 2-9

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 Set Print Options

Set Print Options

In this section...
“Page Setup Options” on page 2-27
“Layout Options for Page Setup” on page 2-27
“Header Options for Page Setup” on page 2-28
“Fonts Options for Page Setup” on page 2-28

Page Setup Options

MATLAB provides special page setup options for printing from the Command Window and
Editor. Page setup is not supported in the Live Editor.

To specify page setup options for printing from the Command Window, right-click in the
Command Window, and then select Page Setup.

To specify page setup options for printing from the Editor, first select the Editor tab.
Then, in the File section, click Print and select Page Setup.

The Page Setup dialog box opens for that tool.

Then, perform these steps:

1 Click the Layout, Header, or Fonts tab in the dialog box and set those options for
that tool, as detailed in subsequent sections. On Mac platforms, you must first select
MATLAB in the Settings menu in order to see these tabs.
2 Click OK.
3 After specifying the options, select Print in the tool you want to print from, for
example, the Command Window.

The contents from the tool print, using the options you specified in Page Setup.

Layout Options for Page Setup

You can specify the following layout options. A preview area shows you the effects of your
selections.

• Print header — Print the header specified in the Header pane.

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• Print line numbers — Print line numbers.

• Wrap lines — Wrap any lines that are longer than the printed page width.
• Syntax highlighting — For keywords and comments that are highlighted in the
Command Window, specify how they are to appear in print. Options are black and
white text (that is, no highlighting), colored text (for use with a color printer), or styled
text. For styled text, keywords appear in bold, comments appear in italics, and all
other text appears in the normal style. Only keywords and comments you input in the
Command Window are highlighted; output is not highlighted.

Header Options for Page Setup

If you want to print a header, select the Layout tab and then select Print header. Next,
select the Header tab and specify how the elements of the header are to appear. A
preview area shows you the effects of your selections:

• Page number — Format for the page number, for example # of n

• Border — Border style for the header, for example, Shaded box
• Layout — Layout style for the header. For example, Standard one line includes
the date, time, and page number all on one line

Fonts Options for Page Setup

Specify the font to use for the printed contents:

1 From Choose font, select the element, either Body or Header, where Body text is
everything except the Header.
2 Select the font to use for the element.

For example, if you access this dialog box while using the Command Window, you can
select Use Command Window font for Body text. The printed text matches the
Command Window font.
3 Repeat for the other element.

If you did not select Print header on the Layout pane, you do not need to specify the
Header font.

As an example, for Header text, select Use custom font and then specify the font
characteristics—type, style, and size. After you specify a custom font, the Sample area
shows how the font will look.

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 Set Print Options

Tip You can change the font that a desktop tool uses. On the Home tab, in the
Environment section, click Preferences > Fonts > Custom.

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Web Browsers and MATLAB

In this section...
“About Web Browsers and MATLAB” on page 2-30
“Display Pages in Web Browsers” on page 2-32
“Specify Proxy Server Settings for Connecting to the Internet” on page 2-32
“Specify the System Browser for Linux Platforms” on page 2-33

About Web Browsers and MATLAB

From MATLAB, Web sites and documents can display in any of the following browsers:

• MATLAB Web browser

• Help browser
• Your system Web browser, such as Mozilla® Firefox®

MATLAB uses the different browsers to display different types of information:

• Web sites display in your system browser.

• Documentation displays in the Help browser.
• Other HTML files display in the MATLAB Web browser. For example, after publishing a
MATLAB program file to HTML, the HTML file displays in the MATLAB Web browser:

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 Web Browsers and MATLAB

MATLAB Web and Help Browsers

The MATLAB Web and Help browsers may not support all the features that a particular
Web site or HTML page uses. For example, the MATLAB Web browser does not
display .bmp (bitmap) image files. Instead use .gif or .jpeg formats for image files in
HTML pages.

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System Browser

The system browser that MATLAB uses depends on your platform:

• On Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh platforms, MATLAB uses the default
browser for your operating system.
• On UNIX platforms, MATLAB uses the Mozilla Firefox browser. You can specify a
different system browser for MATLAB using Web preferences on page 2-33.

Display Pages in Web Browsers

To display an HTML document in the MATLAB Web browser, double-click the document
name in the Current Folder browser.

To display a Web page or any file type in the MATLAB Web browser:

1 Open the browser using the web command.

2 Type a URL or full path to a filename in the Location field.

Specify Proxy Server Settings for Connecting to the Internet

If your network uses a firewall or another method of protection that restricts Internet
access, provide information about your proxy server to MATLAB. Be aware that:

• MATLAB supports non-authenticated, basic, digest, and NTLM proxy authentication

types.
• If a proxy with basic authentication is specified, MATLAB only supports HTTP
connections. HTTPS connections are not supported.
• You cannot specify the proxy server settings using a script.
• There is no automated way to provide the proxy server settings your system browser
uses to MATLAB.

To specify the proxy server settings:

1 On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select

MATLAB > Web.
2 Select the Use a proxy server to connect to the Internet check box.
3 Specify values for Proxy host and Proxy port.

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 Web Browsers and MATLAB

Examples of acceptable formats for the host are: 172.16.10.8 and ourproxy. For
the port, enter an integer only, such as 22. If you do not know the values for your
proxy server, ask your system or network administrator for the information.

If your proxy server requires a user name and password, select the Use a proxy with
authentication check box. Then enter your proxy user name and password.

Note MATLAB stores the password without encryption in your matlab.prf file.
4 Ensure that your settings work by clicking the Test connection button.

MATLAB attempts to connect to https://www.mathworks.com:

• If MATLAB can access the Internet, Success! appears next to the button.
• If MATLAB cannot access the Internet, Failed! appears next to the button.
Correct the values you entered and try again. If you still cannot connect, try using
the values you used when you authenticated your MATLAB license.
5 Click OK to accept the changes.

Specify the System Browser for Linux Platforms

To specify the system browser:

1 On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select

MATLAB > Web.
2 Under System Web browser, in the Command field, specify the system command to
open the browser, for example, opera, which opens the Opera Web browser.
3 Add options for opening your system browser in the Options field. For example,
geometry 1064x860 specifies the size of the window for Opera.
4 Click OK.

Note The Mac platform does not have a System Web browser preference.

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Manage Your Licenses

You can use the MATLAB licensing features to perform license management activities,
such as activating licenses, deactivating licenses, or updating licenses. You also can visit
the License Center at the MathWorks website to perform other license-related activities.

To access the licensing feature:

1 On the Home tab, in the Resources section, click Help > Licensing.
2 Select a Licensing option. The following table describes the Licensing options.
Depending on your license type, your system might not include all these options.

Note Some options require an internet connection. If your internet connection requires a
proxy server, use MATLAB web preferences to specify the server host and port. See
“Specify Proxy Server Settings for Connecting to the Internet” on page 2-32 for more
information.

Option Description
Update Current Displays a list of all your MathWorks licenses on this computer, with
Licenses their status. When you select a license and click Update Selected
License, MATLAB contacts MathWorks to retrieve the most current
version of the License File for the license. The update process
overwrites the current License File on your system. You need to
restart MATLAB.
Activate Starts the activation application, which walks you through the
Software activation process. Answer the questions on each dialog box, select
the license you want to activate, and click Activate.

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 See Also

Option Description
Deactivate Displays a list of all your MathWorks licenses on this computer, with
Software their status. When you select a license and click Deactivate, MATLAB
deactivates all releases on this computer associated with the license,
and updates the licensing information at the MathWorks website. You
will not be able to use MathWorks software with that license on this
computer.

If you are not connected to the Internet, MATLAB deactivates the

licenses on your computer but cannot update the corresponding
license information stored at the MathWorks website. In this scenario,
MATLAB returns a deactivation string. To complete deactivation, save
a copy of this string, go to a computer with an internet connection,
and visit the License Center at the MathWorks website. There you can
sign in to your MathWorks Account and enter the deactivation string.
Manage Starts a web browser, opening the My Licenses page associated with
Licenses your MathWorks Account. You can use this page, called the License
Center, to perform many licensing activities.

See Also

More About
• “Introduction to Installation and Licensing” (Installation, Licensing, and Activation)

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Check for Software Updates

To determine if more recent versions of your MathWorks products are available, and to
view latest version numbers for all MathWorks products, follow these steps:

1 Make sure that you have an active internet connection.

2 On the Home tab, in the Environment section, select Add-Ons > Check for
Product Updates. The Check for Updates dialog box displays.
3 From the Select View list, choose to view the latest version numbers for all
MathWorks products installed on your system, or all MathWorks products.

The latest versions display.

4 Click any column heading to sort or reverse the sort order by that column.
5 To access the release notes for a product, use the What's New column.

Release notes document new features and changes, bug reports, and compatibility
considerations.
6 Decide whether you want to update to the most recent version.

• If you do, click Download Products at MathWorks.com

• If you do not, go to step 7.
7 Click Close.

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 Macintosh Platform Conventions

Macintosh Platform Conventions

In this section...
“Mouse Instructions and Macintosh Platforms” on page 2-37
“Navigating Within the MATLAB Root Folder on Macintosh Platforms” on page 2-37
“MATLAB Dock Menu” on page 2-38

Mouse Instructions and Macintosh Platforms

The documentation typically presents conventions for Microsoft Windows platforms.
Therefore, some conventions and operations differ on the Macintosh platform from those
that appear in the rest of the documentation. The intended action for the Macintosh
platform is typically obvious. Mouse operations follow Macintosh conventions.

Make the following replacements to adjust documented mouse instructions for Macintosh
platforms if you are using a one-button mouse:

• Replace right-click with Ctrl+click

• Replace middle-click with Command+click

Navigating Within the MATLAB Root Folder on Macintosh

Platforms
On Macintosh platforms, MATLAB is installed as an application bundle. The root folder,
the string returned by the matlabroot command, has a .app extension.

To view the contents of the MATLAB root folder in the Mac Finder, right-click the
MATLAB application bundle, and then select Show Package Contents from the context
menu.

To view the content of the MATLAB root folder from within MATLAB:
1
On the Home tab, in the File section, click
2 In the File Browser dialog box, press Command+Shift+G to open the Go To Folder
dialog box.
3 Enter the full path to the MATLAB folder, for example, /Applications/
MATLAB_R2012a.app.

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4 Press Go.

To open a file with a MATLAB command, such as edit, specify the full path of the
MATLAB root folder. For example:

edit(fullfile(matlabroot,'/toolbox/matlab/demos/lotka.m'))

MATLAB Dock Menu

Starting in MATLAB R2012a, the MATLAB Dock menu lists open windows and documents
associated with the running MATLAB. Choosing an open document from the Dock menu
brings the selected document's window to the foreground. In addition, the MATLAB Dock
menu includes the item Open Additional Instance of MATLAB. This option starts
another instance of MATLAB. You can select Options > Keep in Dock, but only for the
first MATLAB instance. Use Open Additional Instance of MATLAB to start additional
instances rather than trying to keep multiple MATLAB icons in the Dock.

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 Preferences

Preferences

Set Preferences for MATLAB

MATLAB provides various options called preferences for customizing MATLAB. To access
and set preferences:

1 On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences.

2 From the left pane of the Preferences dialog box, select a tool, product, or an entry
revealed when you click an arrow preceding a tool or product name.
3 Change settings in the right pane of the Preferences dialog box.
4 Click Apply or OK.

Preferences take effect immediately. They remain persistent across sessions of MATLAB.

Most preferences are not available in MATLAB Online, except selected Command Window
and Confirmation Dialog preferences.

Function Alternative

You can open the Preferences dialog box using the preferences function.

You also can access and set some MATLAB options programmatically using settings. For
more information, see “Access and Modify Settings”.

Where MATLAB Stores Preferences

MATLAB and other MathWorks products store their preferences in the preferences folder.
To see the full path for the preferences folder type prefdir in the MATLAB Command
Window. The name of the preferences folder matches the name of the release. For
instance, for MATLAB R2016b, the name of the preferences folder is R2016b.

On macOS and iOS, the folder might be in a hidden folder. If so, to access the hidden
folder:

1 In the Apple macOS Finder tool, select Go > Go to Folder.

2 In the resulting dialog box, type the path returned by prefdir, and then press
Enter.

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You must have write access to the preferences folder. Otherwise, MATLAB generates an
error in the Command Window when you try to change preferences. MATLAB also can
generate an error if the preferences folder is hidden.

Temporary Preferences Folder

In some situations, if MATLAB is unable to create or use the preferences folder when
starting up, it creates a temporary preferences folder. If a preferences folder exists for a
previous release, MATLAB copies the preference files from that release to the temporary
preferences folder. Otherwise, MATLAB creates the default preference files for the
current release. MATLAB continues to use the temporary preferences folder until the
issue is resolved.

If you make changes to preferences while MATLAB is using the temporary preferences
folder, the preferences persist across sessions. Once the issue preventing MATLAB to
access the preferences folder is resolved though, MATLAB copies the preference files
from the previous release or creates the default preference files for the current release.
Any changes made to the preferences while using the temporary preference folder are
lost.

Each version of MATLAB can have a temporary preferences folder. MATLAB does not
migrate preferences from the temporary preferences folder across releases.

Effects of Installation and Deinstallation on the Preferences Folder

Installing MATLAB has no effect on the preferences folder. That is, MATLAB creates,
checks, copies, and writes to the preferences folder when you start up MATLAB, not when
you install it. When you uninstall MATLAB, there is an option in the uninstaller to remove
the preferences folder. However, this option is not selected by default.

Preferences MATLAB Uses When Multiple Releases Are

Installed
The files in the preferences folder that MATLAB uses depends on the version of MATLAB
you are starting up. How and if MATLAB migrates (reuses) preferences files from one
version of MATLAB to the next also depends on the version.

Process for Creating and Migrating Preferences Folder and Files

When you start up, MATLAB looks for a preferences folder name that matches the release
starting up, and then it does one of the following:

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 Preferences

• If MATLAB finds a preferences folder name matching the release starting up, then it
uses that folder and the files within it. This is usually the case after the first time you
start MATLAB for a given release.

If a preference folder exists but is empty, then MATLAB recreates the default
preference files for the release starting up.
• If MATLAB does not find a preferences folder name matching the release starting up,
then it creates one. Next, MATLAB checks to see if a preference folder exists for any of
the three releases of MATLAB that immediately precede the one you are starting.

• If none of the preference folders from the previous three releases exist, then
MATLAB creates the default preference files for the release starting up.

For example, if you start up R2016a and neither R2015b, R2015a, or R2014b are
installed, then MATLAB creates the default files for the R2016a release. This is
true even if a preference folder exists for the R2014a release or earlier.
• If one or more of the preference folders for the previous three releases exist, then
MATLAB migrates the files from the preferences folder corresponding to the latest
previous release to the preferences folder for the release starting up.

For example, if you start up R2016a and a preference folder exists for both the
R2015b and R2014b releases, then MATLAB migrates the files from the R2015b
preferences folder to the R2016a preferences folder.

Control Preferences Files MATLAB Uses

This table describes how to control which versions of preferences files MATLAB uses.

To Use: Do This:
Default preference files for a given release • If a preference folder for the given
of MATLAB release exists, make sure that the folder
is empty before starting up.
• If a preference folder for the given
release does not exist and one or more
of the preference folders for the
previous three releases do exist, create
an empty preferences folder for the
given release.

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To Use: Do This:
All the preference files from a release of Ensure that the preferences folder exists
MATLAB up to three releases preceding the for that previous release. Delete the entire
release you plan to start up or sign into. preferences folder for each release after
the release you want to migrate from,
including the folder for the release of
MATLAB you plan to start up or sign into.
The release-specific default for just a Delete just that file from the preferences
particular file in the preferences folder folder for the release of MATLAB you plan
to start up or sign into.

One file to consider keeping is history.m.

For more information, see “Set Command
History Preferences” on page 3-30.

General Preferences
You can set preferences for the initial working folder, deleting files, and toolbox path
caching.

On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select MATLAB >
General. Then, adjust preference options as described in this table.

Preference Usage
Initial working folder Select the last working folder from your previous
MATLAB session, or specify the full path to a
folder on your system. For more information, see
“MATLAB Startup Folder” on page 1-20.

If you create a startup.m file, cd commands in

that file override the preference option.

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 Preferences

Preference Usage
Deleting files Select an option to specify what MATLAB does
with files you delete using the delete function.

Selecting Delete permanently makes the

delete function run faster.

On Linux systems, if you select Move to a

temporary folder, MATLAB moves files to a
subfolder with the prefix MATLAB_Files_ in the
system temporary folder, as returned by the
tempdir function.
Toolbox path caching Select Enable toolbox path caching to have
MATLAB cache matlabroot folder information
across sessions for quicker startup performance.
Click Update Toolbox Path Cache to add files
to the matlabroot folder. (Use after you use
tools not provided with MATLAB to create
MATLAB files.)

For details, see “Toolbox Path Caching in

MATLAB” on page 1-28.
Desktop language Select the language in which the MATLAB
desktop appears. Supported languages include
Japanese, Korean, and Chinese. This option
affects the text in dialog boxes, button names,
menu items, and error and warning messages.

Confirmation Dialog Boxes Preferences

You can specify whether MATLAB displays specific confirmation dialog boxes.

On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select MATLAB >
General > Confirmation Dialogs. Then, adjust preference options as described in the
table below.

This table summarizes the core MATLAB confirmation dialog boxes. There might be
additional confirmation dialog boxes for other products you install, and some options are
not available in MATLAB Online.

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Option Confirmation Dialog Box Appears

Warn before deleting When you delete entries from the Command History window.
Command History items
For details, see Command History Window.
Warn before clearing When, on the Home tab, in the Code section, you click Clear
the Command Window Commands. Does not appear when you use the clc function.
Confirm when When you save variables by dragging them from the Workspace
overwriting variables in browser onto a MAT-file in the Current Folder browser.
MAT-files
Confirm when When you load variables by dragging them from the Details Panel of
overwriting workspace the Current Folder browser to the Workspace browser or Command
variables via drag-and- Window.
drop
Prompt when editing When you type edit filename and filename does not exist in the
files that do not exist current folder or on the search path.
Prompt to exit debug When you try to save a modified file while in debug mode.
mode when saving file
For details, see “End Debugging Session”.
Prompt to save on When you have unsaved changes to a figure and program file and you
activate activate the UI by clicking the Run button, for example.

For details, see “GUIDE Preferences”.

Prompt to save on When you have unsaved changes to a figure and program file and you
export select File > Export.

For details, see “GUIDE Preferences”.

Confirm changing When you have modified a callback signature in GUIDE.
default callback
implementation For details, see “GUIDE Preferences”.
Confirm before exiting When you quit MATLAB.
MATLAB
Confirm when deleting When you delete variables from the workspace using menu items. Does
variables not appear with the clear function.

For details, see “Save and Load Workspace Variables” on page 5-16.

2-44
 Preferences

Source Control Preferences

You can select which previously installed and configured source control system to use
with MATLAB.

On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select MATLAB >
General > Source Control. Then, select an option from the list.

For more information, see “Select or Disable Source Control System”.

Keyboard Shortcuts Preferences

You can set keyboard shortcuts for actions you perform using MathWorks software. You
can specify or import sets of predefined keyboard shortcuts, set individual shortcuts on an
action-by-action basis, or use a combination of both approaches.

On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select MATLAB >
Keyboard > Shortcuts. Then, adjust preference options as described in this table.

For more information on customizing keyboard shortcuts, see “Customize Keyboard

Shortcuts for Individual Actions” on page 2-22.

If you use source control integration through the MATLAB Current Folder Browser,
MATLAB might crash when you view or commit changes.

Preference Usage
Active settings Select or import a set of predefined
keyboard shortcuts.

2-45
2 Desktop

Preference Usage
Select any one of these options:

• Save As — Save current set of keyboard

shortcuts to a file.
• Copy to clipboard — Copy current set
of keyboard shortcuts to clipboard, so
you can import into Microsoft Excel, for
example.
• Compare — Compare the current set of
keyboard shortcuts to another set.
• Undo Modifications — Undo changes
to a default keyboard shortcut set.
• Delete — Delete a set of keyboard
shortcuts you previously saved or added.
Search by action name or shortcut Search the list of displayed actions.
Shortcuts for <action-name> View the keyboard shortcut assigned to a
selected action.
Add or delete a keyboard shortcut to a
selected action.
All possible conflicts Display conflicts when two or more
different actions have the same shortcut.
Remove the keyboard shortcut from the
selection in the All possible conflicts list.

Colors Preferences
You can specify the text and background color for desktop tools, as well as colors for
highlighting syntax elements of MATLAB code.

On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select MATLAB >
Colors. Then, set options as described in the table below.

2-46
 Preferences

Preference Usage
Desktop tool colors Specify that desktop tools use the same text and
background colors that your platform uses for other
applications by selecting Use system colors.

Customize colors by clearing Use system colors, and then

choose Text and Background colors from the drop-down
menus.

These colors do not apply to the Help display pane, nor to

the web browser.

For details, see “Change Text and Background Colors in

Desktop Tools” on page 2-6.
MATLAB syntax highlighting colors Set colors to help you quickly identify elements of MATLAB
syntax in the Editor, Command Window, Command History
window, and the MATLAB shortcuts callback area.

For details, see “Change Syntax Highlighting Colors” on

page 2-6.
MATLAB Command Window colors Set colors to help you quickly identify errors, warnings,
and hyperlinks in the Command Window.

Colors Programming Tools Preferences

You can specify options used for editing and debugging code, including code analysis
colors, variable and function colors, and cell display options.

On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select MATLAB >
Colors > Programming Tools. Then, set options as described in the table below.

2-47
2 Desktop

Preference Usage
Code analyzer colors • Warnings—Specifies the color Code Analyzer uses to identify
code in the Editor for which there are warning messages.
• Autofix highlight—Specifies the color Code Analyzer uses to
identify code in the Editor for which there is an automatic fix.

For details, see “Automatically Check Code in the Editor — Code

Analyzer”.
Variable and function colors • Automatically highlight—Specifies the color the Editor uses
to highlight all occurrences of a specific variable or function.
For details, see “Find and Replace Functions or Variables in
the Current File”.
• Variables with shared scope—Specifies the color of
variables with shared scope. The text is colored, not shaded.
For details, see “Check Variable Scope in Editor”
Section display options Highlight sections—Specifies the color the Editor uses to shade
code sections.

Show lines between sections—Specifies that code section

divisions appear with a gray line between each section in the
Editor. These lines do not appear in the published or printed file.

See also “Run Code Sections”.

Comparison Preferences
Colors

You can change and save your diff color preferences for the Comparison tool. You can
apply your color preferences to all comparison types.

On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select MATLAB >
Comparison. Then, set options as described in the table below.

2-48
 Preferences

Preference Usage
Colors Set colors to help you quickly identify differences,
modifications, and merges in comparison reports. Choose
colors from the drop-down menus. View the colors in the
Sample pane. To use your modified settings in
comparisons, click Apply. Refresh any open comparison
reports to use the new colors.
Active Settings To save your modified color preferences for use in future
MATLAB sessions, click Save As. Enter a name for your
color settings profile and click OK.

After saving settings, you can select them in the Active

Settings list.

For details, see “Comparison Report Tools and Options” on

page 6-23.

External Source Control Integration

Use the check box to control external source control interactions: Allow external source
control tools to use open MATLAB sessions for diffs and merges. After you
configure your source control tool to use MATLAB Comparison tool, the Comparison tool
prompts you to set this preference. For details, see “Customize External Source Control
to Use MATLAB for Diff and Merge” (Simulink).

Toolbars Preferences
You can customize some toolbars in the MATLAB application.

On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select MATLAB >
Toolbars. Then, set options as described in the table below.

For step-by-step instructions on setting these preferences, see “Access Frequently Used
Features” on page 2-9.

Preference Usage
Toolbar Select the toolbar you want to customize.

2-49
2 Desktop

Preference Usage
Layout Rearrange controls in the toolbar by dragging and dropping them to a
new location in the Layout.
Controls Select which buttons appear on the selected toolbar.

See Also
prefdir

More About
• “Access and Modify Settings”

2-50
 Web Preferences

Web Preferences
Web preferences enable you to specify Internet connection information to MATLAB.

Limitations

• MATLAB supports nonauthenticated, basic, digest, and NTLM proxy authentication

types.
• You cannot specify proxy server settings using a script.
• There is no automated way to provide MATLAB with the proxy server settings that
your system browser uses.

You can set Web preferences on the Home tab, in the Environment section. Click
Preferences. Select MATLAB > Web, and then adjust preference options as described in
the table below.

Preference Usage
Use a proxy server to connect Provide information that MATLAB needs to access the internet
to the Internet when your network uses a firewall or another method of
protection that restricts Internet access.
Proxy host Specify a value for the Proxy host. For example, 172.16.10.8
or ourproxy. If you do not know the values for your proxy server,
ask your system or network administrator for the information.
Proxy port Specify an integer value for the Proxy port. For example, 22. If
you do not know the values for your proxy server, ask your system
or network administrator for the information.
Use a proxy with Specifies that your proxy server requires a user name and
authentication password.
Proxy username Specify the proxy server user name.
Proxy password Specify the proxy server password.

Note MATLAB stores the password without encryption in your

matlab.prf file.

2-51
2 Desktop

Preference Usage
Test connection Ensure that your settings work.

If MATLAB cannot access the Internet, Failed! appears next to

the button. Correct the values you entered and try again. If you
still cannot connect, try using the values you used when you
authenticated your MATLAB license.
System Web browser • Command—Specifies the system command to open the
UNIX platforms only — browser.
excluding Macintosh
For example, opera, opens the Opera Web browser.
• Options—Specifies options for the system browser.

For example, geometry 1064x860 specifies the size of the

window for Opera.

2-52
 3

Entering Commands

• “Enter Statements in Command Window” on page 3-2

• “Find Functions to Use” on page 3-4
• “Format Output” on page 3-7
• “Stop Execution” on page 3-11
• “Find Text in Command Window or History” on page 3-12
• “Rerun Favorite Commands” on page 3-15
• “Set Command Window Preferences” on page 3-18
• “Set Keyboard Preferences” on page 3-21
• “Check Syntax as You Type” on page 3-24
• “Set Command History Preferences” on page 3-30
3 Entering Commands

Enter Statements in Command Window

As you work in MATLAB, you can enter individual statements in the Command Window.
For example, create a variable named a by typing this statement at the command line:
a = 1

MATLAB immediately adds variable a to the workspace and displays the result in the
Command Window.
a =

When you do not specify an output variable, MATLAB uses the variable ans, short for
answer, to store the results of your calculation.
sin(a)

ans =

0.8415

The value of ans changes with every command that returns an output value that is not
assigned to a variable.

If you end a statement with a semicolon, MATLAB performs the computation, but
suppresses the display of output in the Command Window.
b = 2;

To enter multiple statements on multiple lines before running any of the statements, use
Shift+Enter between statements. This action is unnecessary when you enter a paired
keyword statement on multiple lines, such as for and end.

You also can enter more than one statement on the same line by separating statements.
To distinguish between commands, end each one with a comma or semicolon. Commands
that end with a comma display their results, while commands that end with a semicolon
do not. For example, enter the following three statements at the command line:
A = magic(5), B = ones(5) * 4.7; C = A./B

A =
17 24 1 8 15

3-2
 Enter Statements in Command Window

23 5 7 14 16
4 6 13 20 22
10 12 19 21 3
11 18 25 2 9

C =
3.6170 5.1064 0.2128 1.7021 3.1915
4.8936 1.0638 1.4894 2.9787 3.4043
0.8511 1.2766 2.7660 4.2553 4.6809
2.1277 2.5532 4.0426 4.4681 0.6383
2.3404 3.8298 5.3191 0.4255 1.9149

MATLAB displays only the values of A and C in the Command Window.

To recall previous lines in the Command Window, press the up- and down-arrow keys, ↑
and ↓. Press the arrow keys either at an empty command line or after you type the first
few characters of a command. For example, to recall the command b = 2, type b, and
then press the up-arrow key.

To clear a command from the Command Window without executing it, press the Escape
(Esc) key.

You can evaluate any statement already in the Command Window. Select the statement,
right-click, and then select Evaluate Selection.

In the Command Window, you also can execute only a portion of the code currently at the
command prompt. To evaluate a portion of the entered code, select the code, and then
press Enter.

For example, select a portion of the following code:

hello

3-3
3 Entering Commands

Find Functions to Use

This example shows how to find the name and description of a MathWorks function from
the Command Window or Editor using the Function browser. The Function browser is not
supported in the Live Editor.

1
Click the Browse for functions button, . In the Command Window, this button is to
the left of the prompt. In the Editor, the button is on the Editor tab, in the Edit
section. The Function browser opens.

Tip The Function browser closes when you move the pointer outside of it. To keep
the browser open, drag it by the top edge to a different location.
2 Optionally, select a subset of products to display in the list. Click the product area at
the bottom of the browser (where the text All installed products appears by
default), and then set the Selected Products preference and click OK. This
preference also applies to the Help browser.
3 Find functions by browsing the list or by typing a search term. For example, search
for the term fourier.

3-4
 Find Functions to Use

In the search results, a parenthetical term after a function name indicates either that
the function is in a product folder other than MATLAB, or that there are multiple
functions with the same name. For example, fft (comm) corresponds to the fft
function in the Communications Toolbox™ folder.
4 Select a function that you would like to use or learn more about, as follows.

• Insert the function name into the current window by double-clicking the name.
Alternatively, drag and drop the function name into any tool or application.
• View syntax information for the function by single-clicking its name. A brief
description for each of the syntax options displays in a yellow pop-up window.

3-5
3 Entering Commands

Tip The pop-up window automatically closes when you move your pointer to a
new item in the results list. To keep the pop-up window open, drag it by the top
edge to a different location.

You can change the font that the Function browser uses by setting preferences. On the
Home tab, in the Environment section, select Preferences > Fonts. By default, the
Function browser uses the desktop text font and the pop-up window uses the Profiler font.

3-6
 Format Output

Format Output
MATLAB displays output in both the Command Window and the Live Editor. You can
format the output display using several provided options.

Format Line Spacing in Output

By default, MATLAB displays blanks lines in command window output.

You can select one of two numeric display options in MATLAB.

• loose — Keeps the display of blank lines (default).

>> x = [4/3 1.2345e-6]

x =

1.3333 0.0000
• compact — Suppresses the display of blank lines.

>> x = [4/3 1.2345e-6]

x =
1.3333 0.0000

To format the output display, do one of the following:

• On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select

MATLAB > Command Window, and then choose a Numeric display option.
• Use the format function at the command line, for example:

format loose
format compact

Note Line spacing display options do not apply in the Live Editor.

Format Floating-Point Numbers

You can change the way numbers display in both the Command Window and the Live
Editor. By default, MATLAB uses the short format (5-digit scaled, fixed-point values).

3-7
3 Entering Commands

For example, suppose that you enter x = [4/3 1.2345e-6] in the Command Window.
The MATLAB output display depends on the format you selected. This table shows some
of the available numeric display formats, and their corresponding output.

Numeric Display Format Example Output

short (default) x = 1.3333 0.0000
short e x = 1.3333e+00 1.2345e-06
long x = 1.333333333333333
0.000001234500000
+ x = ++

Note The text display format affects only how numbers are shown, not how MATLAB
computes, or saves them.

To format the way numbers display, do one of the following:

• On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select

MATLAB > Command Window, and then choose a Numeric format option.
• Use the format function, for example:

format short
format short e
format long

See the format reference page for a list and description of all supported numeric
formats.

Wrap Lines of Code to Fit Window Width

A line of code or its output can exceed the width of the Command Window, requiring you
to use the horizontal scroll bar to view the entire line. To break a single line of input or
output into multiple lines to fit within the current width of the Command Window:

1 On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select

MATLAB > Command Window.
2 Select Wrap Lines.

3-8
 Format Output

3 Click OK.

Note Line wrapping options do not apply in the Live Editor.

Suppress Output
To suppress code output, add a semicolon (;) to the end of a command. This is useful when
code generates large matrices.

Running the following code creates A, but does not show the resulting matrix in the
Command Window or the Live Editor:

A = magic(100);

View Output by Page

Output in the Command Window might exceed the visible portion of the window. You can
view the output, one screen at a time:

1 In the Command Window, type more on to enable paged output.

2 Type the command that generates large output.
3 View the output:

• Advance to the next line by pressing Enter.

• Advance to the next page by pressing Space Bar.
• Stop displaying the output by pressing q.

To disable paged output, type more off.

Note Paged output options do not apply in the Live Editor.

Clear the Command Window

If the Command Window seems cluttered, you can clear all the text (without clearing the
workspace) by doing one of the following:

3-9
3 Entering Commands

• On the Home tab, in the Code section, select Clear Commands > Command
Window to clear the Command Window scroll buffer.
• Use the clc function to clear the Command Window scroll buffer.
• Use the home function to clear your current view of the Command Window, without
clearing the scroll buffer.

See Also
clc | format | home | more

3-10
 Stop Execution

Stop Execution
To stop execution of a MATLAB command, press Ctrl+C or Ctrl+Break.

On Apple Macintosh platforms, you also can use Command+. (the Command key and the
period key).

Ctrl+C does not always stop execution for files that run a long time, or that call built-ins
or MEX-files that run a long time. If you experience this problem, include a drawnow,
pause, or getframe function in your file, for example, within a large loop.

Also, Ctrl+C might be less responsive if you start MATLAB with the -nodesktop option.

Note For certain operations, stopping the program might generate errors in the
Command Window.

See Also
drawnow | getframe | pause

3-11
3 Entering Commands

Find Text in Command Window or History

In this section...
“Find Text in the Command Window” on page 3-12
“Find Text in the Command History Window” on page 3-14

Find Text in the Command Window

You can search text currently in the Command Window. This includes text that is visible
on the screen, and text that is in the scroll buffer.

• “Search Using Find Dialog Box” on page 3-12

• “Search Using Keyboard Shortcuts” on page 3-13

Search Using Find Dialog Box

To search for specified text in the Command Window, on the Command Window title bar,
click , and then select Find. The Find dialog box opens. The search begins at the
current cursor position. MATLAB finds the text you specified and highlights it.

MATLAB beeps when a search for Find Next reaches the end of the Command Window,
or when a search for Find Previous reaches the top of the Command Window. If you have
Wrap around selected, MATLAB continues searching after beeping.

To search for the specified text in other MATLAB desktop tools, change the selection in
the Look in field.

You can increase the amount of information available in the Command Window so that
more text is available for searching. Doing so requires more memory. On the Home tab,
in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select MATLAB > Command
Window, and then increase the setting for Number of lines in the command window
scroll buffer.

Clearing the command window (for example, with the clc function), empties the scroll
buffer. The cleared text is no longer available for searching. To clear your display in the
Command Window without clearing the buffer, use the home function.

3-12
 Find Text in Command Window or History

Search Using Keyboard Shortcuts

You can also perform an incremental search in the Command Window using keyboard
shortcuts.

1 Begin an incremental search by using one of the defined keyboard shortcuts.

Action Windows Default Macintosh or Emacs

Shortcut Default Shortcut
Initiate a forward Ctrl+Shift+S Ctrl+S
incremental search.
Initiate a backward Ctrl+Shift+R Ctrl+R
incremental search.

An incremental search field appears in the bottom right corner of the MATLAB
Desktop window. For a forward search, the text F Inc Search appears. The F
indicates a forward search.
2 Begin typing your search term.

When you enter lowercase letters in the incremental search field, MATLAB looks for
both lowercase and uppercase instances of the letters. For example, if you enter b,
MATLAB looks for b and B. However, if you enter uppercase letters, MATLAB only
looks for instances that match the case you entered.
3 Perform incremental search actions using these keyboard shortcuts:

Action Keyboard Shortcut

Complete a partially highlighted set of Ctrl+W
characters.
Find the next occurrence of a set of Ctrl+S
characters.
Remove characters from the incremental Ctrl+G
search field, back to the last successful
search

If you search for a set of characters that does not appear in the Command Window
text, Failing appears in the incremental search field.
4 End incremental searching by pressing Esc (escape), Enter, or any other key that is
not a character or number.

3-13
3 Entering Commands

The incremental search field disappears. The cursor remains at the position where
the text was last found, with the search text highlighted.

Find Text in the Command History Window

You can search for text in the Command History Window. You can search for text either at
the beginning of a command, or anywhere within a command.

1 In the Command History window, type in the Search field. To display the Search field
if is not visible, click , and then select Find.

2 Begin typing your search term.

The Command History window searches backward and selects the previous entry that
contains the sequence of letters you typed.
3 Select from the different search options using the buttons to the right of the search
field. Options include (match case), (match anywhere within command), and
(match at beginning of command).
4 Find the previous or next occurrence of the entry with the up and down arrow keys,
respectively.
5 Press Esc to clear the search.

3-14
 Rerun Favorite Commands

Rerun Favorite Commands

Create and Run Favorite Commands
MATLAB favorite commands (previously called command shortcuts) are an easy way to
run a group of MATLAB language statements that you use regularly. For example, you can
use a favorite command to set up your environment when you start working, or to set the
same properties for figures you create.

To create a favorite command:

1 On the Home tab, in the Code section, click Favorites and then click New Favorite.
The Favorite Command Editor dialog box opens.
2 In the Label field, enter a name for the favorite command. For this example, enter
Setup Workspace.
3 In the Code field, type the statements you want the favorite command to run. You
also can drag and drop statements from the Command Window, the Command
History Window, or a file. MATLAB automatically removes any command prompts (>>)
from the Code field when you save the favorite command.

For example, enter these statements:

format compact
clear
workspace
filebrowser
clc
4 In the Category field, type the name of a new category or select an existing category
from the drop-down list. If you leave this field blank, the favorite command appears in
the default Favorite Commands category.
5 In the Icon field, select an icon.
6 To add the favorite command to the quick access toolbar, select both the Add to
quick access toolbar and Show label on quick access toolbar options.
7 To run the statements in the Code section and ensure they perform the desired
actions, click Test.
8 When you are done configuring the favorite command, click Save.

To run a favorite command, on the Home tab, click Favorites and then click the icon for
the desired favorite command. All the statements in the Code field of the Favorite

3-15
3 Entering Commands

Command Editor execute as if you ran those statements from the Command Window,
although they do not appear in the Command History window.

To edit a favorite command, click the icon to the right of the favorite command. To

delete a favorite command, click the icon to the right of the favorite command. You
also can right-click the favorite command and select Edit Favorite or Delete Favorite.

Organize Favorite Commands

You can organize your favorite commands by storing them in different categories.

To create a new category:

1 On the Home tab, in the Code section, click Favorites and then click New
Category. The Favorite Category Editor dialog box opens.
2 In the Label field, enter a name for the category. For this example, enter My
Favorite Favorites.
3 In the Icon field, select an icon.
4 To add the category to the quick access toolbar, select both the Add to quick access
toolbar and Show label on quick access toolbar options.
5 Click Save.

To move a category up or down in the list of categories, or to move a favorite command

within a category, drag the category or favorite command to the desired location. You also

can use the and buttons to the right of the category.

To change whether a single category or favorite command appears in the quick access

bar, click the and icons to the right of the category or favorite command. To add
all favorite commands to the quick access bar, on the Home tab, right-click Favorites
and select Add to quick access toolbar.

To further configure which favorite commands and categories appear in the quick access
bar, on the Home tab, in the Code section, click Favorites and then click Quick
Access. Adding and configuring favorite commands and categories in the quick access
bar is not supported in MATLAB Online.

3-16
 See Also

See Also

More About
• “Customize Keyboard Shortcuts” on page 2-20
• “Set Command History Preferences” on page 3-30

3-17
3 Entering Commands

Set Command Window Preferences

You can customize the visual display of the Command Window and command output
within it.

On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select MATLAB >
Command Window, and then adjust preference options as described in the table below.

Some Command Window preferences are not available in MATLAB Online.

Preference Usage
Text display Select a Numeric format option to specify the output format of
numeric values in the Command Window.

For details, see “Format Floating-Point Numbers” on page 3-7.

Select a Numeric display option to specify whether blank lines
appear in Command Window output. To suppress blank lines, select
compact. To display blank lines, select loose.
Datetime format Select a Locale option to specify the default input locale of the
Datetime object. You also can enter a custom locale. For more
information, including a list of common values, see datetime.
Select a Default date and time format option to specify the default
format of the Datetime object. You also can enter a custom format.
For more information, see the Format property for datetime arrays.
Select a Default date-only format option to specify the default date
format of the Datetime object. You also can enter a custom format.
For more information, see the Format property for datetime arrays.
Display Select Wrap lines to make each line of input or output in the
Command Window break into multiple lines to fit within the current
width of the Command Window.

For details, see “Wrap Lines of Code to Fit Window Width” on page 3-
8.

3-18
 Set Command Window Preferences

Preference Usage
Select Set matrix display width to eighty columns to limit the
width of matrix output.

Note If you also select Wrap lines, and the width of the Command
Window is fewer than 80 characters, each row of 80 characters of
matrix output wraps to fit within the width of the Command Window.
Select Show getting started message bar to display the Command
Window message bar that provides links to introductory information.

Select Show function browser button to display the Function

Browser button to the left of the prompt in the Command Window.
You can use the Function Browser to search for MATLAB functions.
Select Suggest corrections for mistyped functions and variables
to display suggestions in the Command Window. If you enter an
undefined function, variable name, or MATLAB operator, MATLAB
displays:

Did you mean:

followed by a suggested command at the command line. You can press

Enter to execute that command, or Esc to delete the suggestion.
Number of lines in command window scroll buffer specifies the
maximum number of lines displayed in the Command Window. A
larger scroll buffer provides a larger base for search features, but
requires more memory. By default, the scroll buffer is set to 5,000
lines.

The scroll buffer size does not impact the number of lines you can
recall. By default, you can use the up arrow key ↑ to recall all lines
shown in the Command History window, regardless of how many lines
you can see in the Command Window.

3-19
3 Entering Commands

Preference Usage
Tab key Tab size specifies the number of spaces assigned to the tab key.

Note This setting does not apply if you have enabled tab completion
for the Command Window or Editor. To enable or disabled tab
completion, on the Home tab, select Preferences > Keyboard.

See Also

More About
• “Change Fonts” on page 2-2

3-20
 Set Keyboard Preferences

Set Keyboard Preferences

Keyboard preferences enable you to set suggestion and completion options and delimiter
matching options in the Command Window, Editor, and Live Editor.

Note Some keyboard preferences do not apply in the Live Editor.

To set Keyboard Preferences, on the Home tab, in the Environment section, click
Preferences. Select MATLAB > Keyboard, and then adjust preference options as
described in this table.

Preference Usage
Suggestions and Select Tab key narrows completions to have MATLAB continue to
completions reduce the list of possible names for completions as you type each
additional character and press the Tab key. This option is not
supported in the Live Editor.

For details, see “Code Suggestions and Completions” on page 3-25.

In the Command Window or Editor sections, select Enable tab
completion to have MATLAB suggest and complete names when
you type the first few characters of the name and press the Tab key
in the Command Window and/or Editor.

3-21
3 Entering Commands

Preference Usage
In the Command Window or Editor sections, select Enable
function hints to have MATLAB display function hints in the
Command Window and/or Editor.

When enabled, if you type a function name with an opening

parenthesis, and then pause, a tooltip opens showing the basic
syntax for the function. For example:

For details, see “Function Syntax Hints” on page 3-28.

In the Live Editor section, select Show automatically to have
MATLAB suggest and complete names automatically when you type
the first few characters of the name.

Select Show on tab to have MATLAB suggest and complete names

only after you press the Tab key.

3-22
 Set Keyboard Preferences

Preference Usage
Delimiter Matching Specify when and if MATLAB alerts you to matched and mismatched
delimiters. Delimiters include parentheses, brackets, braces, and, in
the Editor only, paired keywords.

If you select Match while typing, MATLAB alerts you to matched

and mismatched delimiters as you type.

If you select Match on arrow key, MATLAB alerts you to matched

and mismatched delimiters when you move the cursor over a
delimiter using an arrow key.

For details, see “Delimiter Matching” on page 3-25.

Select one of these Show match with options to specify how
MATLAB indicates matching delimiters:

• Balance — The corresponding delimiter highlights briefly

(default).
• Underline — Both delimiters in the pair display underlines
briefly.
• Highlight — Both delimiters in the pair highlight briefly.
Select one of these Show mismatch with options to specify how
MATLAB indicates mismatched delimiters

• Beep — MATLAB beeps.

• Strikethrough — The delimiter you type appears crossed out
briefly (default).
• None — There is no alert.

3-23
3 Entering Commands

Check Syntax as You Type

In this section...
“Syntax Highlighting” on page 3-24
“Delimiter Matching” on page 3-25
“Code Suggestions and Completions” on page 3-25
“Function Syntax Hints” on page 3-28

Syntax Highlighting
To help you identify MATLAB elements, some entries appear in different colors in the
Command Window and the Editor. This is known as syntax highlighting. By default:

• Keywords are blue.

• Character vectors are purple.
• Unterminated character vectors are maroon.
• Comments are green.

% check to see if A is greater than B

if A > B
'greater'
elseif A < B
'less'
end

Except for errors, output in the Command Window does not appear with syntax
highlighting.

MATLAB software copies the selection to the Clipboard in RTF format, which many
Microsoft Windows and Macintosh applications support. When you paste or drag a
selection from the Editor to another application, such as Microsoft Word, the pasted text
maintains the syntax highlighting colors and font characteristics from the Editor.

You can change syntax highlighting preferences. On the Home tab, in the Environment
section, click Preferences. Select MATLAB > Editor/Debugger > Languages.
Changing syntax highlighting preferences is not supported in MATLAB Online. In the Live
Editor, changing syntax highlighting color preferences is supported, but disabling syntax
highlighting is not supported.

3-24
 Check Syntax as You Type

Delimiter Matching
MATLAB indicates matched and mismatched delimiters, such as parentheses, brackets,
and braces, to help you avoid syntax errors. MATLAB also indicates paired language
keywords, such as for, if, while, else, and end statements.

By default, MATLAB indicates matched and mismatched delimiters and paired language
keywords as follows:

• Type a closing delimiter—MATLAB briefly highlights or underlines the corresponding

opening delimiter.
• Type more closing delimiters than opening delimiters—MATLAB puts a strikethrough
or underline on the unmatched delimiter.
• Use the arrow keys to move the cursor over one delimiter—MATLAB briefly underlines
both delimiters in a pair. If no corresponding delimiter exists, MATLAB puts a
strikethrough on the unmatched delimiter.

If a matching delimiter exists, but it is not visible on the screen, a pop-up window appears
and shows the line containing the matching delimiter. Click in the pop-up window to go to
that line.

The pop-up window for delimiter matching is not supported in the Live Editor or in
MATLAB Online.

You can change what the delimiter matching indicators are, and when or if they appear.
On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select MATLAB >
Keyboard. Changing delimiter matching indicator preferences is not supported in the
Live Editor or in MATLAB Online.

Code Suggestions and Completions

When you write code, MATLAB automatically suggests and completes the names of
functions, models, MATLAB objects, files, folders, variables, structures, graphics

3-25
3 Entering Commands

properties, parameters, and options. You can use automatic suggestions and completions
to write commands faster and avoid typographical errors.

The Live Editor automatically displays possible matches as you type. To insert a match in
your script, use the arrow keys to select the name you want, and then press the Tab key.
Press the Esc key to clear the list of possible completions without selecting anything. To
complete names in the Command Window or Editor, type the first few characters of the
name you want to complete, and then press the Tab key. Use the arrow keys to select the
name you want, and then press the Tab key again. In MATLAB Online, the Editor behaves
the same as the Live Editor.

Automatic suggestions and completions are especially useful when completing the names
and values of graphics properties. For example, plot(x,y,'LineStyle','-').

You can also use the suggestions to complete parameter names and options for certain
functions. For example, format('shortEng').

3-26
 Check Syntax as You Type

MATLAB displays suggestions based on its current state. This includes:

• Variables that are defined in the current workspace

• Files and folders that are on the search path or in the current folder
• Variables, functions, class properties, and class methods that are defined in the active
document and available at the current location of the cursor

MATLAB does not complete field names of structure arrays defined only within the active
file.

Tip To use the Tab key to add multiple spaces within a statement, first add a space, and
then press Tab. Otherwise, when tab completion is enabled, MATLAB attempts to
complete a name.

To have MATLAB suggest and complete names only after you press the Tab key in the
Live Editor, on the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Then,
select MATLAB > Keyboard and in the Suggestions and completions > Live Editor
section, select Show on tab.

To disable suggestions and completions in the Command Window and Editor, in the
Suggestions and completions section, clear Enable tab completion for the desired
tool.

Changing suggestions and completions preferences is not supported MATLAB Online.

3-27
3 Entering Commands

Function Syntax Hints

As you enter a function in the Command Window, Live Editor, or Editor, syntax hints open
in a pop-up window to display allowable input arguments for the function.

Function syntax hints appear for both MATLAB installed functions and functions you
create. The syntax hints for MATLAB functions come from the documentation. The syntax
hints for functions you create come from the function definition statement (first
executable line) in the MATLAB program file. That file must be on the search path or in
the current folder. For more information about adding help to the functions you create,
see “Add Help for Your Program”.

To use function syntax hints, type a function name with an opening parenthesis. A pop-up
window opens showing the basic syntax for the function. In the Live Editor (and Editor in
MATLAB Online), you can use the drop-down arrow to the right of the syntax to display
all available syntaxes.

You can type an input for any argument that appears in blue. Enter your own input
names, and not the argument names shown in the window. The displayed syntax options
change based on the argument you just entered.

In the Live Editor (and Editor in MATLAB Online), MATLAB displays descriptions for each
argument. Optional arguments are indicated by the (optional) keyword next to the
argument description.

3-28
 Check Syntax as You Type

Some function names are overloaded. That is, there are different functions with the same
name that support different types of input. Overloaded functions require that you pass an
object as the first input. When you specify the object name, the syntax hints update to
reflect the correct version of the function, as shown. The Live Editor might not display all
overloads.

Function syntax hints are suggestions only. For detailed information about a function, see
the function reference page in the documentation. To open the documentation for the
function, click the button to the left of the function syntax hint.

To disable function syntax hints in the Command Window and Editor, on the Home tab, in
the Environment section, click Preferences. Then, select MATLAB > Keyboard and
in the Suggestions and completions section, clear Enable function hints for the
desired tool. Disabling function syntax hints is not supported in MATLAB Online.

3-29
3 Entering Commands

Set Command History Preferences

You can exclude statements from the command history and specify how many commands
to save to the command history file, History.xml. MATLAB uses the command history
file for both the Command History window and statement recall in the Command Window.

Note When you exclude statements from the command history file, you cannot recall
them in the Command Window, nor can you view them in the Command History window.

You can also change the way you search for previously executed statements in the
command history. Select from different search text matching options and change the way
results are displayed in the Command History window.

To set Command History preferences, on the Home tab, in the Environment section,
click Preferences. Select MATLAB > Command History, and then adjust the
preference options as described in this table:

Option Usage
Save Select Save exit/quit commands to save exit and quit
commands in the command history.
Select Save consecutive duplicate commands to save
consecutive executions of the same statement in the
command history.

• With this option selected, if you run magic(5) two times

in a row, the entries for magic(5) appear on separate
lines in the command history.
• With this option cleared, the command history retains
only one entry for magic(5) and displays a tally of
consecutive executions to the left.

3-30
 Set Command History Preferences

Option Usage
Select Don't save history file to prevent saving the
command history across sessions. This option is useful when
multiple users share the same machine. For example, the
option prevents each user from viewing statements others
have run.

Any entries predating the current session remain unless you

first delete entries from the Command History window.
Save last n commands specifies the number of commands
to save.
Match Select Match anywhere to retrieve statements that contain
the search text in any location.

Select Match beginning to retrieve statements that begin

with the search text. This option is selected by default.
Select Match case to retrieve statements that match the
case of the search text.
Select Filter matches to display only statements that match
the search text. Clear Filter matches to display all
previously executed statements and highlight the statements
that match the search text.
Show Select Show match toolbar to display a search toolbar at
the top of the Command History window. Search for
previously executed statements using the search field and
change Match preferences using the provided buttons.
Select Show match locations to display yellow markers to
the right of the scroll bar in the Command History window
that indicate the location of matches throughout the
command history.
Select Show execution time to display an approximate
execution time to the right of each statement. Times display
for any statements that takes longer than 0.1 seconds to
execute.

3-31
3 Entering Commands

Option Usage
Favorite Commands Select Don't show to disable showing favorite commands in
the Command History window.

Select Show default category to only show the default

Favorite Commands category in the Command History
window.

Select Show all categories to show all the favorite

commands categories in the Command History window.

Change the Command History Date Format

MATLAB uses your operating system's short date format to display dates in the Command
History window. To change the date format, for instance from MM/DD/YYYY to DD/MM/
YYYY:

1 Change the short date format for your operating system as described in its
documentation.
2 Restart MATLAB.

Note Clearing the command history deletes all entries from the Command History
window. You can no longer recall those entries in the Command Window.

See Also
Command History Window

3-32
 4

Help and Product Information

• “Ways to Get Function Help” on page 4-2

• “MATLAB Code Examples” on page 4-4
• “Search Syntax and Tips” on page 4-7
• “Bookmark and Share Page Locations” on page 4-10
• “Contact Technical Support” on page 4-12
• “Help Preferences” on page 4-14
• “Translated Documentation” on page 4-16
• “Information About Your Installation” on page 4-18
4 Help and Product Information

Ways to Get Function Help

Each MATLAB function has supporting documentation that includes examples and
describes the function inputs, outputs, and calling syntax. This table describes ways to
access that documentation.

Type of Help How to Access Example or Icon

Reference page in Help Use the doc command. doc mean
browser — or —
Select a function name in
the Editor, Command
Window, or Help browser;
right-click; and then select
Help on Selection.
Function syntax hints in After you type an open mean(
Command Window parenthesis for function
inputs, pause or press Ctrl
+ F1.
Abbreviated help text in Use the help command. help mean
Command Window
Function browser in Click the function icon to
Command Window the left of the command
prompt.
Complete documentation in Click the Help button on the
Help browser quick access toolbar or on
the Home tab.
— or —
Enter search terms in the
Search Documentation
box.

See Also
doc

4-2
 See Also

More About
• “MATLAB Code Examples” on page 4-4

4-3
4 Help and Product Information

MATLAB Code Examples

Standalone Examples
A standalone example is a readable version of a MATLAB script or live script that shows
how to accomplish a particular task. MATLAB and all MATLAB toolboxes include
examples as part of the installed documentation. (Before release R2012b, these examples
were called demos.)

To access examples, click Examples at the top of a documentation page. The Help
browser displays the examples for the current product category.

MATLAB includes examples that demonstrate various functionalities. For instance, to view
examples demonstrating plotting in MATLAB, navigate to the MATLAB > Graphics > 2-
D and 3-D Plots category and click Examples at the top of the page.

4-4
 MATLAB Code Examples

Each example combines comments, code, and output in a formatted document. If you are
viewing the documentation in MATLAB, you can open the corresponding script or live
script by clicking Open Script or Open Live Script.

If you are viewing the documentation on the web, you can open live script examples using
the Live Editor in a web browser. To open the example, click the Try this Example button
to the right of the example and select Try it in your browser.

Once it is open, run the example by clicking Run . To run the example one section at a
time and view the incremental results, select the first section and then step through the
script by clicking Run and Advance .

Additional examples, created by members of the MATLAB community, are available at the
File Exchange.

Inline Examples
The product documentation also includes inline code excerpts, such as examples on
function pages like cos or plot. You can run inline code from the Help browser by
selecting the code, right-clicking, and then selecting Evaluate Selection, as shown.
Evaluating a selection from the Help browser is not available in MATLAB Online.

4-5
4 Help and Product Information

See Also
demo | echodemo

Related Examples
• “Run Code Sections”

External Websites
• File Exchange

4-6
 Search Syntax and Tips

Search Syntax and Tips

Find keywords in the documentation by entering text in the Search box on the desktop or
in the Help browser.

When you view pages linked from the search results, search terms appear with highlights.
To clear the highlights, press the Esc key.

The search engine ignores common, insignificant words such as a, an, the, and of, unless
they are part of an exact phrase in quotation marks. It also ignores capitalization,
punctuation, and special characters such as +. To find a symbol or special character:

• Search for the word instead of the symbol or character, such as plus instead of +.
• View the documentation on “MATLAB Operators and Special Characters”.
• Search the PDF documentation, available from the documentation home page.

Searches can include the following operators:

"" Exact phrase

Example: "plot tools" finds pages that contain plot tools, in that sequence,
with no words between them.
* Wildcard

Requires at least two nonwildcard characters, and cannot appear at the start of
a keyword or in an exact phrase.

Example: plot* finds plot, plot3, and plotting.

OR Boolean OR

Example: plot OR graph finds pages with either plot or graph.

NOT Boolean NOT

Example: "plot tools" NOT "time series" finds pages with plot tools but
excludes pages with time series.

4-7
4 Help and Product Information

AND Boolean AND

Implied when no operator is present between keywords.

Example: plot AND tools is equivalent to "plot" "tools".

The Help browser search evaluates NOT operators first, OR operators second, and AND
operators last. For example,

"plotting tool" OR "plot tools" NOT "time series" AND workspace

finds pages that contain either plotting tool or plot tools and contain workspace, but do
not contain time series.

You can filter search results using facets that appear on the left side of the page. For
example, view MATLAB topics by selecting MATLAB and Help Topics.

The search engine searches the following text in the documentation:

• Documentation — Text and code shown in the Help browser

4-8
 Search Syntax and Tips

• User interface examples — Help comments in the program file

• Videos — Title

4-9
4 Help and Product Information

Bookmark and Share Page Locations

In this section...
“Bookmark Favorite Pages” on page 4-10
“View Page Locations” on page 4-11

Bookmark Favorite Pages

In MATLAB, bookmarks are called favorites. Add, find, and organize favorites by clicking

the Favorites button in the Help browser, .

When you add a favorite, do not change the Callback. MATLAB requires special values to
create a shortcut that opens the page in the Help browser. In addition, if you want the
bookmark to appear in your list of favorites, keep the Category set to Help Browser
Favorites, as shown.

Note You cannot migrate favorites that you save in one MATLAB release to a new
release.

4-10
 Bookmark and Share Page Locations

View Page Locations

To identify the location of a page in the Help browser to share with someone else, right-
click within the page, and then select Get Page Address.

The Help Page Location dialog box provides two ways to access the page:

• A web command to run from the command line that opens the page from the installed
documentation. This command is subject to change between releases, so it is not
always accurate for someone running a different version of MATLAB.
• A URL for the page corresponding to your product version at the MathWorks website.
This documentation is available to anyone, even if they do not have MathWorks
products. However, to access archived documentation from previous releases, as well
as translated documentation, you must sign in with a MathWorks Account.

Note If you are running a prerelease version, the URL is invalid because the
documentation does not yet exist on the website.

4-11
4 Help and Product Information

Contact Technical Support

This example shows how to contact MathWorks Technical Support to report a bug or
request help. This procedure requires internet access.

1
On the Home tab, in the Resources section, click Request Support.
2 When requested, sign in using your MathWorks Account email address and password.
If you do not have a MathWorks Account, create one.

3 Provide information to help technical support reproduce your issue, such as a

description of the steps you followed or a code excerpt. Optionally, you can attach up
to five files to your request, where each file is no larger than 5 MB.

4-12
 See Also

4 Specify the product that is related to the issue.

5 Submit the request.

See Also

External Websites
• MathWorks Support Page

4-13
4 Help and Product Information

Help Preferences
To set Help preferences:

1 On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select

MATLAB > Help.
2 Adjust the preference options as described in the table.

Preference Usage
Documentation Location Specify whether to view the documentation provided with your
installed products or the documentation on the web at https://
www.mathworks.com/help. Viewing the web documentation
requires an internet connection and a MathWorks Account.

If your preference is set to view web documentation, but your

internet connection becomes unavailable, MATLAB changes the
preference to view the installed documentation. You can reset the
preference after your connection is restored.

Changes to this preference apply only to new Help browser tabs.

Selected Products Select the products to include for viewing and searching
documentation in the Help browser or Function browser.

If your Documentation Location is set to view documentation

on the web, then you can select Show products that are not
installed to select and access documentation for all MathWorks
products.

When the Help browser is already open, changes to this

preference apply only to new Help browser tabs.

4-14
 See Also

Preference Usage
Quick Help Display Specify whether help links display content in the Help browser or
in a small window. This preference applies to reference pages or
program help that you access using:

• Help on Selection in context menus or F1

• Function hints or the Function Browser
• Links in error messages

Links to reference pages from the Current Folder browser always

open in the Help browser.
Language (selected non- Specify whether you want documentation in the Help browser
English systems only) and context-sensitive help to appear in English. Installed non-
English documentation is not always current.

This option is only available if your Documentation Location is

set to view documentation on the web, and for selected non-
English systems only.

To adjust the font size in the Help browser or MATLAB web browser, use the Ctrl +
Mouse Scroll keyboard shortcut.

See Also

More About
• “Translated Documentation” on page 4-16

4-15
4 Help and Product Information

Translated Documentation
Many MathWorks products have translated documentation in Japanese. In addition, some
features of MATLAB have translated documentation in Korean, simplified Chinese, and
Spanish. Usually, if a product provides translated documentation, the new version of the
product installs the translated documentation from the previous version and the English
documentation for the current version.

For information about documentation in other languages, contact your MathWorks sales
and service office.

Set Documentation Language

By default, if your system language is set to Japanese, Korean, Chinese, or Spanish,
MATLAB opens the web documentation in that language.

If the documentation does not display in the language you want, check the preference
settings using these steps:

1 Go to the Home tab and, in the Environment section, click Preferences .

2 Select MATLAB > Help.
3 Make sure the Language is set to Japanese, Korean, Chinese, or Spanish.

The Language preference is only available when your system language is set to
Japanese, Korean, Chinese, or Spanish. The preference changes the language only in the
Help browser and context-sensitive help. If the documentation for a product is not
translated, the Help browser displays the English documentation.

To view the English documentation, set the Language preference to English.

View Installed Documentation

To view the installed version of the documentation, follow these steps:

1 Go to the Home tab and in the Environment section, click Preferences .

2 Select MATLAB > Help.
3 Set the Documentation Location to Installed locally.
4 Select the desired Language.

4-16
 See Also

Spanish documentation is only available on the web, and is not installed with MATLAB.

View Documentation on the Web

To view the documentation directly on the web in a different language:

1 Open the MathWorks help website, https://www.mathworks.com/help.

2 Click the button with the globe icon at the bottom-left corner of the web page, and
select a country based on the language in which you want to view the documentation.

See Also

Related Examples
• “Set Locale on Windows Platforms” on page 9-5
• “Set Locale on Linux Platforms” on page 9-9
• “Set Locale on Mac Platforms” on page 9-7

4-17
4 Help and Product Information

Information About Your Installation

MATLAB software can tell you what products are installed, their versions, and other
information about your license and platform. This information is important to have in the
event you contact technical support on page 4-12.

Type of Information To Get the Information

You Want
Version and license for From the product, select Help > About Product Name.
Installed product
Or use functions:

• license — for the license number

• ver — for version numbers for MATLAB and libraries
• version — for version numbers for MathWorks products
MATLAB platform In MATLAB, select Help > About MATLAB. The About
MATLAB dialog box shows 32-bit or 64-bit.
arch value used to In MATLAB, select Help > About MATLAB. The About
locate library files for MATLAB dialog box shows the arch value, for example win64.
the mex function and
standalone applications Or use the computer function.
Passcodes and licenses From any desktop tool, select Help > Licensing > Manage
Licenses.

4-18
 5

Workspace Browser and Variable

Editor

• “Create and Edit Variables” on page 5-2

• “Display Statistics in the Workspace Browser” on page 5-14
• “Save and Load Workspace Variables” on page 5-16
• “Workspace and Variable Preferences” on page 5-19
5 Workspace Browser and Variable Editor

Create and Edit Variables

Create Variables
The MATLAB workspace consists of the variables you create and store in memory during
a MATLAB session. You can create new variables in the workspace by running MATLAB
code or using existing variables.

To create a new variable, enter the variable name in the Command Window, followed by
an equal sign (=) and the value you want to assign to the variable. For example, if you run
these statements, MATLAB adds the three variables x, A, and I to the workspace:

x = 5.71;
A = [1 2 3; 4 5 6; 7 8 9];
I = besseli(x,A);

You do not have to declare variables before assigning values to them.

If you do not end the assignment statement with a semicolon (;), MATLAB displays the
result in the Command Window. For example,

x = 5.71

x =
5.7100

If you do not explicitly assign the output of a statement to a variable, MATLAB generally
assigns the result to the reserved word ans. The value of ans changes with every
statement that returns an output value that is not assigned to a variable. For example,

sin(1)

5-2
 Create and Edit Variables

ans =
0.8415

To view and edit variables, use the Workspace browser and Variables Editor. (Some
editing options are not available in MATLAB Online.)

View Workspace Contents

To view a list of variables in your workspace, use the Workspace browser.

To open the Workspace browser if it is not currently visible, do either of the following:

• On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Layout. Then, under Show,
select Workspace.
• Type workspace in the Command Window.

By default, the Workspace browser displays the base workspace. You also can view
function workspaces if MATLAB is in debug mode. For more information, see “Base and
Function Workspaces”.

To display additional columns such as size and range, on the Workspace browser title bar,
click , and then click Choose Columns. In MATLAB Online, select which columns to
display by right-clicking the Workspace browser title bar and selecting or clearing the
desired column names.

You also can use the who command in the Command Window to view a list of variables. To
list information about size and class, use the whos command. For example, if you have the
variables x, A, and I in your workspace, you can run the who and whos commands to view
your workspace contents:

who

5-3
5 Workspace Browser and Variable Editor

Your variables are:

A I x

whos

Name Size Bytes Class Attributes

A 3x3 72 double
I 3x3 72 double
x 1x1 8 double

View Variable Contents

You can view the contents of a variable in several ways:

• Command Window — Type the variable name at the command prompt. For example:
x

x =
5.7100
• Variables editor — In the Workspace browser, double-click a variable name. The
Variables editor opens for that variable.

5-4
 Create and Edit Variables

Some variables open a viewer or other tool appropriate for the type of value they have,
such as timeseries. For details, see the documentation for that data or object type.

A or icon next to a variable property in the Variables editor indicates that the
property is protected or private.

To change how the Variables editor displays variables, go to the View tab, and in the
Format section, select a number display format. The display format does not affect
how values are displayed in the Command Window or Workspace browser, or how the
variables are saved.

Note The maximum number of elements in a variable that you can open in the
Variables editor depends on your operating system and the amount of physical
memory installed on your system.

Edit Variable Contents

You can edit the contents of scalar (1-by-1) variables in the Workspace browser. To edit
the contents, click the variable value to select it and then enter a new value.

To edit other variables, open them in the Variables editor. For example, suppose that you
create a cell array, C, by running these commands in the Command Window:

A = magic(4);
C = {A A A};

In the Workspace browser, double-click the variable name C to open it in the Variables
editor.

5-5
5 Workspace Browser and Variable Editor

To edit an element of a variable, double-click the element. The element opens in a new
document within the Variables editor. For example, if you double-click element C{1,1} in
the Variables editor, the contents of that cell open in a new tab. You can edit the value of a
variable element by clicking the element and typing a new value. Press Enter or click
another element to save the change.

5-6
 Create and Edit Variables

To return to the parent cell array or structure of an element, go to the View tab and click
the Go Up button.

Changes you make in the Variables editor are automatically saved in the workspace.
Changes you make to variables via the Command Window or other operations
automatically update the information for those variables in the Workspace browser and
Variables editor.

Note

• You cannot edit elements or subsets of multidimensional arrays in the Variables editor.
• You cannot edit tall arrays in the Variables editor.
• When editing strings in the Workspace browser or as part of a structure in the
Variables editor, you must use double quotes to surround the string value.

Edit Table and Structure Array Variables

Tables (including timetables) and structure arrays support additional editing actions.

5-7
5 Workspace Browser and Variable Editor

Action Procedure Example

Modify column or Double-click the name and enter
row name the new text.

Reorder variables Hover over the left side of a

variable until a four-headed arrow
appears. Then, click and drag the
column to a new location.

5-8
 Create and Edit Variables

Action Procedure Example

Modify units and Click the arrow that appears to
description of the right of a variable name.
variables Then, enter new text in the Units
and Description fields.

Sort variable data Click the arrow that appears to

the right of a variable name and
select Ascending or
Descending.

Note The contents of a table are only visible and modifiable when the number of
variables is fewer than 5000. When the number of variables equals or exceeds 5000, you
can only view the table properties.

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5 Workspace Browser and Variable Editor

Changes made to certain variable types in the Variables editor also appear in the
Command Window. For example, suppose you have a table T that contains three columns,
A, B, and C. If you delete column A in the Variables editor, the line T(:,'A') = [];
displays in the Command Window. To suppress code display in the Command Window, on
the View tab, clear the Show MATLAB Code check box.

Resize or Reshape Variables

To modify the size, shape, and order of variable elements in the Variable editor, use one of
these procedures.

Action Procedure
Delete row, column, or variable Right-click the desired row header, column header, or
elements selected elements and select Delete Row or Delete
Column.
Insert new row or column Right-click the desired row header, column header, or
element and select Insert Row Above, Insert Row
Below, Insert Column to the Left, or Insert
Column to the Right. You can also add rows or
columns simply by entering a value in an empty row
or column. For example, to add a row and column to
the array in C{1,1}, enter a value in element (5,5).
Cut variable elements Right-click the desired row header, column header, or
selected elements and select Cut. The cut values
move to the clipboard and are replaced by the default
value for empty elements. For more information, see
“Empty Elements” on page 5-10.
Copy variable elements Right-click the desired row header, column header, or
selected elements and select Copy.
Paste variable elements Right-click the row header, column header, or
element where you want the insertion to begin and
select Paste.
Paste cells from Microsoft Excel Right-click the element where you want the insertion
spreadsheet to begin, and then select Paste Excel Data.

Empty Elements

Empty elements in variables are assigned default values. Default assignments are:

5-10
 Create and Edit Variables

• 0 for numeric arrays

• [] for cell arrays and structure arrays
• <undefined> for categorical variables

Copy, Rename, and Delete Variables

You can copy and paste, duplicate, rename, and delete variables within the Workspace
browser.

Action Procedure
Copy variable to and from Select the variables, right-click, and then select
clipboard Copy. Then, you can paste the names, for example,
into the Command Window or an external application.
Multiple variables are comma-separated.
Duplicate variable Select the variables, right-click, and then select
Duplicate. MATLAB creates a copy of the selected
variables.
Rename a workspace variable Right-click the variable name, and then select
Rename. Type the new variable name and press
Enter.
Delete all variables in workspace On the Home tab, in the Variable section, click
Clear Workspace.

You also can use the clear function in the Command

Window.
Delete selected variables from Select the variables in the Workspace browser, right-
workspace click, and then select Delete.

You can also use the clear function in the Command

Window. For example, to clear variables A and B, use
the command clear A B.

To preserve specified variables, but delete others, use

the clearvars function with the -except option.
For example, to clear all variables except variable A,
use the command clearvars -except A.

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5 Workspace Browser and Variable Editor

To create a new workspace variable from an existing variable, in the Variables editor,
select an element, data range, row, or column in an array, and then in the Variable tab,
select New from Selection.

You can change the character that delimits decimals in the data when you cut and paste
values from the Variables editor into text files or other applications. You might do this, for
instance, if you provide data to a locale that uses a character other than the period (.). To
change the delimiter character, specify a Decimal separator for exporting numeric
data via system clipboard in the “Variables Preferences” on page 5-21.

Navigate Variable Contents

When editing variables in the Variables editor, some variables can contain large amounts
of data, making it difficult to navigate between elements. Use these keyboard shortcuts to
move easily between variable elements in the Variables editor. You cannot modify these
keyboard shortcuts.

Action Keyboard Shortcut

Commit changes to element and move to next element. Enter

“Variables Preferences” on page 5-21 enable you to specify

what the next element is. The default is to move down.
Move right. Tab

Within a selection, Tab also moves from the last column in

one row to the first column in the next row.
Move in opposite direction of Enter or Tab. Shift+Enter or Shift+Tab
Move up m rows, where m is the number of visible rows. Page Up
Move down m rows, where m is the number of visible rows. Page Down
Move to column 1. Home
Move to row 1, column 1. Ctrl+Home
Edit current element, positioning cursor at the end of the F2 (Ctrl+U on Apple
element. Macintosh platforms)

See Also
Workspace Browser | openvar

5-12
 See Also

More About
• “Variable Names”
• “Display Statistics in the Workspace Browser” on page 5-14
• “Workspace and Variable Preferences” on page 5-19
• “Save and Load Workspace Variables” on page 5-16

5-13
5 Workspace Browser and Variable Editor

Display Statistics in the Workspace Browser

For each variable or object, the Workspace browser can display statistics such as the
Min, Max, and Mean, when relevant. MATLAB performs these calculations using the
min, max, and mean functions, and updates the results automatically.

To display statistics, on the Workspace browser title bar, click , and then select Choose
Columns. Select the statistics you want MATLAB to calculate.

Improve Workspace Browser Performance During Statistical

Calculations
If you show statistical columns in the Workspace browser, and you work with very large
arrays, you might experience performance issues when the data changes as MATLAB
updates the statistical results. To improve performance, consider one or both of the
following:

• Show only the statistics of interest to you.

On the Workspace browser title bar, click , and then select Choose Columns. Clear
the statistics you do not want MATLAB to calculate.
• Exclude large arrays from statistical calculations.

On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select

MATLAB > Workspace, and then use the arrow buttons under Statistical
calculations to change the maximum array size for which the Workspace browser
performs statistical calculations. Any variable exceeding the maximum array size
reports <Too many elements> in Workspace browser statistics columns instead of
statistical results.

Include or Exclude NaN Values in Statistical Calculations

If your data includes NaNs (Not-a-Number values), you can specify that the Workspace
browser statistical calculations consider or ignore the NaNs. On the Home tab, in the
Environment section, click Preferences. Select MATLAB > Workspace, and then
select one of the following:

• Use NaNs when calculating statistics

5-14
 See Also

If a variable includes a NaN, and you select this option, the values for Min, Max, Var,
and several other statistics appear as NaN. However, Mode and several other statistics
show a numeric result.
• Ignore NaNs whenever possible

If a variable includes a NaN, and you select this option, numeric results appear for
most statistics including Min, Max, and Mode. However, Var still appears as NaN.

See Also

More About
• “Infinity and NaN”
• “Workspace and Variable Preferences” on page 5-19

5-15
5 Workspace Browser and Variable Editor

Save and Load Workspace Variables

The workspace is not maintained across sessions of MATLAB. When you quit MATLAB,
the workspace clears. However, you can save any or all the variables in the current
workspace to a MAT-file (.mat). You can then reuse the workspace variables later during
the current MATLAB session or during another session by loading the saved MAT-file.

Save Workspace Variables

There are several ways to save workspace variables interactively:

• To save all workspace variables to a MAT-file, on the Home tab, in the Variable
section, click Save Workspace.
• To save a subset of your workspace variables to a MAT-file, select the variables in the
Workspace browser, right-click, and then select Save As. You also can drag the
selected variables from the Workspace browser to the Current Folder browser.
• To save variables to a MATLAB script, click the Save Workspace button or select the
Save As option, and in the Save As window, set the Save as type option to MATLAB
Script. Variables that cannot be saved to a script are saved to a MAT-file with the
same name as that of the script.

You also can save workspace variables programmatically using the save function. For
example, to save all current workspace variables to the file june10.mat, use the
command

save('june10')

To save only variables A and B to the file june10.mat, use the command

save('june10','A','B')

To store fields of a scalar structure as individual variables, use the save function with the
-struct option. This can be useful if you previously loaded variables from a MAT-File
into a structure using the syntax S = load(filename) and want to keep the original
variable structure when saving to a new MAT-File.

To save part of a variable, use the matfile function. This can be useful if you are
working with very large data sets that are otherwise too large to fit in memory. For more
information, see “Save and Load Parts of Variables in MAT-Files”.

5-16
 Save and Load Workspace Variables

In MATLAB Online, variables persist between sessions. Saving allows you to clear the
workspace and load variables at a later time. To save variables, use the save or matfile
functions.

Load Workspace Variables

To load saved variables from a MAT-file into your workspace, double-click the MAT-file in
the Current Folder browser.

To load a subset of variables from a MAT-file on the Home tab, in the Variable section,
click Import Data. Select the MAT-file you want to load and click Open. You also can
drag the desired variables from the Current Folder browser Details panel of the selected
MAT-file to the Workspace browser.

To load variables saved to a MATLAB script into the workspace, simply run the script.

You also can load saved variables programmatically, use the load function. For example,
load all variables from the file durer.mat
load('durer')

To load variables X and map from the file durer.mat

load('durer','X','map')

To load part of a variable, use the matfile function. This is useful if you are working with
very large data sets that are otherwise too large to fit in memory. For more information,
see “Save and Load Parts of Variables in MAT-Files”.

Caution When you load data into the MATLAB workspace, the new variables you create
overwrite any existing variables in the workspace that have the same name. To avoid
overwriting existing variables, use the load function to load the variables into a
structure. For example, S = load('durer') loads all the variables from the file
durer.mat into the structure S.

View Contents of MAT-File

To see the variables in a MAT-file before loading the file into your workspace, click the file
name in the Current Folder browser. Information about the variables appears in the
Details pane.

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5 Workspace Browser and Variable Editor

Alternatively, use the command whos -file filename. This function returns the name,
dimensions, size, and class of all variables in the specified MAT-file. For example, you can
view the contents of the example file durer.mat.

whos -file durer.mat

Name Size Bytes Class Attributes

X 648x509 2638656 double

caption 2x28 112 char
map 128x3 3072 double

The byte counts represent the number of bytes that the data occupies in memory when
loaded into the MATLAB workspace. Because of compression, data encoding, and
metadata, the space occupied in the file by a variable may be different from the in-
memory size. MATLAB compresses data in Version 7 or higher MAT-files. For more
information, see “MAT-File Versions”.

See Also
load | save

More About
• “MAT-File Versions”
• “Save and Load Parts of Variables in MAT-Files”

5-18
 Workspace and Variable Preferences

Workspace and Variable Preferences

In this section...
“Workspace Preferences” on page 5-19
“Variables Preferences” on page 5-21

Workspace Preferences
Workspace preferences enable you to configure options for saving workspace variables to
MATLAB scripts. They also enable you to restrict the size of arrays on which MATLAB
performs calculations, and to specify if you want those calculations to include or ignore
NaNs.

To open Workspace preferences, on the Home tab, in the Environment section, click
Preferences. Select MATLAB > Workspace. Workspace preferences are not available in
MATLAB Online.

Preference Usage
Threshold for saving variables to Specify Maximum array size to limit the
MATLAB script number of elements of arrays saved to a
MATLAB script.

Specify Maximum struct/object nesting

levels to limit the nesting level of
structures, arrays, or objects saved to a
MATLAB script.

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5 Workspace Browser and Variable Editor

Preference Usage
Multidimensional array formatting Specify how multidimensional arrays are
formatted when saved to a MATLAB script.

To create a compact script, select Row

vector with reshape (compactness and
efficiency).

To retain array representation, select As 2-

D pages (readability). Specify the
dimensions of a 2-D slice as positive
integers less than or equal to the
dimensions of the n-D array. The second
integer must be greater than the first.
File formatting Set the character width at which text in the
MATLAB script is wrapped by specifying
Maximum characters per line.
n element and smaller arrays show Limit the size of arrays for which the
statistics Workspace browser displays statistics to
improve performance when MATLAB
updates the statistical results in the
Workspace browser.

For more information, see “Improve

Workspace Browser Performance During
Statistical Calculations” on page 5-14.
Handling NaN values in calculations Specify whether NaN values are included or
excluded from calculations for the statistics
displayed in the Workspace browser. You
can select to either Use NaNs when
calculating statistics or Ignore NaNs
when calculating statistics.

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 Workspace and Variable Preferences

Preference Usage
MATLAB array size limit By default, MATLAB can use up to 100% of
the size of RAM (not including virtual
memory) of your computer to allocate
memory for each MATLAB array. To change
this limit to a smaller percentage, select the
Limit the maximum array size to a
percentage of RAM check box. Then move
the slider to adjust the percentage of RAM.

To allow MATLAB to use both RAM and

virtual memory when creating an array,
clear the Limit the maximum array size
to a percentage of RAM check box. If
MATLAB attempts to allocate memory that
exceeds the resources available on the
computer, your system might become
nonresponsive.

This limit applies to the size of each array,

not the total size of all MATLAB arrays.

Variables Preferences
When working in the Variables editor, Variables preferences enable you to specify array
formatting, cursor movement, and the decimal separator for exporting data using the
system clipboard.

To open Variables preferences, on the Home tab, in the Environment section, click
Preferences. Select MATLAB > Variables.

Preference Usage
Format Select an option from the Default array format to
specify the default array output format of numeric values
displayed in the Variables editor. This format preference
affects only how numbers display, not how MATLAB
computes or saves them. For information on formatting
options, see the reference page for the format function.

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5 Workspace Browser and Variable Editor

Preference Usage
Editing Specify where the cursor moves to after you type an
element and press Enter.

To keep the cursor in the element where you typed, clear

the Move selection after Enter check box.

To move the cursor to another element, select the Move

selection after Enter check box. In the Direction field,
specify how you want the cursor to move.
International number In the Decimal separator for exporting numeric data
handling via system clipboard field, specify the decimal separator
for numbers you cut or copy from the Variables editor and
then paste into text files or other applications.

This preference has no effect on numeric data copied from

and pasted into MATLAB. Within MATLAB, decimal
separators are always periods.

Most Variables preferences are not available in MATLAB Online. To show generated code
in the Command Window when performing operations in the MATLAB Online Variables
Editor, select Show MATLAB code for operations.

See Also

More About
• “Create and Edit Variables” on page 5-2

5-22
 6

Managing Files in MATLAB

• “Find Files and Folders” on page 6-2

• “Compare Files and Folders and Merge Files” on page 6-6
• “Compare XML Files” on page 6-25
• “Manage Files and Folders” on page 6-32
• “Files and Folders that MATLAB Accesses” on page 6-36
• “Current Folder Browser Preferences” on page 6-39
• “Specify File Names” on page 6-41
• “Create and Extract from Zip Archives” on page 6-45
• “What Is the MATLAB Search Path?” on page 6-48
• “Change Folders on the Search Path” on page 6-52
• “Use Search Path with Different MATLAB Installations” on page 6-55
• “Add Folders to the MATLAB Search Path at Startup” on page 6-56
• “Assign userpath as Startup Folder (Macintosh or UNIX)” on page 6-58
• “Path Unsuccessfully Set at Startup” on page 6-59
• “Errors When Updating Folders on Search Path” on page 6-61
• “Troubleshoot Invalid or Unresponsive Windows Change Notification Handles”
on page 6-62
6 Managing Files in MATLAB

Find Files and Folders

In this section...
“Simple Search for File and Folder Names” on page 6-2
“Advanced Search for Files” on page 6-2

Simple Search for File and Folder Names

If you know the name of the file you want to find, begin typing the first characters of the
name in the Current Folder browser. As you type, the Current Folder browser searches
downward from the top of the window, looking through all expanded folders.

Alternatively, to find a series of characters anywhere in the name of a file:

1
Click the search button in the current folder toolbar. The address bar becomes a
search field.
2 Type a portion of a file name. The asterisk character (*) is a wildcard. For example,
to show only file names that begin with coll and have a .m extension, type coll*.m.
3 Press Enter.

MATLAB displays all files within the current folder (including its subfolders) that
match that file name. If you typed the full path to a folder, that folder becomes the
current folder.
4 Clear the results and show all items in the current folder by pressing the Esc key.

Tip To open the Current Folder browser if it is not open, do the following: on the Home
tab, in the Environment section, click Layout. Then, under Show, select Current
Folder. Show and hide columns, or sort and group columns by clicking , and then
selecting an option.

Advanced Search for Files

To conduct an advanced search for files, you can use the Find Files tool. Use the Find
Files tool to:

• Search for specific text in file names and within files

6-2
 Find Files and Folders

• Include or exclude specified file types from your search

• Search in specified folders
• Exclude large files from your search

To open the Find Files tool, on the Home tab, in the File section, click Find Files. Enter
your search criteria in the dialog box that opens.

Use the Look in menu to specify the folders you want to search. Select Entire MATLAB
Path to search all folders on the MATLAB search path. Alternatively, you can browse for a
folder by selecting Browse... or you can enter the full path for one or more folders.
Separate each path with a semicolon (;).

Click Find to begin the search. Search results appear in the right pane of the dialog box,
with a summary at the bottom. For text searches, results include the line number and line
of code. To see file locations, select Show full path names.

Open one or more files by right-clicking the files and selecting one of the Open options.

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6 Managing Files in MATLAB

Include or Exclude File Types

You can search for files with only a specified extension, by selecting an option in the
Include only file type(s) menu. For example, select *.m, *.mlx to limit the search to
MATLAB program files.

To exclude some file types from the search:

1 In the Include only file type(s) menu, select All files (*).
2 Under More options, select the Skip file type(s) box and click Edit. The Edit
Skipped File Extensions dialog box opens.
3 Select the State check box for the file types to exclude from your search.
4 Click OK to accept your changes.

You can remove any file extension from the list by selecting the extension to highlight it.
Then, click Remove.

Search Within File

Under More options, you can choose to search file contents for a partial word. From the
Search type menu, select Contains text. To find an exact full-word match, select
Matches whole word.

Searching within large files can be time consuming. To speed up your search, specify a
file size in the Skip files over field. The Find Files tool ignores files larger than the size
you specify.

Troubleshooting

If the Find Files tool does not find the file you want, try the following:

• When searching for file names, use the asterisk character (*) as a wildcard character
to expand your search. For example, to show file names that begin with coll and have
a .m extension, type coll*.m.
• Select the Include Subfolders check box if the file might be in a subfolder.
• If you select the Skip file type(s) check box, ensure that you do not exclude relevant
file types from your search. Click Edit and review the Edit Skipped File Extensions
dialog box. Ensure that relevant file types do not have the State check box selected.

6-4
 See Also

See Also
dir | exist | what | which

More About
• “Find Functions to Use” on page 3-4
• “What Is the MATLAB Search Path?” on page 6-48

6-5
6 Managing Files in MATLAB

Compare Files and Folders and Merge Files

Compare Files and Folders
You can use the Comparison tool to display the differences between selected pairs of files
or folders. For some file types, you also can merge changes from one file to the other.

The comparison process involves three steps:

1 Select the files or folders to compare.

2 Choose a comparison type.
3 Explore the comparison report.

Select the Files or Folders to Compare

You can select files and folders to compare using any of these methods:

• Current Folder browser — Select a file or folder, right-click, and select Compare
Against. Browse to select a second item to compare, or drag and drop a file or folder
from your file browser.

You also can select two files or subfolders, right-click, and select Compare Selected
Files/Folders.
• Editor or Live Editor— Go to the Editor or Live Editor tab, and in the File section,
click Compare. The Comparison tool autopopulates the first file for comparison with
the current open file. Browse to select a second item to compare, or drag and drop a
file or folder from your file browser.
• MATLAB desktop — Go to the Home tab, and in the File section, click Compare.
Browse to select items to compare, or drag and drop the files or folders from your file
browser.
• Command Window — Use the visdiff function. For example, to compare the two
files lengthofline.m and lengthofline2.m using the visdiff function and the
default text comparison, type visdiff('lengthofline.m',
'lengthofline2.m'). MATLAB opens the Comparison tool and displays the
resulting comparison report.

In addition to selecting two files and folder, you also can compare a file with a past
version of itself. To compare a file with the autosave version or the saved version on disk,
click Compare and select Compare with Version on Disk or Save and Compare

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 Compare Files and Folders and Merge Files

with Autosave. For more information, see “Compare Files with Autosave Version or
Version on Disk” on page 6-15. These options are not available for live scripts or
functions.

Choose a Comparison Type

The Comparison tool compares selected items using the default comparison type defined
for the items. For some item types, you can select a different comparison type from the
default. For example, you can choose from a text, binary, file list, or XML comparison. To
change the comparison type, select the files or folders to compare and then select from
the options in the Comparison type menu. The Comparison tool only displays the valid
options for the selected item types.

You cannot change the comparison type for an existing comparison report. To change the
comparison type, start a new comparison.

If you specify two files or folders to compare using either the Current Folder browser or
the visdiff function, then the Comparison tool automatically performs the default
comparison type. For example, from the Current Folder browser, if you select two MAT-
files to compare, you get the default comparison type showing information about the
variables. To change the comparison type to binary, create a new comparison using the
Comparison tool.

Explore the Comparison Report

You can explore the comparison report in different ways depending on the items being
compared:

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6 Managing Files in MATLAB

• Folders, zip files, and Simulink manifests — Compare any combination of folders,
zip files, or Simulink manifests to determine which file and folder names are unique to
each list. You also can identify whether files and folders with the same name have the
same content. For more information, see “Compare Folders, Zip Files, and Simulink
Manifests” on page 6-8.
• Text — Compare and merge lines in two text files (some other applications refer to
this as a file diff operation). For more information, see “Compare and Merge Text” on
page 6-11.
• Live Code — Compare and merge code and text lines in two live code files. For more
information, see “Compare and Merge Live Code” on page 6-15.
• MAT-files — Compare and merge variables in two MAT-files. For more information, see
“Compare and Merge MAT-Files” on page 6-19.
• Binary files — Determine whether the contents of two binary files match. For more
information, see “Compare Binary Files” on page 6-22.
• XML files — Compare XML files with a text comparison or a hierarchical XML
comparison. For more information, see “Compare XML Files” on page 6-25.
• Simulink models — If you have Simulink, compare and merge Simulink models. For
information, see “Model Comparison” (Simulink).

Compare Folders, Zip Files, and Simulink Manifests

You can perform file list comparisons for any combinations of folders, zip files, and
Simulink Manifests. For example, you can compare the contents of a folder to the
contents of a zip file.

Create a folder comparison report to:

• Identify common files.

• Determine whether files or folders with identical names have identical content. If such
files or folders exist, you can open a detailed comparison report for the items directly
from the report.

Select Files or Folders to Compare

To select items to compare, see “Select the Files or Folders to Compare” on page 6-6.
When selecting items to compare, include subfolder content in the comparison report by
selecting Include subfolders.

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 Compare Files and Folders and Merge Files

Explore Differences

When you perform any file list comparison, a new window opens and displays the contents
of the specified lists side by side. This image shows an example comparison report for a
two folder comparison.

The Comparison tool highlights files and subfolders that do not match as described in this
table.

Difference Summary Highlight Color Description

Contents changed Purple The contents of the files or
folders differ. Click the
compare link to investigate.

6-9
6 Managing Files in MATLAB

Difference Summary Highlight Color Description

Added Blue The file or folder only exists
in the right list.
Removed Yellow The file or folder only exists
in the left list.
Identical None The files or folders are
identical.

You further can explore the results using several methods:

• To sort the results by name, type, size, or last modified timestamp, click the
corresponding column header. For example, click the Type column header to sort by
folder and file type.
• To open a detailed comparison report for items with differing content, click the
compare link next to the item.
• To open a file in the Editor, click the open link next to a file name. If the file is present
in both folders, you can click links to open the left or right version of the file.
• If subfolders are very large and contain many files, analysis continues in the
background. The tool displays the number of items still to be compared at the top of
the report. You can click Skip Current to skip the current item or Cancel All to stop
further analysis.

For information about how to further configure the comparison report, see “Comparison
Report Tools and Options” on page 6-23.

Filter the Report

To save time when reviewing differences, especially when comparing many subfolders,
you can filter the report. To create a filter, go to the View tab, click the Filter button,
and then select Add/Remove Filter. You can specify filters to ignore certain files and
folders, such as backup files or files created by a revision control system.

For example, to ignore all files and folders in a folder named CVS, type CVS/. To ignore all
files in a folder named CVS, but not ignore subfolders, type CVS/*.

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 Compare Files and Folders and Merge Files

To edit existing filters, double click the filter.

Compare and Merge Text

You can compare and merge lines in two text files using the Comparison tool.

Select Files or Folders to Compare

To select the files to compare, see “Select the Files or Folders to Compare” on page 6-6.
By default, XML files are compared using a text comparison. To compare XML files with a
hierarchical comparison instead, see “Compare XML Files” on page 6-25.

When you perform a text comparison, a new window opens and displays the two files side
by side. Symbols in between the two displayed files indicate how you can adjust the files
to make them match. For example, run this code to view a text comparison of the example
files lengthofline.m and lengthofline2.m.

file1 = fullfile(matlabroot,'help','techdoc','matlab_env',...
'examples','lengthofline.m')
file2 = fullfile(matlabroot,'help',...
'techdoc','matlab_env','examples','lengthofline2.m')
visdiff(file1,file2)

The Comparison tool displays the resulting report.

6-11
6 Managing Files in MATLAB

Explore Differences

The Comparison tool highlights the lines that have changed as described in this table.

Highlight Color Description

Purple The content of the lines differs between the
two files. The Comparison tool displays an x
between the two lines.
Dark Purple Highlighted characters are different
between the two lines.

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 Compare Files and Folders and Merge Files

Highlight Color Description

Blue Line exists only in right file. The
Comparison tool displays a > between the
two lines.
Yellow Line exists only in left file. The Comparison
tool displays a < between the two lines.

The Comparison tool attempts to match lines and detects text that is added, deleted, or
changed. It does not do a simple line-by-line comparison. For example, in the text
comparison of lengthofline.m and lengthofline2.m, the tool determines that
lengthofline2.m has a line of code that does not exist in lengthofline.m and
highlights it (line 23) in blue. Also, notice that the tool takes the additional line into
account and determines that the line containing the end statement in each file matches,
even though the end statement does not occur on the same line number.

If the files you are comparing are extremely long, the tool could run out of memory while
attempting to perform the file comparison. If it does, it displays this message:

Maximum file length exceeded.

Defaulting to line-by-line comparison.

When this occurs, the Comparison tool switches to a line-by-line comparison. In a line-by-
line comparison, the tool highlights the lines containing the end statement because in
performing this operation, it finds that the last line in one file does not match the last line
in the other file.

You further can explore and configure the results using several methods:

• View a summary of differences — To view a summary of differences between two

text files, including the number of matching lines and the number of unmatched lines
in each file, scroll to the bottom of the comparison report.
• Ignore whitespace differences — To help distinguish between functional changes
and changes to indentation, you can hide whitespace differences. To hide differences
that only involve white-space characters, go to the View tab, click the Filter button,
and select Ignore White Space.
• Show differences only — To specify whether to show only differences or the entire
files, go to the View tab, click the Filter button, and select or clear Show Differences
Only. Showing differences only is especially useful in large text comparison reports.
When you are showing differences only and some lines are hidden, the report displays

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6 Managing Files in MATLAB

a message indicating the number of lines hidden. For example, if 10 lines are hidden,
the report displays 10 unmodified lines hidden.
• Change the display width — To increase or decrease the line lengths of the text files
in the comparison display, go to the View tab, and in the Display section, change the
Column Width. Resize the window if necessary.
• Save HTML Report — To save a copy of the comparison report as an HTML file, go to
the Comparison tab, and in the Comparison section, click Save As > HTML.

Step Through Differences

If a text file is lengthy, use the and buttons to step through the results one
difference at a time. Once the last difference has been reached, clicking the button
loops back to the first difference in the files. Similarly, if the first difference is selected
and the button is clicked, the Comparison tool loops to the last difference in the files.

Merge Differences

When comparing text files you can merge changes from one file to the other. Merging
changes can be useful when resolving conflicts between different versions of files.

Tip You can only merge from left to right. If you want to merge into the left file, use
Swap Sides before you start merging. Swap Sides reverts any merges already made and
creates a new comparison report for the original files.

To merge a difference from the left file to the right file, select the difference in the report

and on the Comparison tab, click the Merge button. The Comparison tool
highlights merged lines in gray and displays a green merge arrow.

The merged file name at the top of the report indicates that the file contains unsaved
changes (filename.m*).

To revert the last merge operation, on the Comparison tab, click Undo. Click Redo to
reapply a merge. To revert all merges and start again, click Refresh.

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 Compare Files and Folders and Merge Files

To save your changes, click Save Merged File. To save to a different name, select Save
Merged File > Save Merged File As.

To view the files in the Editor, click a line number link in the report.

Tip Save your merge changes from the comparison report before making any changes in
the Editor, otherwise the comparison report can become incorrect. The report does not
update to reflect changes you make in the Editor.

Compare Files with Autosave Version or Version on Disk

You can choose to compare a file open in the Editor with an autosaved or saved version of
the file.

To compare the latest version of a file with the Editor's backup copy, first open the file in
the Editor. Then, go to the Editor tab, click Compare , and select Save and Compare
with Autosave. If your file is modified, the Editor saves the file before comparing. For
more information, see “Backing Up Files”.

To compare an open file that has unsaved changes to the saved version, go to the Editor
tab, click Compare , and select Compare with Version on Disk.

Compare and Merge Live Code

Create Live Code Comparison Report

You can compare and merge lines in two live code files using the Comparison tool. To
select the files to compare, see “Select the Files or Folders to Compare” on page 6-6.

When you perform a live code comparison, a new window opens and displays the two files
side by side. For example, suppose you have two files averageweight.mlx and
averageweight2.mlx with several differences. When you compare the two files, the
Comparison tool displays the resulting report.

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6 Managing Files in MATLAB

Explore Differences

The Comparison tool displays the total number of differences in the bottom right corner of
the comparison report, and highlights the lines that do not match as described in this
table.

Highlight Color Description

Purple The content of the lines differs between the
two files.
Dark Purple Highlighted characters are different
between the two files.

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 Compare Files and Folders and Merge Files

Highlight Color Description

Blue Line exists only in right file (insertion in
right file).The corresponding line in the left
file is highlighted using a gray striped
pattern.
Yellow Line exists only in left file (deletion in right
file).The corresponding line in the right file
is highlighted using a gray striped pattern.

When comparing live code files, the Comparison tool detects differences in code, text, and
text formatting. The Comparison tool ignores output, even if the file contains saved
output. If the tool detects a difference within an equation, image, or control, the entire
item is highlighted.

The Comparison tool attempts to match lines and detects code and text that is added,
deleted, or changed. It does not do a simple line-by-line comparison. For example, in the
live code comparison of averageweight.mlx and averageweight2.mlx, the tool
determines that averageweight.mlx has two lines of code that do not exist in
averageweight2.mlx and highlights them (line 5 and line 7) in yellow. Also, notice that
the tool takes the additional lines into account and determines that the line containing the
disp statement in each file matches, even though the disp statement does not occur on
the same line number.

If a live code file is lengthy, use the Next and Previous buttons to step through
the results one difference at a time.

Merge Differences

When comparing live code files, you can merge changes from one file to the other.
Merging changes can be useful when resolving conflicts between different versions of
files. You only can merge from left to right. If you want to merge into the left file, click the

Swap Sides button before you start merging. Clicking the Swap Sides button
reverts any merges already made and creates a new comparison report for the original
files.

To begin merging, on the Comparison tab, click the Merge Mode button. Then, to
replace content from the right pane with content from the left pane, click the button

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6 Managing Files in MATLAB

located next to the line you want to merge. You also can select a difference and in the
Merge tab, click the Replace Content button.

The right pane contains the merged result. An asterisk next to the merged file name in
the right pane (filename_modified.mlx*) indicates that the file contains unsaved
changes.

To undo a replacement, click the button between the modified lines or on the

Comparison tab. To revert all merges and start again, click the Refresh button. You

also can click the Refresh button to update the comparison report after making
changes to and saving the files in the Live Editor. Refreshing discards all merged
changes.

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 Compare Files and Folders and Merge Files

To save your changes and return to the comparison report, click the Save Result
button. To return to the comparison report without saving changes, click the Return
to Comparison button.

Compare and Merge MAT-Files

Create MAT-File Comparison Report

You can use the Comparison tool to compare two MAT-files. Compare two MAT-files to:

• Determine which variables are common to each file and which are unique.
• Identify differences between individual variables. For example, you can determine
which fields of a structure are different, or which elements of a array differ.

To select items to compare, see “Select the Files or Folders to Compare” on page 6-6.

When you perform a MAT-file comparison, a new window opens and displays the two files
side by side. For example, supposed you have two MAT-files, data1.mat and data2.mat.
When you compare the two files, the Comparison tool displays the resulting report.

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6 Managing Files in MATLAB

Explore Differences

The Comparison tool report highlights changes in variables as described in this table.

6-20
 Compare Files and Folders and Merge Files

Difference Highlighting Description

Summary
Modified Purple Values of the variable differ between the two
files. Click the compare link to investigate. For
more information, see “Compare Variables” on
page 6-21.
Added Blue The variable only exists in the right file.
Removed Yellow The variable only exists in the left file.
Equivalent None The variables in both files are equivalent. The
tool ignores differences in NaN patterns, field
ordering in structs, and the difference between
negative zero or positive zero.
Class changed Purple (only in The variable data class changed. Click the
Class columns) compare link to investigate.

The report displays a message if the variables in both files are equivalent but the files are
not identical. Possible causes of the differences between the files include file formats, file
timestamps, the order in which the variables are stored, or variables that contain ignored
differences.

You can further explore the results in the report using several methods:

• Sort results — To sort the results by name, size, class, or difference summary, click
the corresponding column header. For example, click the Class column header to sort
by class type.
• Load variable — To load the contents of a variable into the Variable Editor, click the
name of that variable.
• Load MAT-file — To load one of the MAT-files into the workspace, click the
corresponding Load link at the bottom of the report.
• Save HTML report — To save a copy of the report as an HTML file, go to the
Comparison tab and click Save As > HTML.

For information about how to further configure the comparison report, see “Comparison
Report Tools and Options” on page 6-23.

Compare Variables

The variable comparison report displays differences in individual array elements or fields
of a structure. To investigate individual differences, double-click a highlighted row.

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6 Managing Files in MATLAB

Merge Differences

When comparing MAT-files, you can merge changes from one file to the other. There are
no undo capabilities when merging MAT-files, so merge with caution.

To copy modified variables from one file to the other, on the Comparison tab, in the
Merge section, click the Merge button.

Compare Binary Files

Create Binary Comparison Report

You can compare two binary files such as DLL files or MEX-files using the Comparison
tool. To select the files to compare, see “Select the Files or Folders to Compare” on page
6-6.

You also can perform a binary comparison on any two selected files, instead of the default
comparison. To compare any two files using a binary comparison, set the Comparison
type to Binary comparison. For more information, see “Compare Binary Files” on page
6-22.

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 Compare Files and Folders and Merge Files

When you perform a binary comparison, a new window opens and indicates whether the
two files are identical or different. If the files are different, click the Show Details link to
view the binary files and the byte offset of the first difference.

Comparison Report Tools and Options

You can further explore and configure a comparison report using the available tools and
options.

• Exchange the Left and Right Sides of the Report — To switch the left side file or

folder with the right side file or folder, go to the Comparison tab and click the
Swap Sides button.
• Refresh the Report to Show Updated File — After making changes to and saving
the files in the Editor, to update the results in the Comparison tool, go to the

Comparison tab and click the Refresh button.

• Find Text — To find a phrase in the current display, go to the Comparison tab and
click the Find button. For more information, see “Find Text in Command Window
or History” on page 3-12.
• Change Color Preferences — To change and save the color preferences for the
Comparison tool:
1 On the MATLAB Home tab, click Preferences and select MATLAB >
Comparison.
2 Select the desired colors for differences, modified lines, modified contents, and
merged lines. If you change a color preference, Active Settings displays Default
(modified).
3 Click Apply and refresh the comparison report to see the updated colors reflected
in the report.
4 To save the modified color preferences for use in future MATLAB sessions, click
Save As. Enter a name for your color settings profile and click OK.

After saving a color settings profile, you can select the profile in the Active
Settings list.
5 To restore the default settings, click Reset and then click Apply. Refresh the
comparison report.

Color preferences apply to all comparison types.

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6 Managing Files in MATLAB

Source Control
You can customize external source control tools to use the MATLAB Comparison tool for
comparing and merging files and folders. For more information, see “Customize External
Source Control to Use MATLAB for Diff and Merge”.

See Also
visdiff

Related Examples
• “Model Comparison” (Simulink)

6-24
 Compare XML Files

Compare XML Files

In this section...
“Choose XML Files to Compare” on page 6-26
“Change Comparison Type” on page 6-27
“Navigate the XML Comparison Report” on page 6-27
“Save Comparison Log Files in a Zip File” on page 6-29
“Export Results to the Workspace” on page 6-29

You can use the Comparison tool to compare a pair of XML text files. The tool processes
the results into a report that you can use to explore the file differences. You can compare
XML files with a text comparison or a hierarchical XML comparison.

You can access the XML comparison tool from the Current Folder browser, the
Comparison Tool, or programmatically using the visdiff function.

The XML comparison compares the files using the “Chawathe” algorithm, as described in
this paper:
Change Detection in Hierarchically Structured Information, Sudarshan Chawathe, Anand
Rajaraman, and Jennifer Widom; SIGMOD Conference, Montreal, Canada, June 1996, pp.
493-504.

This conference paper is based on work published in 1995: see http://

dbpubs.stanford.edu:8090/pub/1995-45.

XML comparison reports display in the Comparison Tool. For more information about the
Comparison Tool, see “Compare Files and Folders and Merge Files” on page 6-6.

The XML comparison report shows a hierarchical view of the portions of the two XML
files that differ. The report does not show sections of the files that are identical.

If the files are identical, you see a message reporting there are no differences.

Note It might not be possible for the analysis to detect matches between previously
corresponding sections of files that have diverged too much.

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6 Managing Files in MATLAB

Change detection in the Chawathe analysis is based on a scoring algorithm. Items match
if their Chawathe score is above a threshold. The implementation of Chawathe's
algorithm uses a comparison pattern that defines the thresholds.

Choose XML Files to Compare

From the Current Folder Browser

To compare two files from the Current Folder browser:

• For two files in the same folder, select the files, right-click and select Compare
Selected Files/Folders.
• To compare files in different folders:

1 Select a file, right-click, and select Compare Against

2 Select the second file to compare in the Select Files or Folders for Comparison
dialog box.
3 Select the Comparison type XML text comparison.
4 Click Compare.

The XML comparison tool performs a Chawathe analysis on the files and displays a report
in the Comparison Tool. The file you right-click to open the XML comparison tool displays
on the right side of the report.

For more information about comparisons of other file types with the Comparison Tool,
such as text, MAT, or binary, see “Compare Files and Folders and Merge Files” on page 6-
6.

Compare from the Comparison Tool

To compare files using the Comparison Tool, from the MATLAB toolstrip, in the File
section, select the Compare button. In the dialog box, select files to compare.

If the files you select to compare are XML files and you select an XML text
comparison, the XML comparison tool performs a Chawathe analysis of the XML files,
and generates a report.

Compare from the Command Line

To compare XML files from the command line, enter

6-26
 Compare XML Files

visdiff(filename1, filename2, 'xml')

where filename1 and filename1 are XML files.

Change Comparison Type

If you specify two XML files to compare using either the Current Folder Browser or the
visdiff function, then the Comparison Tool performs the default comparison type for
the selected files. You can compare XML files with a text comparison or a hierarchical
XML comparison.

To change comparison type, either create a new comparison from the Comparison Tool, or
use the Compare Against option from the Current Folder browser. You can change
comparison type in the Select Files or Folders for Comparison dialog box. Select XML
text comparison before clicking Compare.

Navigate the XML Comparison Report

The XML comparison report shows changes only. The report is a hierarchical view of the
differences between two XML text files, and is not a hierarchical view of the original XML
data.

To step through differences, use the Comparison tab on the toolstrip. To move to the
next or previous group of differences, on the Comparison tab, in the Navigate section,
click the arrow buttons to go to the previous or next difference.

You can also click to select items in the hierarchical trees.

• Selected items appear highlighted in a box.

• If the selected item is part of a matched pair, it is highlighted in a box in both left and
right trees.

Report item highlighting indicates the nature of each difference as follows:

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6 Managing Files in MATLAB

Type of Report Highlighting Notes

Item
Modified Pink Modified items are matched pairs that differ between the
two files. When you select a modified item, it is highlighted
in a box in both trees.
Changed parameters for the selected pair are displayed
underneath. If the text is too long to display, select
Compare to open a new comparison of the parameters.
Unmatched Green When you select an unmatched item, it is highlighted in a
box in one tree only.
Container None Rows with no highlighting indicate a container item that
contains other modified or unmatched items.

Use the Comparison tab for the following functions:

• Refresh — Run Chawathe analysis again to refresh the comparison report.

• Swap Sides — Swap sides and rerun comparison. Runs the Chawathe analysis again.
• Save As > HTML — Opens the Save dialog box, where you can choose to save a
printable version of the XML comparison report. The report is a noninteractive HTML
document of the differences detected by the Chawathe algorithm for printing or
archiving a record of the comparison.
• Save As > Workspace Variable — Export XML comparison results to workspace.
• In the Navigate section, click the arrow buttons (or press Up or Down keys) to go to
the previous difference or go to the next difference.
• Compare Selected Parameter — Open a new report for the currently selected pair
of parameters. Use this when the report cannot display all the details in the
Parameters pane, e.g., long character vectors or a script.

Use the View tab controls on the toolstrip for the following functions:

• Expand All — Expands every item in the tree.

Tip Right-click to expand or collapse the hierarchy within the selected tree node.
• Collapse All — Collapses all items in the tree to the most compact view possible.

Note It may not be possible for the analysis to detect matches between previously
corresponding sections of files that have diverged too much.

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 Compare XML Files

Save Comparison Log Files in a Zip File

Temporary XML comparison files accumulate in tempdir/MatlabComparisons/
XMLComparisons/TempDirs/. These temporary files are deleted when you close the
related comparison report.

You can zip the temporary files (such as log files) created during XML comparisons, for
sharing or archiving. While the comparison report is open, enter:

xmlcomp.zipTempFiles('c:\work\myexportfolder')

The destination folder must exist. The output reports the zip file name:

Created the zipfile "c:\work\myexportfolder\20080915T065514w.zip"

To view the log file for the last comparison in the MATLAB Editor, enter:

xmlcomp.showLogFile

Export Results to the Workspace

To export the XML comparison results to the MATLAB base workspace,

1 On the Comparison tab, in the Comparison section, select Save As > Save to
Workspace.

The Input Variable Name dialog box appears.

2 Specify a name for the export object in the dialog box and click OK. This action
exports the results of the XML comparison to an xmlcomp.Edits object in the
workspace.

The xmlcomp.Edits object contains information about the XML comparison including
file names, filters applied, and hierarchical nodes that differ between the two XML files.

To create an xmlcomp.Edits object at the command line without opening the

Comparison Tool, enter:

Edits = xmlcomp.compare(a.xml,b.xml)

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6 Managing Files in MATLAB

Property of xmlcomp.Edits Description

Filters Array of filter structure arrays. Each
structure has two fields, Name and Value.
LeftFileName File name of left file exported to XML.
LeftRoot xmlcomp.Node object that references the
root of the left tree.
RightFileName File name of right file exported to XML.
RightRoot xmlcomp.Node object that references the
root of the right tree.
TimeSaved Time when results exported to the
workspace.
Version MathWorks release-specific version number
of xmlcomp.Edits object.

Property of xmlcomp.Node Description

Children Array of xmlcomp.Node references to child
nodes, if any.
Edited Boolean — If Edited = true then the
node is either inserted (green) or part of a
modified matched pair (pink).
Name Name of node.
Parameters Array of parameter structure arrays. Each
structure has two fields, Name and Value.
Parent xmlcomp.Node reference to parent node, if
any.
Partner If matched, Partner is an xmlcomp.Node
reference to the matched partner node in
the other tree. Otherwise empty [].

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 See Also

See Also

Related Examples
• “Compare Files and Folders and Merge Files” on page 6-6

6-31
6 Managing Files in MATLAB

Manage Files and Folders

This table shows how to create, open, move, and rename files and folders on local and
network drives. If you have MATLAB Drive Connector installed on your system, you also
can access files and folders in MATLAB Drive from MATLAB.

Action Tools Workflow Function Alternative

Create a new In the Current Folder browser, Use the mkdir function. For
folder right-click in white space, and example, create a subfolder
then select New > Folder. named newdir in a parent folder
named parentFolder:
MATLAB creates and selects a
folder named New Folder in the mkdir('parentFolder','newdir');
current folder.
Move a file or In the Current Folder browser, Use the movefile function. For
folder click and drag the item. example, move the file named
myfile.m in the current folder to
You cannot move a folder while it the folder, d:/work:
is on the search path.
movefile('myfile.m','d:/work');
Rename a file or In the Current Folder browser, Use the movefile function. For
folder right-click the item and select example, in the current folder,
Rename. rename myfile.m to
oldfile.m:
File names must start with a
letter, and can contain letters, movefile('myfile.m','oldfile.m');
digits, or underscores.

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 Manage Files and Folders

Action Tools Workflow Function Alternative

Open a file in On the Home tab, in the File Use the open function. The file
MATLAB opens in MATLAB or in an
section, click Open , and then external application, depending
select a file to open. on the file extension.
You also can double-click the file
in the Current Folder browser.

To open a file in the Editor as a

text file, even if the file type is
associated with another
application or tool right-click the
file in the Current Folder browser
and select Open as Text.
Open a file in In the Current Folder browser,
another program right-click the file and select
Open Outside MATLAB. The file
opens in the application or tool
that the operating system
associates with the file type.
Preview file In the Current Folder browser, none
contents without right-click the file and select
opening the file Show Details. The Details Panel
expands.

Not supported for live scripts and

functions.

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6 Managing Files in MATLAB

Action Tools Workflow Function Alternative

Delete a file or In the Current Folder browser, To delete a file, use the delete
folder select the file or folder and press function. For example, delete a
Delete. file named myfile.m in the
current folder:
By default, MATLAB deletes or
recycles files and folders delete('myfile.m');
according to your operating
system preferences. To By default, files are permanently
permanently remove the selection removed. To move deleted files to
when the system preference is set a temporary folder instead, use
to recycle, press Shift+Delete. the recycle function or set the
Deleting files preference.
On Linux systems, you can
request that MATLAB move To delete a folder, use the rmdir
deleted files to a temporary folder function.
by setting the Deleting files
preference. Access this Note You cannot recover folders
preference on the Home tab, in deleted using rmdir.
the Environment section, by
clicking Preferences. Select
MATLAB > General.
View MATLAB In the Current Folder browser, none
Drive recent right-click any MATLAB Drive file
activity or folder and select MATLAB
Drive > View Recent Activity....
Open MATLAB In the Current Folder browser, none
Drive online right-click any MATLAB Drive file
or folder and select MATLAB
Drive > Go to MATLAB Drive
Online....

To open the Current Folder browser if it is not visible, go to the Home tab, and in the
Environment section, click Layout. Then, under Show, select Current Folder. Double-
clicking a subfolder displays its contents, and makes that folder the current folder.

To add a quick access button to the toolbar, right-click the toolbar and select
Customize.... MATLAB opens the MATLAB Toolbar Preferences panel. In the Controls
section, select from the available options and click OK. For example, if you have MATLAB

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 See Also

Drive Connector installed, you can add a MATLAB Drive quick access button. To do so, in
the MATLAB Toolbar Preferences panel, select the Go to MATLAB Drive option and click
OK. MATLAB adds the button to the toolbar.

Manage Files and Folders in MATLAB Online

MATLAB Online provides access to MATLAB from a standard web browser. In MATLAB
Online, you only have access to the files and folders in your MATLAB Drive, and some file
actions are not available, such as previewing file contents in the Details panel.

Two special purpose folders exist in your MATLAB Drive:

• Published — Stores the paths to your published program files and results reside,
publicly available to others on the web.
• Shared — Stores the paths to the files that others share with you.

To share a folder, in the Current Folder browser, right-click the item and select Share. To
transfer a file from MATLAB Online to the local system, select the file and on the Home
tab, select Download.

See Also
delete | edit | mkdir | movefile | open | recycle | rmdir

More About
• “Share and Restore Files in MATLAB Online” on page 10-2
• “Save and Load Workspace Variables” on page 5-16
• “Run Functions in the Editor”
• “Errors When Updating Folders on Search Path” on page 6-61

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6 Managing Files in MATLAB

Files and Folders that MATLAB Accesses

In this section...
“Where Does MATLAB Look for Files?” on page 6-36
“Files and Folders You Should Add to the Search Path” on page 6-36
“When Multiple Files Have the Same Name” on page 6-37
“Locations of MathWorks Products” on page 6-37

Where Does MATLAB Look for Files?

When you do not specify a path to a file, MATLAB looks for the file in the current folder or
on the search path. Functions in the current folder take precedence over functions with
the same file name that reside anywhere on the search path. To identify the current
folder, type pwd in the Command Window.

To make files accessible to MATLAB, do one of the following:

• Change the current folder to the folder that contains the files. Use the cd function or
browse to a different folder in the current folder toolbar:

• Add the folder that contains the files to the search path. Changes you make to the
search path apply to the current MATLAB session. To reuse the modified search path
in future MATLAB sessions, save your changes.
• Store individual files in the userpath MATLAB folder, which is on the search path. To
determine the location of this folder, run the userpath function.

Files and Folders You Should Add to the Search Path

The MATLAB search path should include:

• Folders containing files that you run.

• Folders containing files that are called by files you run.
• Subfolders containing files that you run. Making a folder accessible does not make its
subfolders accessible.

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 See Also

For files in @ (class) and + (package) folders, make the parent folder accessible. For
details, see “Folders Containing Class Definitions”.

If files call other files that are in multiple folders, determine the location of all the called
files by creating a Dependency Report. See “Dependencies Within a Folder”

When Multiple Files Have the Same Name

Name conflicts arise when MATLAB has access to multiple files with the same name, and
when a file has the same name as a variable in the base workspace or a built-in function
for a MathWorks product.

When there are name conflicts, MATLAB follows these precedence rules:

• “Function Precedence Order”

• “Class Precedence and MATLAB Path”

The file that MATLAB does not use is called a shadowed file. In some cases, MATLAB
warns you that a shadowed file exists.

Locations of MathWorks Products

Files and folders for products provided by MathWorks are in matlabroot/toolbox. The
files and folders under matlabroot are important to your installation. In particular:

• Do not store your personal files and folders in matlabroot/toolbox.

• Do not change files, folders, and subfolders in matlabroot/toolbox. The exception
is the pathdef.m file, which you can update and save in its default location,
matlabroot/toolbox/local.

To see a list of all toolbox folder names supplied with MathWorks products, run:

dir(fullfile(matlabroot,'toolbox'))

See Also
cd | pwd | userpath

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6 Managing Files in MATLAB

More About
• “What Is the MATLAB Search Path?” on page 6-48
• “MATLAB Startup Folder” on page 1-20
• “Toolbox Path Caching in MATLAB” on page 1-28

6-38
 Current Folder Browser Preferences

Current Folder Browser Preferences

You can specify the number of files that display in the Current Folder browser, and
customize their appearance.

On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Then, select
MATLAB > Current Folder.

Preference Usage
History Specify the number of recently used folders maintained in the
Current Folder toolbar drop-down list.
Refresh Specify how frequently the Current Folder browser updates to
reflect changes to files made from programs and tools other
than MATLAB.

When you access files on a network, frequent refreshing of the

Current Folder browser can slow performance in MATLAB. If
this seems to be a problem, try increasing the value for
Number of seconds between auto-refresh. Alternatively,
clear the Auto-refresh view from file system selection to
disable automatic refresh.

To manually refresh the view at any time, right-click in the

Current Folder browser and select Refresh.

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6 Managing Files in MATLAB

Preference Usage
Path indication Control the appearance of folders and files that are inaccessible
to MATLAB, and whether to display tooltips describing their
status. MATLAB cannot access files if they are not on the
search path or, in some cases, if they are in a private folder.

Select the Indicate inaccessible files check box to dim the

display of files and folders inaccessible to MATLAB. Move the
Text and icon transparency slider to adjust the level of
dimming.

Select the Show tooltip explaining why files are

inaccessible check box to display a tooltip that provides
information on why a dimmed file is inaccessible, when you
hover over it.

If you do not select the Indicate inaccessible files check box,

then the Current Folder browser displays all files and folders as
undimmed and provides no tooltips.
Toolbar Access the toolbar preferences to adjust the toolbar layout and
controls for Desktop tools, including the Current Folder
browser.
Initial working folder Access the General preferences to specify the current folder in
MATLAB when it starts.
Hidden Files Specify whether the Current Folder browser displays files and
folders that the operating system hides from system file
browsers and file-listing commands.

This preference does not apply to Microsoft Windows platforms.

On Windows platforms, the Current Folder browser follows the
Windows preference for showing hidden files. To set or change
the Windows preference, access the Folder Options, and then
select an option for viewing Hidden files and folders.

To change how dates display in the Current Folder browser, change the short date format
for your operating system. Then, refresh the date display: Right-click in the Current
Folder browser and select Refresh. MATLAB uses your operating system's short date
format to display dates in both the Current Folder browser and the Command History.

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 Specify File Names

Specify File Names

In this section...
“Construct Valid Path and File Names” on page 6-41
“Case Sensitivity of File Names” on page 6-43

Construct Valid Path and File Names

Specify Path Names

A path name specifies file locations, for example, C:\work\my_data (on Microsoft
Windows platforms) or /usr/work/my_data (on Linux or Mac platforms). If you do not
specify a path name when accessing a file, MATLAB first searches in the current folder. To
indicate a file in a particular location, specify a path name.

Path name specifications differ, depending on the platform on which you are running
MATLAB. Use the fullfile function to construct path names in statements that work on
any platform. This function is particularly useful when you provide code to someone using
it on a platform other than your own.

fullfile inserts platform-specific file separators where necessary. The file separator
character is the symbol that distinguishes one folder level from another in a path name. A
forward slash (/) is a valid separator on any platform. A backward slash (\) is valid only on
Microsoft Windows platforms. In the full path to a folder, the final slash is optional. Type
filesep in the Command Window to determine the correct file separator character to
use on your platform.

To identify the platform on which MATLAB is currently running, use the ismac, ispc, and
isunix functions.

Characters Within File and Folder Names

File names must start with a letter, and can contain letters, digits, or underscores.

Avoid using accent characters such as umlauts or circumflexes in path names. MATLAB
might not recognize the path. In addition, attempts to save a file to such a path might
result in unpredictable behavior.

If a path or file name contains spaces, enclose the input in single quotes. For example:

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6 Managing Files in MATLAB

load 'filename with space.mat'

or

load('filename with space.mat')

Absolute and Relative Path Names

MATLAB always accepts absolute path names (also called full path names), such as I:/
Documents/My_Files or /users/myuserid/Homework/myfile.m. An absolute path
name can start with any of the following:

• UNC path '\\'.

• Drive letter, on Microsoft Windows platforms, such as C:\.
• '/' character on Linux platforms.

Some MATLAB functions also support relative path names. Unless otherwise noted, the
path name is relative to the current folder. For example:

• myfile.m refers to the myfile.m file in the current folder.

• myfolder refers to the myfolder folder in the current folder.
• ../myfolder/myfile.m refers to the myfile.m file in the myfolder folder, where
myfolder is at same level as the current folder. Each repetition of ../ at the
beginning of the path moves up an additional folder level.

Tip If multiple documents are open and docked in the Editor, you can copy the absolute
path of any of these documents to the clipboard. This practice is useful if you need to
specify the absolute path in another MATLAB tool or an external application. Right-click
the document tab, and then select Copy Full Path to Clipboard.

Partial Path Names in MATLAB

A partial path name is the last portion of a full path name for a location on the MATLAB
search path. Some functions accept partial path names.

Examples of partial path names are: matfun/trace, private/cancel, and demos/

clown.mat.

Use a partial path name to:

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 Specify File Names

• Specify a location independent of where MATLAB is installed.

• Locate a function in a specific toolbox when multiple toolboxes contain functions with
that name. For example, to open the file for the set function in the Database
Toolbox™ product, type:

open database/set
• Locate method files. For example, to check if a plot method exists for the time series
object, type:

exist timeseries/plot

Specifying the at sign character (@) in method folder names is optional.

• Locate private and method files, which sometimes are hidden.

Be sure to specify enough of the path name to make the partial path name unique.

Maximum Length of Path Names in MATLAB

The maximum length allowed for a path name depends on your platform.

For example, on Microsoft Windows platforms:

• The maximum length is known as MAX_PATH.

• You cannot use an absolute path name that exceeds 260 characters.
• For a relative path name, you might need to use fewer than 260 characters. When the
Windows operating system processes a relative path name, it can produce a longer
absolute path name, possibly exceeding the maximum length.

If you get unexpected results when working with long path names, use absolute instead of
relative path names. Alternatively, use shorter names for folders and files.

Case Sensitivity of File Names

In general, it is best to specify path and case precisely when specifying a file name.

Case Sensitivity When Calling Functions

You call function files by specifying the file name without the file extension. MATLAB
returns an error if it cannot find a case-sensitive match on the search path. By default,
MATLAB suggests a function with the correct case.

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6 Managing Files in MATLAB

When multiple files have the same name, MATLAB follows precedence rules to determine
which to call. For more information, see “Function Precedence Order”.

Case Sensitivity When Loading and Saving Files

Linux platforms — File names are case sensitive.

• When loading or reading from a file, specify the file name using the correct case.
• When saving or writing to a file, MATLAB saves the file in the case you specify. Two
files with the same name, but different cases can exist in the same folder.

Windows platforms — File names are case insensitive. The Windows operating system
considers two files with the same name to be the same file, regardless of case. Therefore,
you cannot have two file names that differ only by case in the same folder.

• When loading or reading from a file, MATLAB accesses the file with the specified name
that is higher on the search path, regardless of case. For example, if you attempt to
load MYFILE and myfile.mat is higher on the search path than MYFILE.MAT, then
MATLAB loads myfile.mat without warning that there is a case mismatch.
• When saving or writing to a file, if you specify a file name that already exists in the
folder, MATLAB accesses the existing file without warning. For example, if you save
data to a file named myfile using the save function, and MYFILE.mat already exists
in the folder, the data replaces the contents of MYFILE.mat. However, the file name
remains MYFILE.mat.

See Also
filesep | fullfile | ismac | ispc | isunix | which

More About
• “What Is the MATLAB Search Path?” on page 6-48

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 Create and Extract from Zip Archives

Create and Extract from Zip Archives

In this section...
“Create a Zip Archive” on page 6-45
“Add Files to a Zip Archive” on page 6-46
“Extract Files from a Zip Archive” on page 6-46
“Compare Zip Archive to Unzipped Files” on page 6-47

Create a Zip Archive

Create archives using zip files to back up files, conserve file storage space, or to share
collections of files with others. You can either create an empty archive, or select files and
folders to create an initial archive. In either case, you can add more files later.

Create zip archives interactively using the Current Folder browser:

• To create an empty zip file, right-click white space, and then select New > Zip File.
• To create a populated zip file from selected files and folders, select the folders and
files you want to archive, right-click, and then select Create Zip File.

MATLAB creates an archive with a default name of Untitledn.zip, where n is an

integer.

Type over the default file name to specify a descriptive name, for example
listmaster_export.zip, as shown here.

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6 Managing Files in MATLAB

You also can create zip archives programmatically using the zip function. For example, to
zip all files with a .m and .mat extension in the current folder to a zip file archive named
backup.zip, call:
zip('backup',{'*.m','*.mat'});

Add Files to a Zip Archive

To add files and folders to a zip file archive in the Current Folder browser, do one of the
following:

• Select, and then drag the file that you want to add onto the archive.
• Copy the file that you want to add to the archive. Then, select the archive to which you
want to add the file and paste the file into the archive.

Extract Files from a Zip Archive

To extract a single file from within a zip file archive in the Current Folder browser:
1 Expand the zip file archive to view the archive contents, by clicking the associated +
(expand) button. By default, files within a zip file archive appear dimmed to indicate
that they are not on the MATLAB path.
2 Drag the file into a folder in the Current Folder browser.

MATLAB extracts the file and saves it to the folder where you dragged or pasted it.

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 See Also

To extract all the contents of a zip file, double-click the zip file in the Current Folder
browser. MATLAB creates a folder with the same name as the zip file, and extracts the
entire contents of the zip file into this folder.

To extract the contents of a zip file programmatically, use the unzip function. unzip also
allows you to specify a target folder. For example, to unzip the file, examples.zip, to a
folder named myfolder, call:

unzip('examples.zip','myfolder')

Note Archives created outside of MATLAB can be encrypted or password-protected. You

cannot add files to, or extract files from, protected archives from within MATLAB.

Compare Zip Archive to Unzipped Files

To determine differences between archived and unarchived files, use the Comparison Tool
from within the Current Folder browser as you would for any other files and folders.

• Right-click a zip archive, and then from the context menu select Compare Against
and specify the folder to which you want to compare the contents of the zip archive.
• Expand a zip archive, right-click a file within it, and then from the context menu select
Compare Against. Specify the file to which you want to compare the archived file.

See Also
unzip | zip

More About
• “Compare Files and Folders and Merge Files” on page 6-6

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6 Managing Files in MATLAB

What Is the MATLAB Search Path?

The MATLAB search path is a subset of all the folders in the file system. MATLAB uses the
search path to locate files used with MathWorks products efficiently.

The order of folders on the search path is important. When files with the same name
appear in multiple folders on the search path, MATLAB uses the one found in the folder
nearest to the top of the search path.

By default, the search path includes

• The MATLAB userpath folder, which is added to the search path at startup, and is the
default location for storing user files
• The folders defined as part of the MATLABPATH environment variable
• The folders provided with MATLAB and other MathWorks products, which are under
matlabroot/toolbox, where matlabroot is the folder displayed when you run
matlabroot in the Command Window

Class, package, and private folders should not be specified explicitly as part of the
search path.

You can explicitly add folders to the search path for the files you run. For more
information about adding files to the search path, see “Change Folders on the Search
Path” on page 6-52.

In MATLAB Online, all folders are automatically on the path.

userpath Folder on the Search Path

The userpath folder is first on the search path. By default, MATLAB adds the userpath
folder to the search path at startup. This folder is a convenient place for storing files that
you use with MATLAB.

The default userpath folder is platform-specific.

• Windows platforms — %USERPROFILE%/Documents/MATLAB.

• Mac platforms — $home/Documents/MATLAB.
• Linux platforms — $home/Documents/MATLAB if $home/Documents exists.
• MATLAB Online — /users/youruserid.

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 What Is the MATLAB Search Path?

Alternatively, to determine or change the current userpath folder, call userpath.

By default, the userpath folder is also the startup folder when you start MATLAB by
double-clicking either the MATLAB shortcut on Windows systems or the MATLAB
application on Mac systems.

MATLABPATH Environment Variable

The MATLABPATH environment variable can contain a list of additional folders to be added
to the MATLAB search path at startup. These folders are placed after the userpath
folder, but ahead of the folders supplied by MathWorks. By default, the MATLABPATH
environment variable is not set. For more information on how to set the MATLABPATH
environment variable, see “Set the MATLABPATH Environment Variable” on page 6-56.

Determine If Files and Folders Are on the Search Path

There are several ways to determine if files and folders are on the search path. You can
either check whether an individual file or folder is on the search path, or you can view the
entire search path.

Check Whether File or Folder on Search Path

To determine whether a file is on the search path, run which filename. If the file is on
the search path, MATLAB returns the full path to the file.

To determine whether a file or folder is on the search path, use the Current Folder
browser. Files and folders not on the path are dimmed. To ensure that the Current Folder
browser is set to indicate whether a file or folder in on the search path, right-click any file
or folder, and select the Indicate Files Not on Path option.

Hover the pointer over any dimmed file or folder in the Current Folder browser to find out
why it is dimmed. A tooltip opens with an explanation. Frequently, the tooltip indicates
that the file or folder is not on the MATLAB path. If a tooltip does not appear, it may be
disabled. To enable it, go the Home tab and in the Environment section, click
Preferences. Then, select MATLAB > Current Folder. Select Show tooltip explaining
why files are inaccessible to display the tooltip.

View Entire Search Path

Run the path command to view all the folders on the MATLAB search path.

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6 Managing Files in MATLAB

Alternatively, use the Set Path dialog box to view the entire MATLAB search path. On the
Home tab, in the Environment section, click Set Path. The Set Path dialog box opens,
listing all folders on the search path. For more information on using the Set Path dialog
box, see “Change Folders on the Search Path” on page 6-52.

The Search Path Is Not the System Path

The search path is not the same as the system path. Furthermore, there is no explicit
relationship between the MATLAB search path and the system path. However, both paths
help in locating files, as follows:

• MATLAB uses the search path to locate MATLAB files efficiently.

• The operating system uses a system path to locate operating system files efficiently.

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 See Also

How MATLAB Stores the Search Path

MATLAB saves search path information in the pathdef.m file. This file contains a series
of full path names, one for each folder on the search path.

By default, pathdef.m is in matlabroot/toolbox/local.

When you change the search path, MATLAB uses it in the current session, but does not
update pathdef.m. To use the modified search path in the current and future sessions,
save the changes using savepath or the Save button in the Set Path dialog box. This
updates pathdef.m.

In MATLAB Online, all changes to the search path are automatically saved.

See Also
userpath

More About
• “Add Folders to the MATLAB Search Path at Startup” on page 6-56
• “Change Folders on the Search Path” on page 6-52

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6 Managing Files in MATLAB

Change Folders on the Search Path

In this section...
“For Current and Future Sessions” on page 6-52
“For the Current Session Only” on page 6-54

For Current and Future Sessions

You can interactively add and remove folders, and change the order of folders on the
search path, for the current MATLAB session and for future MATLAB sessions. When files
with the same name appear in multiple folders on the search path, MATLAB uses the one
found in the folder nearest to the top of the search path.

1 On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Set Path. The Set Path dialog
box appears.

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 Change Folders on the Search Path

2 Use the Set Path dialog box to modify the search path.
3 Apply or cancel the search path changes:

• To use the newly modified search path only in the current session, click Close.
• To reuse the newly modified search path in the current session and future
sessions, click Save, and then Close.
• To undo your changes, click Revert, and then Close.
• To restore the default search path, click Default, and then Close. The default
search path contains only folders provided by MathWorks.

Note The MATLAB (userpath) folder automatically moves to the top of the search path
the next time you start MATLAB. For more information about the userpath folder, see
“userpath Folder on the Search Path” on page 6-48

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6 Managing Files in MATLAB

For the Current Session Only

There are three ways to change the folders on the search path for the current MATLAB
session only:

• Use the Set Path dialog box to make changes to the search path, and do not save the
changes.

1 On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Set Path.

2 After making the changes, click Close.
• Use the Current Folder browser to add or remove folders from the search path.

1 From the Current Folder browser, select, and then right-click the folder or folders
to add or remove.
2 From the context menu, select Add to Path or Remove from Path, and then
select an option:

• Selected Folders
• Selected Folders and Subfolders
• In the Editor, you also can add or remove the folder that contains an Editor document
from the search path. Right-click the document tab, and then select an option to Add
or Remove the folder from the Search Path.

See Also
addpath | rmpath | savepath

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 Use Search Path with Different MATLAB Installations

Use Search Path with Different MATLAB Installations

The default search path changes for each MATLAB version because the default folders
that come with the products change. Different MATLAB versions cannot use the same
pathdef.m file.

To use your files with a new MATLAB version or with multiple versions, do one of the
following:

• For each version, add the folders containing your files to the search path. Save the
search path (that is, save the pathdef.m file) where that version of MATLAB can
access it.
• Include addpath statements in the startup.m file. Use the same startup.m file
with the multiple versions of MATLAB.

Including addpath statements in the startup.m file also allows you to use your files
with MATLAB on different platforms.

See Also
addpath

More About
• “Startup Options in MATLAB Startup File” on page 1-26

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6 Managing Files in MATLAB

Add Folders to the MATLAB Search Path at Startup

There are two ways to add folders to the MATLAB search path at startup. You can either
use a startup.m file or you can set the MATLABPATH environment variable.

Use a startup.m File

The startup.m file is for specifying startup options. You can add folders to the search
path by including addpath statements in a startup.m file. For example, to add the
specified folder, /home/username/mytools to the search path at startup, include this
statement in a startup.m file:

addpath /home/username/mytools

For more information on creating a startup.m file with addpath statements, see
“Startup Options in MATLAB Startup File” on page 1-26.

Set the MATLABPATH Environment Variable

You can also add folders to the search path at startup by setting the MATLABPATH
environment variable. :

Windows

To set the MATLABPATH environment variable in Windows, from the Windows Control
Panel, go to System and select Advanced system settings. Click the Environment
Variables... button. Click New... or Edit... to create or edit the MATLABPATH environment
variable. In the dialog box that appears, set the variable name to MATLABPATH and the
variable value to a semicolon-separated list of folders you want to add to the search path.
For example, to add two folders, c:\matlab_files\myfolder1 and c:
\matlab_files\myfolder2, to the MATLABPATH environment variable, enter c:
\matlab_files\myfolder1;c:\matlab_files\myfolder2 as the variable value.
Click OK to set the variable and exit the dialog box. Restart MATLAB for the new settings
to take effect.

To set the environment variable from a command window, run the command set
MATLABPATH=folders, where folders is a semicolon-separated list of folders. For
example, suppose that you want to add two folders, c:\matlab_files\myfolder1 and
c:\matlab_files\myfolder2, to the MATLABPATH environment variable. Run the
command

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 See Also

set MATLABPATH=c:\matlab_files\myfolder1;c:\matlab_files\myfolder2

Once the environment variable is set, you must start MATLAB from the same command
window for the settings to take effect. The environment variable persists only as long as
the command window is open.

UNIX and Mac

To set the MATLABPATH environment variable in UNIX and Mac, in a terminal, run the
command export MATLABPATH=folders, where folders is a colon-separated list of
folders.

For example, suppose that you want to add two folders, /home/j/Documents/MATLAB/
mine and /home/j/Documents/MATLAB/research, to the MATLABPATH environment
variable on a UNIX platform. Run the command
export MATLABPATH=/home/j/Documents/MATLAB/mine:/home/j/Documents/MATLAB/research

Once the environment variable is set, you must start MATLAB from the same shell for the
settings to take effect. The environment variable persists only as long as the shell remains
open.

Note If you are using a C shell (csh or tcsh), the command for setting the MATLABPATH
environment variable is setenv MATLABPATH folders.

To add the folders for all future MATLAB sessions, set the MATLABPATH environment
variable as part of your shell configuration script.

See Also

More About
• “What Is the MATLAB Search Path?” on page 6-48
• “Change Folders on the Search Path” on page 6-52

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6 Managing Files in MATLAB

Assign userpath as Startup Folder (Macintosh or UNIX)

This example shows how to assign the userpath folder as the startup folder on a
Macintosh platform. The procedure is similar for UNIX platforms. Assume that userpath
is set to the default value on a Macintosh platform where smith is the home folder.

Using a bash shell, set the MATLAB_USE_USERWORK environment variable so that

userpath will be used as the startup folder.

export MATLAB_USE_USERWORK=1

From that shell, start MATLAB. Next, verify the current folder in MATLAB.

pwd

/Users/smith/Documents/MATLAB

Confirm that this is the same as the folder defined for userpath.

userpath

/Users/smith/Documents/MATLAB;

Confirm that the userpath is at the top of the search path.

path

/Users/smith/Documents/MATLAB
/Users/smith/Applications/MATLAB/R2009a/toolbox/matlab/general
/Users/smith/Applications/MATLAB/R2009a/toolbox/matlab/ops

...

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 Path Unsuccessfully Set at Startup

Path Unsuccessfully Set at Startup

When there is a problem with the search path, you cannot use MATLAB successfully.

Search path problems occur when:

• You save the search path on a Windows platform, and then try to use the same
pathdef.m file on a Linux platform.
• The pathdef.m file becomes corrupt, invalid, renamed, or deleted.
• MATLAB cannot locate the pathdef.m file.

When MATLAB starts, if there is a problem with the search path, a message such as the
following appears:

Warning: MATLAB did not appear to successfully set the search

path...

For problems with the search path, try these recovery steps. Proceed from one step to the
next only as necessary.

1 Ensure MATLAB is using the pathdef.m file you expect:

a Run

which pathdef
b If you want MATLAB to use the pathdef.m file at another location, make
corrections. For example, delete the incorrect pathdef.m file and ensure the
correct pathdef.m file is in a location that MATLAB can access.
2 Look for and correct problems with the pathdef.m and startup.m files:

a Open pathdef.m and startup.m in a text editor. Depending on the problem,

you might not be able to open the pathdef.m file.
b Look for obvious problems, such as invalid characters or path names.
c Make corrections and save the files.
d Restart MATLAB to ensure that the problem does not recur.
3 Try to correct the problem using the Set Path dialog box:

a Restore the default search path and save it. See “Change Folders on the Search
Path” on page 6-52. Depending on the problem, you might not be able to open
the dialog box.
b Restart MATLAB to ensure that the problem does not recur.

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6 Managing Files in MATLAB

4 Restore the default search path using functions:

a Run restoredefaultpath, which sets the search path to the default and stores
it in matlabroot/toolbox/local.
b If restoredefaultpath seems to correct the problem, run savepath.
c Restart MATLAB to ensure that the problem does not recur.

Depending on the problem, a message such as the following could appear:

The path may be bad. Please save your work (if desired), and quit.
5 Correct the search path problems encountered during startup:

a Run

restoredefaultpath; matlabrc

Wait a few minutes until it completes.

b If there is a pathdef.m file in the startup folder, it caused the problem. Either
remove the bad pathdef.m file or replace it with a good pathdef.m file. For
example, run:

savepath('path_to_your_startup_folder/pathdef.m')

See “MATLAB Startup Folder” on page 1-20.

c Restart MATLAB to ensure that the problem does not recur.

After correcting problems with the search path, make any changes to run your files. For
example, add the userpath folder or other folders to the search path.

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 Errors When Updating Folders on Search Path

Errors When Updating Folders on Search Path

You can encounter errors or unexpected behavior when you try to delete, rename, or
move folders that:

• Are on the search path

• Contain subfolders that are on the search path

The behavior varies by platform because it depends on the behavior of similar features in
the operating system.

If your task fails and the error message indicates it is because the folder is on the search
path, then do the following:

1 Remove the folder from the search path.

2 Delete, rename, or move the folder.
3 Add the folder to the search path.

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6 Managing Files in MATLAB

Troubleshoot Invalid or Unresponsive Windows Change

Notification Handles
MATLAB uses a Windows operating system feature called change notification handles to
detect when files in an associated folder are modified. Under certain circumstances,
Windows fails to provide MATLAB with a valid or responsive Change Notification Handle.
The three most common causes for invalid or unresponsive change notification handles
are:

• Windows has exhausted its supply of notification handles.

• The specified folder resides on a file system that does not support change notification.
(Syntax TAS file server, SAMBA file server, and many NFS file servers are known to
have this limitation.)
• Network or file server latency delays the arrival of the change notification so that
changes are not detected on a timely basis.

When MATLAB is unable to obtain a valid or responsive Change Notification Handle, it

cannot automatically detect changes to files and folders. For example, new functions
added to an affected folder might not be visible, and changed functions in memory might
not be reloaded.

Control How MATLAB Detects Changes in Files and Folders

If MATLAB is unable to detect changes to your files and folders due to invalid or
unresponsive change notification handles, you can control how MATLAB detects changes
in folders.

If your file system updates folder timestamps when files are added to folders, you can set
your system remote path policy to detect changes by testing the timestamps of folders. To
do so, include these commands in a startup.m file. For more information on creating a
startup.m file, see “Startup Options in MATLAB Startup File” on page 1-26.

system_dependent('RemotePathPolicy', 'TimecheckDir');
rehash path;

You might notice a performance degradation due to the time required to check the
timestamps.

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 Troubleshoot Invalid or Unresponsive Windows Change Notification Handles

If your file system does not update folder timestamps (such as an NT file system), you can
set your system remote path policy to detect changes by rereading the affected folders at
frequent intervals. To do so, include these commands in a startup.m file.

system_dependent('RemotePathPolicy', 'Reload');
rehash path;

You might notice a significant performance degradation due to the time required to
reread the folders.

To determine how MATLAB detects changes in folders, use this command:

system_dependent('RemotePathPolicy', 'Status');

In some cases, detecting new files or changed files in folders affected by the invalid or
unresponsive change notification handles is not necessary. If detecting changes is not
necessary, to provide maximum performance, you can disable your system remote path
policy. To do so, include these commands in a startup.m file.

system_dependent('RemotePathPolicy', 'None');
rehash path;

Clear Functions from Memory

Sometimes, changing your system remote path policy is not effective in preventing
problems related to remote file system caching or network latency. If MATLAB is still
unable to detect the changes that you have made to a function, you can clear the old copy
of the function from memory using the clear function. MATLAB reads the updated
function the next time it is called.

Configure Change Notification Handle Warnings

To analyze which folders are affected by invalid or unresponsive Windows change
notification handles, you can configure the number of warning messages issued by
Windows. To do so, include one of these commands in a startup.m file. For more
information on creating a startup.m file, see “Startup Options in MATLAB Startup File”
on page 1-26.

• Show warning messages for all invalid or unresponsive change notification handles.

system_dependent('DirChangeHandleWarn', 'Always');

6-63
6 Managing Files in MATLAB

• Only show the first warning message about invalid or unresponsive change notification
handles.

system_dependent('DirChangeHandleWarn', 'Once');
• Never show warning messages about invalid or unresponsive change notification
handles.

system_dependent('DirChangeHandleWarn', 'Never');

To determine when Windows warns about invalid or unresponsive change notification

handles, use this command.

system_dependent('DirChangeHandleWarn', 'Status');

See Also
addpath | rehash

More About
• “What Is the MATLAB Search Path?” on page 6-48
• “Startup Options in MATLAB Startup File” on page 1-26

6-64
 7

Editor Preferences

• “Editor/Debugger Preferences” on page 7-2

• “Code Analyzer Preferences” on page 7-16
7 Editor Preferences

Editor/Debugger Preferences
In this section...
“General Preferences for the Editor/Debugger” on page 7-2
“Editor/Debugger Display Preferences” on page 7-4
“Editor/Debugger Tab Preferences” on page 7-5
“Editor/Debugger Language Preferences” on page 7-6
“Editor/Debugger Code Folding Preferences” on page 7-9
“Editor/Debugger Backup Files Preferences” on page 7-10
“Editor/Debugger Autoformatting Preferences” on page 7-11
“Editor/Debugger Autocoding Preferences” on page 7-13

You can customize the visual display and functionality of the Editor and Debugger using
Editor/Debugger preferences.

Note Most preference changes do not apply in the Live Editor.

General Preferences for the Editor/Debugger

You can specify which editor MATLAB uses, as well as how the MATLAB Editor behaves
under various circumstances.

On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select Editor/
Debugger, and then adjust preference options as described in the table below.

7-2
 Editor/Debugger Preferences

Preference Usage
Editor Select which editor you want the MATLAB
desktop to use when you edit a file:

• MATLAB Editor
• Text editor

If you select Text editor, specify the full path for

the editor application you want to use, such as
Emacs or vi. For example, c:/Applications/
Emacs.exe.
Most recently used file list In the Number of entries field, type the
number of files that you want to appear in the
list of recently used files at the bottom of the
File menu.
Opening files in editor Select On restart reopen files from previous
MATLAB sessions if you want the Editor and
the files it contained during your last MATLAB
session to reopen when you restart MATLAB.
Select Automatically open files when
MATLAB reaches a breakpoint to open a
running program file when MATLAB encounters
a breakpoint in that file.
Automatic file changes Select Save changes upon clicking away from
a file if you want the Editor to automatically
save changes to a file in the Editor when you
click away from the Editor. For the changes to be
automatically saved upon clicking away from the
Editor, you must have already saved the file at
least once.
Select Reload unedited files that have been
externally modified if you want the Editor to
automatically reload the version of a file that you
opened and edited outside of MATLAB when the
file currently open in the Editor has no unsaved
changes.

7-3
7 Editor Preferences

Preference Usage
Select Add line termination at end of file to
have MATLAB add a new empty line (sometimes
referred to as a <CR>) to the end of a file
automatically if the last line in the file is not
empty.
Debugging in the Live Editor Select Only show Step in button for user-
defined functions to have the Live Editor only
step into user-defined functions and scripts. To
have the Live Editor step into MathWorks
functions as well, clear the option.

Editor/Debugger Display Preferences

You can change the appearance of the Editor.

On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select Editor/
Debugger > Display, and then adjust preference options as described in the table below.

Preference Usage
General display option Select Highlight Current Line and select a
color to highlight the row with the cursor (also
called the caret).
Select Show line numbers to display line
numbers along the left edge of the Editor
window. This preference applies in both the
Editor and Live Editor.

7-4
 Editor/Debugger Preferences

Preference Usage
Select Enable data tips in edit mode to
display data tips when you are editing a MATLAB
code file. (Data tips are always enabled in debug
mode.)

For details, see “View Variable Value”.

Right-hand text limit Select Show line to display a vertical line with
the specified Width and Color at the specified
column (Placement) in the Editor.

For details, see “Right-Side Text Limit Indicator”.

Editor/Debugger Tab Preferences

You can specify the size of tabs and indents and details about how tabs behave in the
Editor.

On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select Editor/
Debugger > Tab, and then adjust preference options as described in the table below.

Option Usage
Tab size Specify the amount of space inserted when you
press the Tab key.

When you change the Tab size, it changes the

tab size for existing lines in that file, unless you
also select Tab key inserts spaces.
Indent size Specify the indent size for smart indenting.
Smart indenting is one of the “Editor/Debugger
Language Preferences” on page 7-6.

7-5
7 Editor Preferences

Option Usage
Tab key inserts spaces Select to insert a series of spaces when you
press the Tab key. Otherwise, a tab acts as one
space whose length is equal to the Tab size.
Emacs-style Tab key smart indenting Specifies an indenting style similar to the style
that the Emacs editor uses.

Lines indent according to smart indenting

preferences when you position the cursor in a
line or select a group of lines, and then press the
Tab key.

Smart indenting is one of the “Editor/Debugger

Language Preferences” on page 7-6.

If you select this preference, you cannot insert

tabs within a line.

Editor/Debugger Language Preferences

You can specify how various languages appear in the Editor. MATLAB applies language
preferences based on the file extension of the file open in the Editor.

On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select Editor/
Debugger > Language, and then adjust preference options as described in the table
below.

Note Not all preferences are available for all languages.

Preference Usage
Language Select the language for which you want to set
preferences.

7-6
 Editor/Debugger Preferences

Preference Usage
Syntax highlighting Select Enable syntax highlighting to have the Editor
use different colors for different language constructs.
Then, adjust the colors you want to use for each
language element.

Access color options for the MATLAB language by

clicking Set syntax colors.

For all other languages, color options appear under

Enable syntax highlighting.

For details, see “Syntax Highlighting” on page 3-24.

Variable and function renaming Select Enable automatic variable and function
renaming to have MATLAB prompt you to rename all
MATLAB Language only instances of a function or variable in a file when you
rename a function or variable.

For details on when MATLAB prompts you, see

“Automatically Rename All Functions or Variables in a
File”.

7-7
7 Editor Preferences

Preference Usage
Comment formatting In the Maximum column width field, enter the
maximum number of characters you want to allow in a
MATLAB Language only line of comments, and then select where you want
counting to begin.

Consider selecting:

• Start from beginning of line when the absolute

width of the comments is important. For example,
set 75 columns from the start of the line to match
the width that fits on a printed page when you use
the default font for the Editor.
• Start from beginning of comment when
comments are indented, and you want each block of
comments to have a consistent indent and width.

This preference applies in both the Editor and Live

Editor.
Select Wrap comments automatically while typing
to automatically wrap comments at the Maximum
column width value when you type comments in an
Editor document.

If you clear this option, you can still wrap comments

manually, as described in “Add Comments to
Programs”.

This preference applies in both the Editor and Live

Editor.

7-8
 Editor/Debugger Preferences

Preference Usage
Indenting Select Apply smart indenting while typing to
automatically:

• Indent the body of loops within the start and end of

the loop statement.
• Align subsequent lines with lines you indent using
tabs or spaces.
• Indent functions as specified with the Function
indenting format option.

This is called smart indenting. You also can manually

apply smart indenting after you type the code.

For more information, see “Indenting Code”.

Select an option from Function Indenting Format
(MATLAB Language only) to specify how functions
indent in the Editor, as follows:

• Classic — The Editor aligns the function code with

the function declaration.
• Indent nested functions — The Editor indents the
function code within a nested function.
• Indent all functions — The Editor indents the
function code for both main and nested functions.

For more information and examples of each indenting

format, see “Indenting Code”.
File extensions Add one or more file extensions to associate with the
Language. The preferences you set for that language
apply to all files with the listed extensions.

Editor/Debugger Code Folding Preferences

Code folding enables you to expand and collapse blocks of MATLAB code that you want to
hide when you are not currently working on them.

7-9
7 Editor Preferences

On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select Editor/
Debugger > Code Folding, and then adjust preference options as described in the table
below.

For examples and detailed information about code folding, see “Code Folding — Expand
and Collapse Code Constructs”.

Option Usage
Enable Code Folding Specifies whether you want code folding enabled
for the programming constructs that have their
corresponding Enable check box selected.
Enable Specifies whether you want code folding enabled
for the corresponding Programming
Construct.

If you select this option for any construct, but

clear the Enable Code Folding option, the
construct will not have code folding enabled.
Fold Initially Specifies whether the corresponding
Programming Construct displays collapsed
(folded) the first time that you open a MATLAB
file.

Editor/Debugger Backup Files Preferences

You can specify if, when, and how you want MATLAB to automatically back up files that
are open in the Editor.

On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select Editor/
Debugger > Backup Files, and then adjust preference options as described in the table
below.

Preference Usage
Automatically create backup files while Select to have MATLAB automatically save a
working in the MATLAB Editor copy of the files you are currently editing.

7-10
 Editor/Debugger Preferences

Preference Usage
Save options Save the backup every: n minutes specifies
how often you want MATLAB to save a copy of
the file you are editing.
Save untitled files saves a copy of new,
untitled, files to Untitled.asv.

When there is more than one untitled file, each

additional file is saved to Untitledn.asv
(where n is an integer value).

For details, see “Backing Up Files”.

Close options Automatically delete backup files when the
Editor closes directs MATLAB to delete the
backup file when you close the source file in the
Editor.
File name Select the naming convention you want MATLAB
to use for autosave files. For example:

• If you specify Replace extension with: asv,

the backup file for filename.m is
filename.asv
• If you specify Append file name with: ~, the
backup file for filename.m is filename.m~
Location Source file directories specifies that you want
backup files stored in the same folder as the files
being edited.

Single directory specifies that you want

autosave files stored in a single folder. Specify
the full path to that folder and be sure you have
write permissions for it.

Editor/Debugger Autoformatting Preferences

You can quickly format live scripts and functions using autoformatting markup in the Live
Editor. You can enable and disable autoformatting as a whole, or as individual options.

7-11
7 Editor Preferences

On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select Editor/
Debugger > Autoformatting, and then adjust preference options as described in this
table.

Preference Usage
Enable autoformatting in Live Editor Select to enable autoformatting options in the
Live Editor. Once enabled, options can then be
enabled or disabled individually.
Text format Select *italic*, **bold** to enable bold and italic
formatting using asterisks (*).
Select _italic_, __bold__ to enable bold and italic
formatting using underscores (_).
Select `monospace`, |monospace| to enable
monospace autoformatting.
Section break Select %%, ***, or --- for section break to
enable inserting section breaks by entering %%,
***, or --- and then Enter.
Select %% text for section break and heading
to enable inserting section breaks with heading 1
style headings by entering %%text and then
Enter.
Insert Options Select $LaTeX$ for LaTeX equation to enable
converting LaTeX expressions into equations
using the format $LaTeX$.
Select URL for hyperlink to enable converting
internet paths automatically to hyperlinks.
Select <URL> for hyperlink to enable
converting internet paths to hyperlinks using the
format <URL>.
Select [Label](URL) for labeled hyperlink to
enable converting internet paths to labeled
hyperlinks using the format [Label](URL).

7-12
 Editor/Debugger Preferences

Preference Usage
Select (TM), (SM), (R), and (C) for
trademark, service mark, and copyright
symbols to enable inserting trademark and
copyright symbols (™, ℠, ®, and ©) using the
format (TM), (SM), (R), and (C).
Text Style Select #text for title to enable inserting titles
using the format #text.
Select ##text, ###text, or ####text for
heading to enable inserting headings using the
format ##text for heading 1, ###text for
heading 2, or ####text for heading 3.
Select Automatic bulleted lists (*, +, or -) to
enable creating bulleted lists by entering *, +, or
- followed by a space.
Select Automatic numbered lists (1., 2., etc.)
to enable creating numbered lists by entering
1., 2., and so on, followed by a space.

For more information about autoformatting in the Live Editor, see “Autoformatting”.

Editor/Debugger Autocoding Preferences

When you enter code in the Live Editor, MATLAB autocompletes block endings,
parentheses, and quotes.MATLAB also autocompletes comments, character vectors, and
strings when split across two lines. You can enable and disable autoformatting as a whole,
or as individual options.

On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select Editor/
Debugger > Autocoding, and then adjust preference options as described in this table.

Preference Usage
Enable autocoding in Live Editor Select to enable autocoding options in the Live
Editor. Once enabled, options can be enabled or
disabled individually.

7-13
7 Editor Preferences

Preference Usage
Autocomplete parentheses Select Parentheses ( ) to enable autocompletion
of parentheses.
Select Curly braces { } to enable
autocompletion of curly braces.
Select Square brackets [ ] to enable
autocompletion of square brackets.
Autocomplete quotes Select Single quotes (' ') to enable
autocompletion of single quotes.
Select Double quotes (" ") to enable
autocompletion of double quotes.
Autocomplete when splitting Select Comments (%) to enable autocompletion
of comments when split across two lines. For
example, pressing Enter with your cursor after
the period in the comment

% This is my first comment. This is my second comment

splits the comments into two lines.

% This is my first comment.

% This is my second comment.
Select Character vectors (' ') to enable
autocompletion of character vectors when split
across two lines. For example, pressing Enter
with your cursor after the word Random in the
character vector

title('Mean of Random Uniform Data')

splits the character vector into two character

vectors across two lines.

title(['Mean of Random' ...

' Uniform Data'])

7-14
 Editor/Debugger Preferences

Preference Usage
Select Strings (" ") to enable autocompletion of
strings when split across two lines. For example,
pressing Enter with your cursor after the word
long in the string

exist("exceptionally_long_file_name.txt")

splits the string into two strings on two lines.

exist("exceptionally_long" + ...
"_file_name.txt")
Autocomplete block endings Select Control flow statements (if, for, etc.)
to enable autocompletion of control flow
statements. To autocomplete a statement, enter
the statement and press Enter. For a list of
control flow statements, see “Control Flow”.
Select Function and class definitions to
enable autocompletion of functions and class
definitions. To autocomplete a definition, enter
either function or class and press Enter.

7-15
7 Editor Preferences

Code Analyzer Preferences

In this section...
“Code Analyzer Preferences” on page 7-16
“Searching Messages in the Code Analyzer Preferences Dialog Box” on page 7-17

Code Analyzer Preferences

You can change how Code Analyzer messages appear in the Editor. With a few exceptions,
these preferences apply to messages in the Editor, the MATLAB Function Block Editor (if
your products use that tool), and the Code Analyzer Report.

On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select Code
Analyzer, and then adjust preference options as described in the table below.

Option Usage
Enabled Integrated Warning and Error Specify whether you want to display Code
Messages Analyzer message indicators, such as the
underlining of code and the message indicator
bar, for documents open in the Editor.

For more information, see “Automatically Check

Code in the Editor — Code Analyzer”.
Underlining Specify the type of coding issues that you want
to have underlined.

Regardless of the underlining menu option you

choose, the Editor marks errors and warnings in
the message indicator bar.
Autofix Provides a link to a preference panel that
enables you to adjust the color highlighting
errors and warnings that MATLAB can autofix.
You trigger autofix by clicking the Fix button in a
Code Analyzer message.

7-16
 Code Analyzer Preferences

Option Usage
Active Settings Select the set of message settings to use. Click
the down arrow to select or browse to a
previously saved settings file.
Actions button Click to open a menu that enables you to select:

• Save as — Saves the current Code Analyzer

message settings to a file.

The default location for settings is the

MATLAB preferences folder (the folder
returned when you run prefdir).
• Restore Defaults — Restores default Code
Analyzer message settings.
Search field Searches the list of Code Analyzer messages that
display below the search field. For details, see
“Searching Messages in the Code Analyzer
Preferences Dialog Box” on page 7-17.
Code Analyzer message settings Select or clear messages to enable or suppress
their appearance in your Editor documents.

To suppress a message on a line-by-line or file-

by-file basis, see “Adjust Code Analyzer Message
Indicators and Messages”.

Searching Messages in the Code Analyzer Preferences Dialog

Box
You can search the list of Code Analyzer messages in the Preferences dialog box to
display only those messages that are currently of interest to you. Use any combination of
the methods that the following table presents.

Note If you do not have the MATLAB Compiler™ installed, the Code Analyzer
preferences pane does not display the MATLAB Compiler (deployment) messages
category.

7-17
7 Editor Preferences

To See a List of Perform this action... Example Scenario

Messages ...
Containing specified text Type the text in the search field. You recall seeing a message
in the: containing some text that you want
to review, but you cannot
• Short message remember the exact message text.
• Extended message
For example, type com in the
• Message category search field to display those
• Message ID messages that contain that text in
the short message, extended
message, or message ID.
Corresponding to a given Type msgid: followed by the You are reviewing the code that
message ID message ID in the search field. someone else wrote and you want
to see the message that
corresponds to a suppressed one
using the %#ok<AGROW> directive.

Type msgid:agrow in the search

field. Messages IDs containing
AGROW display as links. Click each
link for more information about the
message.

Not all Code Analyzer messages

have additional information. These
messages do not appear as links.
That you can set using Click the down arrow to the right You want to see the complete list of
Code Analyzer of the search field, and then click messages after you have searched
preferences Show All. the messages for some text or a
given search menu option.

7-18
 Code Analyzer Preferences

To See a List of Perform this action... Example Scenario

Messages ...
Different from the default Click the down arrow to the right A coworker gave you a settings file
setting (of enabled or of the search field, and then click and you want to review each
disabled) Show Messages Modified from message that the coworker
Default. changed from its default setting.

A gray dot precedes a message

with a setting different from the
default. For example:

In a given category Click the down arrow to the right You want to review messages that
of the search field, click Show describe coding practices that
Messages in Category, and then make it difficult for others to use
click the category you want. your code.

Click the down arrow to the right

of the search field, select Show
Messages in Category, and then
select Aesthetics and
Readability.

Click the messages that appear as

links for more information. Not all
messages appear as links.
That are warnings Click the down arrow to the right You recall previous warnings that
of the search field, and then select your code generated, but you
Show All Warnings. An cannot remember enough details to
exclamation point in a yellow use the search field to find it. You
triangle indicates a warning want to skim all the warning
message. messages to find a particular one
of interest.

7-19
7 Editor Preferences

To See a List of Perform this action... Example Scenario

Messages ...
Are errors Click the down arrow to the right You want to find a message elicited
of the search field, and then select by a script you worked on
Show All Errors. By default, an X previously. All you can recall is that
in a red dot indicates an error it was an error and it involved
message, . parfor.

Click the down arrow to the right

of the search field, and then select
Show All Errors. Then, type a
space and parfor in the search
field.

The Code Analyzer preference

pane displays only error messages
that contain the word parfor.
Are disabled Click the down arrow to the right You want to see the messages that
of the search field, and then select are disabled by default or you have
Show Disabled Messages. previously disabled.

Example of Searching Messages

To display Code Analyzer error messages that contain the word variable and are
disabled:

1 Click the down arrow in the search field, and then select Show All Errors.

The search field contains severity:error.

2 At the end of the text severity:error, press the Space key, and then type
variable.
3 Click the down arrow in the search field and select Show Disabled Messages.

The search field now contains severity:error variable enabled:false. Only the
messages that fulfill those requirements appear in the Preferences pane.

To restore the list of all messages, click the clear search button .

7-20
 8

Add-Ons

• “Get Add-Ons” on page 8-2

• “Manage Your Add-Ons” on page 8-4
8 Add-Ons

Get Add-Ons
To extend the capabilities of MATLAB and gain additional functionality for specific tasks
and application, use add-ons. You can find and install add-ons using the Add-On Explorer.

To open the Add-On Explorer, go to the Home tab and in the Environment section, click

the Add-Ons icon.

Find add-ons by browsing through available categories on the left side of the Add-On
Explorer window, or by using the search bar.

Click an add-on to open its detailed information page. From this page you can:

• View additional information about the add-on, such as included files and available
documentation.
• Install the add-on.

After you install an add-on, MATLAB manages the MATLAB path for you. Therefore, you
can start using an add-on without adjusting your desktop environment.

8-2
 See Also

Note When installing a MathWorks product add-on, additional required products are
installed automatically. For all other add-ons, you must install additional required
products manually.

Install Add-Ons Manually

You can choose to install some add-ons manually. Installing an add-on manually is helpful
if the add-on is not available for installation through the Add-On Explorer. For example,
you could create a custom add-on yourself or receive one from someone else.

To install an add-on manually, double-click the add-on installation file in the MATLAB
Current Folder browser. An installer opens to guide you through the installation process.
Valid installation files include .mltbx files (toolboxes), .mlappinstall files (apps),
and .mlpkginstall files (hardware support packages).

For some add-ons, you also can download the add-on from the Add-On Explorer without
installing it. Downloading an add-on without installing it is useful if you want to install the
add-on on a system without an internet connection. To download the add-on, select
Install > Download Only. Then install the add-on manually by double-clicking the
downloaded file in the MATLAB Current Folder browser

See Also

Related Examples
• “Manage Your Add-Ons” on page 8-4

8-3
8 Add-Ons

Manage Your Add-Ons

In this section...
“Run Apps” on page 8-5
“Default Add-Ons Installation Folder” on page 8-5

You can view and manage installed add-ons using the Add-On Manager. To open the Add-

On Manager, go to the Home tab and select Add-Ons > Manage Add-Ons. The Add-
On Manager displays all add-ons that are properly installed in the add-ons installation
folder, as well as MATLAB products and hardware support packages.

To manage an individual add-on, click the options button to the right of the add-on and
select from the available options. Options include:

Option Description Additional Details

Open Folder Open the folder location. This option is only avail
functions, collections, a
Open Documentation Open the documentation for the add-
on, if available.
View in Add-on Explorer View the add-on in the Add-on
Explorer window.
View Getting Started Guide View the Getting Started guide. This option is only avail
include a Getting Starte
Setup Set up the add-on. This option is only avail
additional setup is requ
Version View and select the currently enabled MATLAB displays a che
version of the add-on. currently enabled versi
version number to enab
installed versions of the

This option is only avail

multiple versions instal
about installing multipl
matlab.addons.inst

8-4
 Manage Your Add-Ons

Option Description Additional Details

Enabled Enable or disable the add-on. This option is only avail
functions, collections, a

This option is useful if y

MATLAB environment.
disable the add-on usin
matlab.addons.enab
matlab.addons.disa
Uninstall Uninstall the add-on.

Run Apps
To run an app after you install it, go to the Apps tab and expand the apps gallery by
clicking the down arrow on the far right. Then, navigate to your installed app and click
the icon. Custom apps that you write or receive from someone else appear in the My
Apps section. You can run multiple custom apps concurrently, including multiple
instances of the same app.

Default Add-Ons Installation Folder

Add-On Type Default Installation Folder
MathWorks products matlabroot
Hardware support packages and some additional Custom location. For more information, see the do
packages support package.

8-5
8 Add-Ons

Add-On Type Default Installation Folder

All others Windows— C:\Users\username\AppData\Roa
Add-Ons

Linux — ~/MATLAB Add-Ons.

Mac — ~/Library/Application Support/Ma

Ons

To change the default folder:

1 On the Home tab, in the Environment sectio

MATLAB > Add-Ons.
2 In the Installation Folder field, specify a fol
have write access.

Note If you change this folder, add-ons installed i

folder are no longer accessible from within MATL

In MATLAB Online, all supported MathWorks products and support packages are pre-
installed and reinstalling them is not supported. The default installation folder for all
other add-ons is /MATLAB Add-Ons. Changing the default installation folder or
customizing installed add-ons is not supported.

See Also

Related Examples
• “Get Add-Ons” on page 8-2

8-6
 9

Internationalization

• “Locale Settings for MATLAB Process” on page 9-2

• “Limitations to International Character Support” on page 9-4
• “Set Locale on Windows Platforms” on page 9-5
• “Set Locale on Mac Platforms” on page 9-7
• “Set Locale on Linux Platforms” on page 9-9
• “Unexpected Behavior on Mac Platforms” on page 9-10
• “Characters Incorrectly Displayed on Windows Systems” on page 9-11
• “datenum Might Not Return Correct Value” on page 9-12
• “Numbers Display Period for Decimal Point” on page 9-13
• “File or Folder Names Incorrectly Displayed” on page 9-14
• “Script Compatibility” on page 9-15
• “MATLAB Desktop Language Preference” on page 9-16
• “X Servers and International Keyboard Layouts” on page 9-17
9 Internationalization

Locale Settings for MATLAB Process

In this section...
“Default Locale Setting” on page 9-3
“Supported Character Set” on page 9-3
“Platform-Specific Localized Formats for Current Folder Browser” on page 9-3

The locale setting defines the language of your user interface and the display formats for
information like time, date, and currency. MATLAB uses the user-specified locale on all
platforms.

If MATLAB does not correctly display characters in your language, you might have a
locale setting problem. Locale is composed of individual settings which you can control.
Each platform uses different parameters to specify the locale setting. The following terms
are relevant to understanding locale settings.

• locale — Format: language_territory.codeset

For example, for the U.S. English locale setting en_US.US-ASCII, en means that the
display language is English. US indicates that time and date displays use U.S.
conventions. US-ASCII is the coded character set (codeset) used to display text.
• character set — Set of characters that make up a language used by a region. The
MATLAB supported character set is the character set specified by the user locale
setting.
• codeset — Abbreviation for coded character set. A set of characters with a unique
numerical value assigned to each character.
• encoding — Scheme for assigning numerical values to a character set to create a
codeset.
• 7-bit ASCII — Either the codeset or the characters contained in that codeset. There
are 128 characters, which include letters, digits, symbols, control characters, and
graphics characters. The term ASCII in MathWorks documentation is the same as 7-bit
ASCII.
• Unicode — Character codeset. Excerpt from the unicode.org website: “Unicode®
provides a unique number for every character, no matter what the platform, no matter
what the program, no matter what the language.”
• user locale setting — Setting on your computer that specifies the locale that you want
to use when running MATLAB. If your user-specified locale is not supported, MATLAB
uses the default locale en_US_POSIX.US-ASCII.

9-2
 See Also

• system locale setting — Setting on Microsoft Windows platforms. The user locale and
system locale must be the same value. If these values are not the same, you might see
garbled text or incorrectly displayed characters.
• i18n — Short for the word internationalization, where 18 stands for the number
of letters between the letters i and n.

Default Locale Setting

MATLAB does not support every locale setting. If the user-specified locale is unsupported,
MATLAB uses the default locale en_US_POSIX.US-ASCII, also known as C locale.

Supported Character Set

MATLAB supports the character set specified by the user locale setting.

Platform-Specific Localized Formats for Current Folder

Browser
In the Current Folder Browser, MATLAB usually uses platform-neutral localized formats
and rules. You can, however, use the operating system short date format to control the
format for displaying file date and time data.

See Also

Related Examples
• “Set Locale on Windows Platforms” on page 9-5
• “Set Locale on Mac Platforms” on page 9-7
• “Set Locale on Linux Platforms” on page 9-9

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9 Internationalization

Limitations to International Character Support

MATLAB does not support non 7-bit ASCII characters in the following features:

• MATLAB C/C++ and Fortran engine library functions and the loadlibrary function
cannot find files located in folder names that contain non 7-bit ASCII characters.
• MATLAB C/C++ and Fortran engine library functions and the calllib function used
to call C library functions cannot convert Unicode-compatible input arguments of type
char* to MATLAB character arrays.
• The matlab.wsdl.createWSDLClient function cannot read non 7-bit ASCII
characters in Web Services Description Language (WSDL) documents.

When you have a file containing text that has characters in a different encoding than that
of your platform, when you save or publish your file, MATLAB displays those characters
as garbled text.

9-4
 Set Locale on Windows Platforms

Set Locale on Windows Platforms

MATLAB reads the user locale and system locale on Windows platforms. The user locale
and system locale must be the same value. If these values are not the same, you might see
garbled text or incorrectly displayed characters.

MATLAB does not support every locale setting. If your locale is not supported, MATLAB
uses the default locale en_US_POSIX.US-ASCII, also known as C locale.

When you change the system locale, restart your system; otherwise, you might see
unexpected behaviors.

Locale on Windows 10 Platforms

To open the Control Panel, use Microsoft Windows 10 documentation.

1 From Clock, Language, and Region, select Change date, time or number
formats.
2 On the Formats tab, select a target locale from the Format drop-down list, and then
click Apply. This action sets the user locale.
3 On the Administrative tab, click the Change system locale... button.
4 Select a target locale from the Current system locale drop-down list. This action
sets the system locale.
5 Exit each dialog box by clicking the Ok buttons.
6 Restart the system.

Locale on Windows 8 Platforms

To open the Control Panel, use Microsoft Windows 8 documentation.

User Locale

1 From the Control Panel, select Clock, Language, and Region > Region.
2 Open Formats tab.
3 Select a target locale from the Format drop-down list.

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9 Internationalization

System Locale

1 From the Control Panel, select Clock, Language, and Region > Region.
2 Open Administrative tab.
3 Look in the Language for non-Unicode programs section.
4 Click Change system locale... button.
5 Select a target locale from the Current system locale drop-down list.
6 Restart the system.

Locale on Windows 7 Platforms

User Locale

1 Select Start > Control Panel > Clock, Language, and Region > Region and
Language.
2 Open Formats tab.
3 Select a target locale from the Format drop-down list.

System Locale

1 Select Start > Control Panel > Clock, Language, and Region > Region and
Language.
2 Open Administrative tab.
3 Look in the Language for non-Unicode programs section.
4 Click Change system locale... button.
5 Select a target locale from the Current system locale drop-down list.
6 Restart the system.

9-6
 Set Locale on Mac Platforms

Set Locale on Mac Platforms

On the Apple macOS platform, MATLAB reads the user locale setting. MATLAB
automatically chooses a codeset for each combination of language and territory.

If you customize the locale setting, MATLAB ignores the customized portion. MATLAB
ignores the LANG environment variable and the Terminal application locale setting.

MATLAB does not support every locale setting. If your locale is not supported, MATLAB
uses the default locale en_US_POSIX.US-ASCII, also known as C locale.

To view or set the region on Mac OS X 10.10:

1 Select System Preferences >Language & Region.

2 Select a region and country from Region.

To set the Primary language:

1 In the Language & Region dialog box, either drag an existing item to the top of the
Preferred languages list, or select the + button to add a language and then drag
the language to the top.
2 MATLAB detects the latest setting; you do not need to restart your system.

Changing the preferred language might change the locale to a value that MATLAB does
not support. When this happens, you might see garbled text or incorrect characters. To fix
this problem, change the Format language value:

1 In the Language & Region dialog box, change the Preferred languages value to
the original value.
2 Click the Advanced... button, and make note of the Format language value.
3 Click OK.
4 Change the Preferred languages value back to your preferred language.
5 Click the Advanced... button again. If the Format language value changed, reselect
the original language value.

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9 Internationalization

See Also

External Websites
• Why does MATLAB fail to load my preferred language on macOS Sierra?

9-8
 Set Locale on Linux Platforms

Set Locale on Linux Platforms

Use the LANG environment variable to specify the locale to be used by MATLAB.

MATLAB does not support every locale setting. If your locale is not supported, MATLAB
uses the default locale en_US_POSIX.US-ASCII, also known as C locale.

See Also

More About
• “Numbers Display Period for Decimal Point” on page 9-13

9-9
9 Internationalization

Unexpected Behavior on Mac Platforms

If you customize the locale setting, MATLAB ignores the customized portion.

MATLAB ignores the LANG environment variable and the Terminal application locale
setting.

See Also

Related Examples
• “Set Locale on Mac Platforms” on page 9-7

9-10
 Characters Incorrectly Displayed on Windows Systems

Characters Incorrectly Displayed on Windows Systems

The user locale and system locale must be the same value on the Microsoft Windows
platform. If these values are not the same, you might see garbled text or incorrect
characters.

See Also

Related Examples
• “Set Locale on Windows Platforms” on page 9-5

9-11
9 Internationalization

datenum Might Not Return Correct Value

The results of the datenum function vary depending on the locale. To ensure the correct
calculation of functions using date values associated with files and folders, replace
datenum function calls with the use of the dir function datenum field.

For example, look at the modification date of your MATLAB license_agreement.txt

file:

cd(matlabroot)
f = dir('license_agreement.txt')

MATLAB displays information similar to:

f =

name: 'license_agreement.txt'
date: '10-May-2015 17:48:22'
bytes: 5124
isdir: 0
datenum: 7.3317e+005

If your code uses the date field of the dir command, similar to:

n = datenum(f.date);

replace it with the datenum field:

n = f.datenum;

See Also
dir

9-12
 Numbers Display Period for Decimal Point

Numbers Display Period for Decimal Point

MATLAB reads the user locale for all categories except for the numeric category (which
is equivalent with LC_NUMERIC). This category controls numeric data formatting and
parsing. MATLAB always sets LC_NUMERIC to the C locale.

MATLAB uses a period for a decimal point, regardless of the format specified by the user
locale. For example, the value of pi can be displayed as 3,1416 or 3.1416, depending on
the format used by a locale. MATLAB always displays 3.1416.

The MATLAB language reserves the use of commas to the cases described in the Symbol
Reference topic.

See Also

More About
• Symbol Reference: Comma

9-13
9 Internationalization

File or Folder Names Incorrectly Displayed

On Windows and Linux platforms, characters used in file or folder names must be in the
supported character set.

On Mac platforms, for files and folders used by MATLAB, characters in the file or folder
name must be in the 7-bit ASCII character set.

See Also

More About
• “Locale Settings for MATLAB Process” on page 9-2

9-14
 Script Compatibility

Script Compatibility
Non-7-bit ASCII characters in plain text files, such as MATLAB scripts or functions,
created with one locale setting might not be compatible with a different locale setting.
This can happen when a script written on a Windows platform is run on a Linux platform,
because the platforms use different default locale settings.

For example, if you create a script with the ja_JP.UTF-8 locale setting on a Linux system,
the script might not be compatible when executed on a Windows platform with the
Japanese_Japan.932 locale setting.

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9 Internationalization

MATLAB Desktop Language Preference

MathWorks provides localized versions of MATLAB for selected non-English platforms.
For these products only, you can choose the language in which the MATLAB desktop
appears. Desktop items (such as dialog boxes, button names, and menu items) and error
and warning messages appear in the language that you select. For information about this
preference, see the Desktop language (selected non-English systems only) option in the
General Preferences panel. If you change the preference, the change applies only to the
MATLAB desktop.

Most desktop elements and Apps use the language selected in the Desktop language
preference. However, system dialog messages, such as file selectors or color pickers, use
the operating system display language.

See Also

More About
• “General Preferences” on page 2-42

9-16
 X Servers and International Keyboard Layouts

X Servers and International Keyboard Layouts

Simulink requires the XKEYBOARD extension to detect the keyboard layout that is
currently active. Some older X servers do not support this extension. If this extension is
absent or disabled, then Simulink assumes a default layout. When the default layout does
not match the keyboard layout, some keys might not produce the expected characters.

Suppose you are using a Linux based computer with a German keyboard. Without the
XKEYBOARD extension, Simulink uses the default layout, which is English, and can
therefore produce incorrect characters. MATLAB correctly recognizes the keyboard as
German.

If you encounter this issue, try enabling the XKEYBOARD extension, or use an X server that
supports this extension.

9-17
 10

MATLAB Online
10 MATLAB Online

Share and Restore Files in MATLAB Online

Share Folders in MATLAB Online

MATLAB Online provides access to MATLAB from a standard web browser. In MATLAB
Online, you can share files and folders with others who have access to MATLAB Online.

Allow Others to View Your Files

To share files with others who have access to MATLAB Online:

1 In your home folder, create a folder to contain the files you want to share.

The path to your home folder is /users/youruserid, where youruserid is the

identifier you defined the first time you logged in to MATLAB Online. Your user ID
appears in the Current Folder browser, as shown here.

2 Populate the folder by creating, uploading, or moving files.

3 In the Current Folder browser, select the folder name, right-click, and select Share.
The Sharing dialog box opens.

4 Click edit. Enter the email addresses or user IDs of the people with whom you want
to share the files in that folder. When sharing with more than one person, enter each
address or ID on a new line, or separate them with a comma, space, or semicolon.

10-2
 Share and Restore Files in MATLAB Online

Note MATLAB only recognizes the email addresses and user IDs of people who have
previously logged in to MATLAB Online.
5 Click OK.

To stop sharing files with others, open the Sharing dialog box and delete the IDs of the
people who should not view the files. Alternatively, delete the files or the folder.

View Another Person's Files

When someone shares a folder with you, the folder appears within the Shared subfolder
of your home folder, as shown here.

10-3
10 MATLAB Online

For example, suppose that your user ID is youruserid, and a colleague whose user ID is
yourprofessor shared with you a folder named Engineering-101. The path to the
folder is

/users/youruserid/Shared/yourprofessor/Engineering-101

Although you cannot change the contents of the folder, you can perform any of these
operations:

• Open and view program files in the Editor.

• Run or publish program files.
• Download files.
• Copy files to a location outside the Shared folder using the copyfile function.

Note Sometimes files shared with you have the same names as files you created. For
information on how MATLAB deals with multiple files that have the same name, see “Files
and Folders that MATLAB Accesses” on page 6-36.

Restore Previous Versions of Files in MATLAB Online

Each time you save a program file, MATLAB stores the contents of your program in the
version history. To recover a previous version of a file, select the File Versions tab.

The file version history appears, as shown in the following figure.

Browse for the file you want by selecting from the list, or by clicking Older or Newer.
When you find the file, click Restore as Latest. MATLAB adds the restored file to the top
of your history with a new timestamp and version number.

10-4