{"id":2723,"date":"2011-04-01T14:15:23","date_gmt":"2011-04-01T14:15:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.mathworks.com\/pick\/2011\/04\/01\/be-absolute-about-your-relative-path-with-getfullpath\/"},"modified":"2016-11-11T05:35:16","modified_gmt":"2016-11-11T10:35:16","slug":"be-absolute-about-your-relative-path-with-getfullpath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.mathworks.com\/pick\/2011\/04\/01\/be-absolute-about-your-relative-path-with-getfullpath\/","title":{"rendered":"Be Absolute about your Relative Path with GetFullPath"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jiro<\/a>'s pick this week is GetFullPath<\/tt><\/a> by Jan<\/a>.\r\n <\/p>\r\n

Jan is no stranger to good File Exchange entries. I've already highlighted two of his entries before (cryptAES<\/a> and AutoWarnDlg<\/a>). This one is a very handy utility for those working with files in different directories and needing an easy way to get absolute\r\n path names from relative or partial names. I'm a little embarrassed to say that I didn't see the pain I was having until I\r\n came across Jan's entry. In various MATLAB programs, I have used code that looked like this. I'm using fileparts<\/tt><\/a> to go up directories and fullfile<\/tt><\/a> to construct paths.\r\n <\/p>

curDir   = pwd\r\nmainDir  = fileparts(fileparts(curDir));            % go up 2 directories<\/span>\r\nimgFile1 = fullfile(mainDir, 'Internal'<\/span>, 'GoogleMap.png'<\/span>)\r\n\r\n% Check that the file exists<\/span>\r\nassert(exist(imgFile1, 'file'<\/span>) == 2, 'File does not exist'<\/span>)<\/pre>
curDir =\r\nC:\\MyStuff\\Work\\NoCopy\\Blog\\POTW\\FullPath\r\nimgFile1 =\r\nC:\\MyStuff\\Work\\NoCopy\\Blog\\Internal\\GoogleMap.png\r\n<\/pre>
I can use relative path along with fullfile<\/tt>, but the result looks kind of messy:\r\n   <\/p>
imgFile2 = fullfile(curDir, '..'<\/span>, '..'<\/span>, 'Internal'<\/span>, 'GoogleMap.png'<\/span>)\r\n\r\n% Check that the file exists<\/span>\r\nassert(exist(imgFile2, 'file'<\/span>) == 2, 'File does not exist'<\/span>);<\/pre>
imgFile2 =\r\nC:\\MyStuff\\Work\\NoCopy\\Blog\\POTW\\FullPath\\..\\..\\Internal\\GoogleMap.png\r\n<\/pre>
With Jan's GetFullPath<\/tt>, I get exactly what I want, with a simple, familiar syntax:\r\n   <\/p>
imgFile3 = GetFullPath('..\\..\\Internal\\GoogleMap.png'<\/span>)\r\n\r\n% Check that the file exists<\/span>\r\nassert(exist(imgFile3, 'file'<\/span>) == 2, 'File does not exist'<\/span>);<\/pre>
imgFile3 =\r\nC:\\MyStuff\\Work\\NoCopy\\Blog\\Internal\\GoogleMap.png\r\n<\/pre>
If you're familiar with some of Jan's entries, he has included a fast C-Mex version of the code (Windows-only), but for people\r\n      like me who breathe MATLAB, the .m version is enough to evoke a smile. He also includes a unit test suite for his function,\r\n      which is always a good practice.\r\n   <\/p>\r\n   
Comments<\/b><\/p>\r\n   
Let us know what you think here<\/a> or leave a comment<\/a> for Jan.\r\n   <\/p>