MATLAB: Is it possible to start multiple MATLAB sessions on a Mac OS X in MATLAB 7.7 (R2008b)

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If MATLAB is already open and I double-click on its icon in my Applications folder, it does not create a new session and simply activates the existing one.

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This enhancement has been incorporated in Release 2012a (R2012a). For previous product releases, read below for any possible workarounds:

Starting with MATLAB R2012a, this capability is included in the MATLAB Dock Menu. From the MATLAB Dock Menu, it is possible to select the option "Open Additional Instance of MATLAB".

For previous versions of MATLAB, read below:

In MATLAB 7.7 (R2008b), the MATLAB icon in the Applications folder is a .APP file (and not a folder as in previous versions) and double-clicking this file will start a new MATLAB session only when there is no MATLAB session already running.

To work around the behavior, you can create an alias to the UNIX executable MATLAB file found in the "bin" folder of the MATLAB root directory. The steps to achieve the above are provided below:

1. Right-click on the MATLAB application found in the Applications folder and select "Open Package Contents".

2. Then navigate to the "bin" folder. Right-click on the UNIX executable file (named "MATLAB") and select "Make Alias". This creates the shortcut in the current directory.

3. Additionally, you may move this newly created Alias file to a location of your choice.

4. You may also change the icon of this Alias file to the standard MATLAB icon with the following steps:

a. Select the MATLAB icon found in the Applications folder and select File > Get Info.

b. In the palette which opened, select the MATLAB icon found in the top-left corner of the palette.

c. Select Edit > Copy

d. Select the Alias file and select File > Get Info.

e. In the palette which opened, select the Alias icon found in the top-left corner of the palette.

f. Select Edit > Paste

5. To have terminal windows close when the command is complete, follow the below steps:

a. Go to Terminal -> Preferences..

b. Select Settings

c. Select Shell

d. Change the dropdown labeled "When the shell exits:" to the value "Close if the shell exited cleanly"

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This bug has been fixed in Release 14 Service Pack 3 (R14SP3). For previous product releases, read below for any possible workarounds:

This is a bug in MATLAB 7.0 (R14) in the way that the Current Directory Browser window refreshes.

To work around this issue, right-click on the Current Directory Browser and choose "Refresh" at the bottom of the menu to update the icons after you sort the files.

MATLAB: Do I receive an error when I open a FIG-file in MATLAB from Windows Explorer

You may receive an error when opening a FIG-file from Windows if the file association is improperly linked.

This can be solved by reinstalling MATLAB, or by changing the setting manually. The following example demonstrates how to change the setting manually in Windows 2000.

1. Open "My Computer" and choose "Tools\Folder Options" from the pulldown menus.

2. Choose the "File Types" tab from the window that comes up.

3. Choose "FIG MATLAB figure file" from the "Registered file types" menu.

4. Click the Advanced button at the bottom right.

5. Click "New..." and type "openfig" in the "Action" field.

6. Type

 $MATLAB\bin\win32\matlab.exe -r open('"%1"')

where $MATLAB is the path to your MATLAB installation, in the "Application used to perform action" field.

7. Leave "Use DDE" unchecked and click "OK".

8. Select the new action you created ("openfig") and click "Set Default".

9. Click "OK" on both of the windows you opened.

Now the FIG-file should open properly in MATLAB when you double-click on it. Opening a MATLAB file from the Windows Explorer will always bring up a new instance of MATLAB. The way to work around this is to open files from the Current Directory Browser in MATLAB. Toggle that by choosing "View\Current Directory" from the pulldown menu within MATLAB.

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