Mike on the MATLAB Desktop

March 8th, 2010

Well it’s almost Spring 2010, and that means another installment of MATLAB: MATLAB R2010a (version 7.10) is here! You’ll find the full release notes here. You can also find a video of the new Desktop features here. Below, I’ve called out some of my favorite new and updated Desktop features.

To get this latest release go here, or if you’re using R2008b or later, you can select Help -> Check for Updates.

Be sure to let us know what you think of these new features!

Zip & Unzip from Current Folder

You can now create .zip archive files and unzip them from the Current Folder context menu. This makes it easier to share projects and organize code.

Current Folder indicates if subfolders are on the MATLAB path

The Current folder browser indicates folders and files not on MATLAB path with an adjustable dimming. You can add and remove folders from the path using the context menu. This feature shows you at a glance what’s on or not on the path.

Editor Tab Completion lists variables and functions

The tab completion feature in the Editor now lists subfunctions, nested functions, and local variables in scope from the cursor position, without having to define them first in the workspace. Make sure tab completion is enabled with File -> Keyboard -> Tab Completion.

Plot Selector Supports additional toolboxes

The plot selector now supports plots from additional installed toolboxes including the Curve Fitting Toolbox, Filter Design Toolbox, Image Processing Toolbox, and Signal Processing Toolbox.

File & Folder Comparison new features

File and Folder Comparisons tool received several enhancements this release. File comparisons now highlight changes within lines. New toolbar buttons for stepping through differences. Results are now sortable by name, type, size, timestamp, or change summary. When comparing subfolders, the tool continues analysis in the background

Keyboard shortcut listing and comparing

From the Keyboard Shortcut preferences, you can now export a keyboard shortcut set, so it can be viewed in an external tool. You can also compare two different keyboard shortcut sets with our Comparison tool directly from the preference panel. This is a great way to see what is different between two different sets, especially if you have received a modified set from another user.

Updated Documentation Search

Searching the MATLAB documentation just got a whole lot easier. From the search widget, we now provide a type-ahead list of suggestions. This means you’ll get to your results faster, and more accurately. The search history is also now persistent between MATLAB sessions, and you can also hide the previews in the search results, allowing you see more results in the same space.

Set Java heap size in Preferences

You can now control the amount of memory allocated to the java heap right from File -> Preferences -> General -> Java Heap Memory. I wrote a bit about how Java heap memory last year, and I’ll expand upon that when I get around to talking about this new feature

EDIT (Oct 15, 2010): Updated link to 10a release notes.

By Michael Katz

Mike is a developer on the MATLAB Mobile team. When not describing himself in the third person, biking, homebrewing, or rooting for the home team, he's busy trying to make the world a better place for programming.

15:17 UTC | Posted in Uncategorized | Permalink | 10 Comments »

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10 Responses to “New and Updated Features in R2010a”

1. Ivo replied on March 9th, 2010 at 10:21 UTC :
   

   The second link “here” is wrong. -> New-MATLAB-Development-Environment-Features-in-R2009a.html

2. Mike replied on March 9th, 2010 at 11:13 UTC :
   

   @Ivo,

   Thanks. I updated the post with the new R2010a link. That’s what I get for copying & pasting.

3. Daniel Armyr replied on March 17th, 2010 at 10:30 UTC :
   

   And you forgot the most important new feature of all, the “Tab completion of local variables not on workspace”. Finally!

   –DA

4. Daniel Armyr replied on March 17th, 2010 at 10:31 UTC :
   

   Oh sorry, you did have it in the list. My bad.

5. Mike replied on March 17th, 2010 at 12:29 UTC :
   

   @Daniel,
   We’re glad you’re excited about the new tab completion feature, let us know how you find it.

6. Daniel Armyr replied on March 23rd, 2010 at 12:39 UTC :
   

   @Mike:
   Well, it isnt’ hard-wired into my fingers yet, but so far it does the job.

7. Sven replied on June 1st, 2010 at 19:22 UTC :
   

   Hi Mike,

   Just one question about the 2010a update to do with the Editor.

   Previously the path to the file currently being edited was displayed in the title bar of the Editor

   Previously, it would show “Editor – fullpath/filename.m”, now it only shows “Editor – filename.m” when the editor is docked. Can that be a setting somewhere in the preferences? I often find myself using that indicator to help me locate a MATLAB file on my path somewhere. It took me quite a frustrated while to find out that it only shows the fullpath/filename.m when the editor is *not* in docked mode.

   Thanks,
   Sven.

8. Mike replied on June 2nd, 2010 at 13:18 UTC :
   

   @Sven,
   Please contact technical support.

9. Ernst replied on October 15th, 2010 at 10:16 UTC :
   

   this page links to the most current release notes, not to the r2010a release notes (where can these be found?)

10. Mike replied on October 15th, 2010 at 11:38 UTC :
    

    @Ernst,

    Thanks for letting me know. I tend to forget that we (used to) keep up only the latest version’s doc. Well, now if you have a MathWorks account login you can access old documentation. So the link for the 10a Desktop release notes is here: http://www.mathworks.com/help/releases/R2010a/techdoc/rn/br_03sl.html. I will update the link. Thanks!

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<pre class="code">
a = magic(3);
sum(a)
</pre>

These postings are the author's and don't necessarily represent the opinions of The MathWorks.