MATLAB: Is the current folder different when I start MATLAB R2017a

defaultfolderMATLABr2017astartupuserpathworking

Up to R2016b, MATLAB would start with C:\Users\myUser\Documents\MATLAB as the working folder. However, when I start MATLAB R2017a, the working folder is different. Why is that?

Best Answer

There has been a change in MATLAB R2017a which affects the MATLAB startup folder.

Up to R2016b, the default startup folder is set to the "userpath" variable, which is C:\Users\...\Documents\MATLAB for Windows. Starting with R2017a, the default startup folder will be the last folder you were working in.

If you wish to change this setting, you can do so by clicking on "Preferences" in the "HOME" tab of the top ribbon, going to MATLAB\General, and changing the "Initial Working Folder" value from "Last working folder from previous MATLAB session" to "C:\Users\...\Documents\MATLAB"

According to the new default setting, if you closed MATLAB while working in C:\windows\system32, then that is the folder MATLAB will start in when you start it again.

Alternatively, you might be getting this behavior because of the configuration for the icon you use to start MATLAB. Please right-click on the icon and select Preferences, and make sure that the option for "Start In:" is blank. If this option is set to a directory, MATLAB will ignore your startup folder preferences and start in the directory specified in the shortcut icon.

Related Solutions

MATLAB: How to move the ‘pathdef.m’ file from its default location to another location in MATLAB 8.1 (R2013a)

The ability to select an arbitrary location for the MATLAB path file 'pathdef.m' is not available in MATLAB 8.1 (R2013a). One possible workaround is detailed below.

By default, the 'pathdef.m' file may be located in either the '$MATLABROOT/toolbox/local' directory or the '$USERPATH' directory, where $MATLABROOT and $USERPATH are the directories displayed after entering the commands

matlabroot

and

userpath

at the MATLAB command line respectively.

The 'pathdef.m' file can be manually copied from either of these directories and placed in an arbitrary directory. To use the copied 'pathdef.m' file at initialization, create a MATLAB file titled 'startup.m' and place it in the '$USERPATH' directory. Copy the lines of code below to the file. If a 'startup.m' file already exists in '$USERPATH', add the lines of code to the end of the file:

% save starting directory
startdir = pwd ;
% specify arbitrary directory containing pathdef.m
pathdir = '<MODIFY>' ;
% change directory so that target 'pathdef.m' has highest precedence
% in the MATLAB search path
cd(pathdir)
% set the MATLAB search path using PATH
path(pathdef)
% change directory back to the starting directory
cd(startdir)

Make sure to modify the string marked "MODIFY" in the above code to the directory to which the 'pathdef.m' file was copied. The 'startup.m' script will be automatically executed upon MATLAB initialization.

MATLAB: How to change the default working folder

Open MATLAB preferences: Click on the top bar or type preferences in a command window. Go to General > Initial working folder. Specify the required folder you want to have at MATLAB startup.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

MATLAB: How to move the ‘pathdef.m’ file from its default location to another location in MATLAB 8.1 (R2013a)

MATLAB: How to change the default working folder

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