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 folder | In the Current Folder browser, right-click in white space, and then select New > Folder. MATLAB creates and selects a folder named | Use the mkdir('parentFolder','newdir'); |
Move a file or folder | In the Current Folder browser, click and drag the item. You cannot move a folder while it is on the search path. | Use the movefile('myfile.m','d:/work'); |
Rename a file or folder | In the Current Folder browser, right-click the item and select Rename. File names must start with a letter, and can contain letters, digits, or underscores. | Use the movefile('myfile.m','oldfile.m'); |
Open a file in MATLAB | On the Home tab, in the File section, click Open , and then select a file to open. 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. | Use the |
Open a file in another program | In the Current Folder browser, 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 contents without opening the file | In the Current Folder browser, right-click the file and select Show Details. The Details Panel expands. Not supported for live scripts and functions. | none |
Delete a file or folder | In the Current Folder browser, select the file or folder and press Delete. By default, MATLAB deletes or recycles files and folders according to your operating system preferences. To permanently remove the selection when the system preference is set to recycle, press Shift+Delete. On Linux® systems, you can request that MATLAB move deleted files to a temporary folder by setting the Deleting files preference. Access this preference on the Home tab, in the Environment section, by clicking Preferences. Select MATLAB > General. | To delete a file, use the delete('myfile.m'); By
default, files are permanently removed. To move deleted files to a
temporary folder instead, use the To delete a folder, use the Note You cannot recover folders deleted using
|
View MATLAB Drive recent activity | In the Current Folder browser, right-click any MATLAB Drive file or folder and select MATLAB Drive > View Recent Activity.... | none |
Open MATLAB Drive online | In the Current Folder browser, right-click any MATLAB Drive file or folder and select MATLAB Drive > Go to MATLAB Drive Online.... | none |
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.
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 supported.
For more information about how to access files in MATLAB Online, see Access Files in MATLAB Online.
See Also
edit
| mkdir
| open
| movefile
| rmdir
| delete
| recycle