MATLAB: Do the COPYFILE and MOVEFILE functions fail, but return no message or message ID in MATLAB 6.5 (R13)

copyfilefailMATLABmessagemovefile

Why do the COPYFILE and MOVEFILE functions fail, but return no message or message ID in MATLAB 6.5 (R13)?

I am trying to use COPYFILE to copy a file in my current working directory:

[success,msg,msgid] = copyfile('file1.m','file2.m');

The copy fails, but the return values for "msg" and "msgid" are empty strings. I experience the same behavior with MOVEFILE. How can I determine what caused the problem?

Best Answer

This is a bug in the FILEATTRIB function, which is called by functions such as COPYFILE and MOVEFILE, in MATLAB 6.5 (R13). Our development staff is investigating this issue.

Currently, to work around this issue, use your system's copy command directly, with the SYSTEM function.

On Unix/Linux:

system(['cp -r ' Source ' ' Destination])

On Windows:

system(['copy ' Source ' '  Destination])

where "Source" is the source file, and "Destination" is the destination location. Check the system documentation for more information on the options available with their copy commands.

Related Solutions

MATLAB: Is MATLAB 7.0.4 (R14SP2) unable to recognize the files, when I use the COPYFILE command in the script

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

This has been verified as a bug in MATLAB 7.0.4(R14SP2) in the way COPYFILE notifies MATLAB about the changes made to a destination directory.

The followings are some workarounds to resolve the issue:

1. Using an absolute path name:

Use an absolute path name as an input to functions(TYPE in this case) accessing the destination directory as follows:

FullPathTempDir = tempname; 
[temp_dir temp_file] = fileparts(FullPathTempDir); 
mkdir(FullPathTempDir); 
destinationFile = [temp_file,'.m']; 
origPath = addpath(FullPathTempDir); 
copyfile('hSampleDisp.m',fullfile(FullPathTempDir,destinationFile)); 
type(fullfile(FullPathTempDir,destinationFile));

2. Use WHICH or EXIST on the path of the destination directory as follows:

FullPathTempDir = tempname; 
[temp_dir temp_file] = fileparts(FullPathTempDir); 
mkdir(FullPathTempDir); 
destinationFile = [temp_file,'.m']; 
origPath = addpath(FullPathTempDir); 
copyfile('hSampleDisp.m',fullfile(FullPathTempDir,destinationFile)); 
which temp_file
type(temp_file);

3. CD to the directory, in which the file is located, before accessing the file.

MATLAB: Am I unable to copy to root directories of drives when using the COPYFILE function in MATLAB 7.0.1 (R14SP1)

This bug has been fixed in Release 14 Service Pack 2 (R14SP2). For previous releases, read below for any possible workarounds:

There is a bug in MATLAB 7.0.1 (R14SP1) that affects the way the COPYFILE function handles copying to "root" Windows directories on machines with non-English language settings. To work around this issue, you can use the DOS Copy command within MATLAB to copy files to "root" Windows directories as follows.

dos('copy a.mat C:\a.mat');

Best Answer

Related Solutions

MATLAB: Is MATLAB 7.0.4 (R14SP2) unable to recognize the files, when I use the COPYFILE command in the script

MATLAB: Am I unable to copy to root directories of drives when using the COPYFILE function in MATLAB 7.0.1 (R14SP1)

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