MATLAB: Does starting MATLAB from the desktop shortcut or start menu fail saying MATLAB is not found

MATLAB

When trying to start MATLAB from the desktop icon or shortcut, or when going into my start menu, Windows says that matlab.exe cannot be found.

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If the MATLAB shortcut or start menu entry that is created by the installer indicates that the matlab.exe cannot be found, antivirus may have quarantined or deleted the matlab.exe file. To find out for certain, open your antivirus software and check for any recent notifications or actions that your antivirus has taken on your computer.

You can also check to see if MATLAB will start if you find and execute the matlab.exe file directly. To find where your installation of MATLAB has the matlab.exe file, right click on the desktop shortuct or start menu icon and click on "properties". Check the 'target' field for the location of matlab.exe. Note that most MATLAB versions put the matlab.exe file in the bin folder where you chose to install MATLAB. Browse to this file and see if it is present. If it is, try double clciking on it. If it is not there or continues to say that the file is not found, then it is likely the file has been quaranteened or deleted by your anitvirus.

For further assistance on configuring your antivirus, contact your IT department or anitvirus manufacturer.

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MATLAB: The directory name is invalid

I would delete the current desktop icon first.

Then in File Explorer, navigate to C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2016a\bin then right-click on matlab.exe then in the menu that pops up, go to Send To and choose Desktop (create shortcut).

That should produce a working desktop icon to replace the non-functioning one.

MATLAB: What is the default location of the MATLAB preferences directory

Within this directory you will find the folder containing MATLAB preferences. If you are using an individual license you will also find the MATLAB license folder. Each release of MATLAB installed on your machine will have a corresponding preferences and licenses folder.

Windows:

C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\MathWorks\MATLAB

In this example, replace with your username. Windows has a shortcut to take you right to the Roaming folder, and it is:

%appdata%

Enter this shortcut in the search field located in your Start Menu (Windows 7), Start Screen (Windows 8.1) or Taskbar (Windows 10) and hit enter to jump right to the relevant Roaming folder.

Mac

~/Library/Application Support/MathWorks/MATLAB

On macOS, ~/Library/ is a hidden folder, so entering this path into the “Go To Folder…” prompt located in the “Go” menu is the fastest way to get to this folder.

If you are using R2016a or earlier, see the “Linux” section of this article instead. Prior to R2016b, MATLAB stored the preferences directory on Linux and macOS in the same place.

Linux

   ~/.matlab/

This also applies to macOS on R2016a and earlier.

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MATLAB: The directory name is invalid

MATLAB: What is the default location of the MATLAB preferences directory

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