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| Learn more about MATLAB |
New features and changes introduced in this version are organized by these topics:
For an overview of the major new features in the MATLAB Desktop Tools and Development Environment area, watch this video demo. Another way to access this and other video demos is to select the Demos tab in the Help browser, and then select MATLAB > New Features in Version 7.7.
New features and changes introduced in Version 7.7 (R2008b) are:
Macintosh Startup and Root Directory Enhancements and Changes
Specifying Address Space Protection During Startup on Windows Platforms
MATLAB for Apple Macintosh platforms is now installed like many other applications for Macintosh platforms, as a Macintosh .app bundle. This has resulted in some enhancements and changes to starting and using MATLAB on Macintosh platforms.
Startup Location. To start MATLAB on the Macintosh platform, double-click the MATLAB_R2008b icon in the Applications folder. This differs from R2008a (V7.6), where you started MATLAB by double-clicking the MATLAB 7.6 icon in the Applications/MATLAB_R2008a folder; there was an additional folder level in R2008a.
Starting MATLAB from a File. You can now start MATLAB by double-clicking a file associated with MATLAB, such as an M-file. Similarly, you can drag a file onto the MATLAB_R2008b icon in the Applications folder or in the dock. These actions start MATLAB and open the file.
Contents of MATLAB Root Directory. When you use file browser GUIs to navigate in the MATLAB root directory, /Applications/MATLAB_R2008b, (known as the matlabroot directory), you cannot directly view or access its contents. For example, when you select File > Open and navigate to Applications/MATLAB_R2008b, no contents display. To access the contents, press Command+Shift+G, and enter the path to the MATLAB root directory in the resulting Go To Folder dialog box, for example, /Applications/MATLAB_R2008b.app.
Similarly, when you select MATLAB_R2008b in the Applications folder using the Finder, you do not see the contents. To access the contents, right-click (or Ctrl+click) MATLAB_R2008b, and from the context menu, select Show Package Contents. For more information, see Using File Browser GUIs on Macintosh Platforms to Navigate Within the MATLAB Root Folder.
Startup Options and the Start MATLAB Settings Dialog Box. You can no longer set startup options using the Start MATLAB Settings dialog box and you can no longer start MATLAB from any .smat files you saved using Start MATLAB Settings. The dialog box is now used only for diagnostics and only appears if MATLAB experiences a problem during startup.
To set the startup directory in MATLAB, use the userpath function. To instruct MATLAB to run a specified statement upon startup, start MATLAB using the matlab command from a shell, as you would to start MATLAB on any UNIX[1] platform. For more information, see Specifying Startup Options for UNIX Platforms.
Starting MATLAB in a Shell. In R2008b (V7.7), to start MATLAB from a shell, enter the path to the executable, /Applications/MATLAB_R2008b.app/bin/matlab. This differs from R2008a (V7.6), in which the path was /Applications/MATLAB_R2008a/bin/matlab.
Compatibility Considerations. The compatibility considerations are described along with the above changes.
MATLAB is now using Sun Microsystems™ JVM™ Version 6 Update 4 software on all platforms, except the Apple Macintosh platform. If you specify a version of Java software to use with MATLAB, this change might impact your work.
When you start MATLAB on Microsoft Windows 32-bit platforms, you can set a startup option to help ensure the largest available contiguous block of memory after startup, which is useful if you run memory-intensive operations, such as processing large data sets. You can use the new -shield startup option to specify different levels of protection of the address space during the MATLAB startup process. This can also help resolve problems if MATLAB fails to start. For more information, see the matlab (Windows) reference page.
When you start MATLAB with the -nojvm startup option, Handle Graphics® functionality will no longer be supported. (The -nojvm option is available for UNIX platforms; see background information at the matlab (UNIX) reference page.)
Some aspects of MATLAB and related products use Handle Graphics in a way that might not be obvious. This includes anything that is based on or works using figures in MATLAB. Here is a summary of the affected features:
Creating figures and performing plotting tasks, such as using the plot, axes, getframe, and gcf functions.
Printing figures and using related functions such as print, hgexport, and saveas.
Creating GUIs in MATLAB using GUI-building functions such as warndlg.
Using Simulink scopes and printing Simulink models.
In MATLAB Version 7.7 (R2008b), if you use the -nojvm startup option and use Handle Graphics functionality, MATLAB produces this warning:
This functionality is no longer supported under the -nojvm startup option.
In a future release, instead of a warning, MATLAB will produce an error when you start with the -nojvm option and use Handle Graphics functionality.
Compatibility Considerations. To avoid the warning, start MATLAB without the -nojvm startup option:
If you have been using the -nojvm startup option to work in a command line environment or because you do not use the MATLAB desktop, use the -nodesktop startup option instead.
If you have been using the -nojvm startup option because of memory or performance benefits, look for other ways to gain those improvements when you start MATLAB without the -nojvm option. See the Performance and Memory Usage topics in the MATLAB Programming Fundamentals documentation.
If you want to continue to use the -nojvm startup option, remove the code that is now producing the warnings.
The matlab command line arguments -memmgr and -check_malloc are deprecated and will be removed in a future release. The environment variable MATLAB_MEM_MGR is also deprecated and will be removed. For information about these options, see matlab (Windows) or matlab (UNIX).
Compatibility Considerations. If you use these options, MATLAB generates a warning message.
New features and changes introduced in Version 7.7 (R2008b) are:
There is a new desktop layout when you select Desktop > Desktop Layout > Default. It includes the same components as the previous default desktop layout, however, they are arranged differently. If you prefer the previous default layout, arrange your desktop in that way and save the layout. You then can reuse the saved layout at any time.
If you have multiple documents open, you can now close a document by clicking the middle mouse button when the pointer is in the document's button on the document bar.
When you open the Preferences dialog box, it displays the last preference pane you viewed in the current session. In prior versions, the Preferences dialog box displayed the pane associated with the tool from which you accessed it.
You now can specify that the desktop text font use the system default font. To do this, select File > Preferences > Fonts. Then, for Desktop text font, select Use system font. For more information, click the Help button in the Fonts Preferences dialog box.
The default settings for the desktop text font and the HTML Proportional Text font have changed. This only affects existing users who choose to use a new preferences file (matlab.prf) in R2008b.
If you want to access the Internet from MATLAB and your network uses a firewall or another means of protection that restricts Internet access and requires you to provide a username and password, use the new proxy server authentication settings in Web preferences to specify the values. For more information, click the Help button in the Web preferences pane, or see Web Preferences.
While you work, you can find the names of functions and get help for them using the new Function Browser. The Function Browser is useful if you want to find a function whose name you cannot remember, determine if there are functions that do what you want, or view the reference page for a function. The Function Browser uses a subset of the information found in the function reference pages in the Help browser for quick access while you work.
To access the Function Browser, press Shift+F1,
or if you are in the Command Window or Editor, click the Function
Browser button
. The Function Browser opens. You can
specify the products to look in, browse categories of functions, and
search for words that appear in function reference pages. For more
information, see Finding Functions Using the Function Browser.
While you enter statements in the Command Window and Editor, you can view the allowable input argument syntax for a function in a pop-up window. This feature is called function hints. To use function hints:
Type the function name, followed by the left parenthesis, (, and pause. The syntax for input arguments automatically displays in a pop-up window near the statement you are entering.
The arguments you can enter appear in bold. Enter your first argument and type a comma ( , ) after it. The syntax options in the pop-up window then change, based on the argument you just entered.
Continue entering arguments, using the hints as needed. You can dismiss the function hints pop-up window at any time by pressing Esc. When you type the closing parenthesis, ), or when there are no more arguments to enter, the pop-up window automatically closes.
The following illustration shows function hints for the plot function.
To turn off the function hints feature so the pop-up menu does not automatically display the syntax reminders when you type an opening parenthesis, use Keyboard preferences; for Function Hints, clear the check box that enables them.
For more information, see Viewing Function Syntax Hints While Entering a Statement.
There are two new features that provide help while you work:
Use the new Function Browser to find function names while you work. It is most useful in the Command Window and Editor, but you can access it from any tool. For more information, see Find Function Names and Get Help Using the New Function Browser.
Use function hints to help you complete syntax for statements in the Command Window or Editor. For more information, see View Syntax Hints While Entering Statements.
If you create your own class definition files in MATLAB and you provide help in the classdef M-file for the class, properties, and methods, you can conveniently view the help in the Help browser by running doc classname. For more information, see Providing Help for Classes You Create. The following example shows class information in the Help browser for the user-created class, sads, displayed by running
doc sads
The Find dialog box is now available from the small help windows used for the Help on Selection feature and for context-sensitive help. The find feature is useful when you want to search for a specific word or phrase within one of these help windows. To access the Find dialog box:
In a window used for the Help on Selection feature,
press Ctrl+F on Windows and UNIX platforms
or Cmd+F on Macintosh platforms. You can also
click the Find text
button
In a context-sensitive help window, press Ctrl+F on Windows and UNIX platforms, and Cmd+F on Macintosh platforms
For more information about the Help on Selection feature, see Getting Help for a Function Shown in the Command Window or Editor.
You can quickly access the Product Filter from the search field by selecting the down arrow at the right side of the search field and from it, selecting Filter by Product. The Help pane of the Preferences dialog box opens. For more information about the product filter, click the Help button in the dialog box.
As you enter a term in the search field, a history of terms you previously entered in the current session appears. To view the full history, select the down arrow at the right side of the search field and from it, select Show Search History. You can select an item in the search history to rerun the search.
To execute a search, enter the search terms and press Enter. There is no longer a Go button.
New features and changes introduced in Version 7.7 (R2008b) are:
Current Directory Browser Enhanced, Including New Navigation and Grouping Features
Structure Results of dir for Nonexistent Files Now Include Empty Matrices
Semicolon (;) Path Separator Character Now Used on UNIX Platforms
The Current Directory browser includes new ways to navigate and to view the directory contents. There are also new ways to find files, including a new filter field.
Use the new address bar to view the current directory and to view and navigate to subdirectories within the current directory path.
Access common features from the Actions button
on the toolbar.
Add and remove buttons from the toolbar by right-clicking the toolbar and selecting Customize.
List only files whose names contain a specified string by using the new filter field. To show the filter field, use File > Preferences > Current Directory.
In the Details pane at the bottom of the tool, view a list of elements in the selected file, such as subfunctions in an M-file. Double-click an element to open the file at the location of the element.
For a MAT-file, drag selected variables from the Details pane to the Workspace browser to load them into MATLAB. Similarly, save workspace variables to a MAT-file by dragging them from the Workspace browser to the Current Directory browser.
Group items in the current directory, that is, view related items together. From the Actions button, select Group By and select the attribute you want to group by.
Some of the major changes are highlighted in the following illustrations.
For more information, see Managing Files in MATLAB.
Compatibility Considerations. The following aspects of using the Current Directory browser are different in Version 7.7 (R2008b) than in the previous version. Following is a table of what changed and the way to perform the same action in Version 7.7.
| Change | What To Do Instead In Version 7.7 (R2008b) |
|---|---|
| The toolbar no longer includes the buttons it previously included. | You can now specify which buttons to include on the toolbar.
You can include the toolbar buttons included in previous versions,
or use these alternatives:
|
| The string display of the full path for the current directory has been replaced by the address bar view. | You can still access the string display, which can be useful if you want to copy it or edit it directly. To access the string, click the blank area to the right of the last subdirectory in the address bar. To return to the address bar view, press the Escape key. |
| You do not select attributes (columns) to display using Current Directory Preferences (Browser display options). | Right-click any column header to select or clear the columns to display, such as file size. You can only do this on MicrosoftWindows platforms. |
| The file description no longer appears in a column. | View the description for a selected file in the detail pane. |
| The full help for an M-file no longer appears in the detail pane. | Press F1 to view the reference page for the selected file. |
| You do not elect to show details using Current Directory Preferences (Browser display options). | Use the arrow on the right side of the detail pane separator to show or hide the details. |
| The File Filter options, accessible from the context menu and the View menu, have been removed. | Use the new filter field (use Preferences for the Current Directory browser to show the filter field), or sort by file type (click the document icon header), or group by file type using the new grouping feature (available from the Actions button). |
| The View menu was removed. | Use the new filter field (previously described) to filter the view. For Directory Reports, select Reports from the Actions button on the toolbar. |
| When you look for items in the current directory by typing the initial letters in the name, a pop-up window no longer appears showing the letters that you typed. | As before, the first entry whose name begins with the letters you typed is selected. If you want to see what you type when finding items in the current directory, instead use the filter field. |
When you run dir with an output argument and the results include a nonexistent file or a file that dir cannot query for some other reason, dir now returns empty matrices for the date, bytes, and datenum fields. The most common occurrence is on UNIX platforms when dir queries a file that is a symbolic link and the symbolic link points to a nonexistent target. A nonexistent target is when a target has been moved, removed, or renamed. For example, if my_file in my_dir is a symbolic link to another file that has been deleted, then running
r = dir('my_dir')includes this result for my_file:
r(n) = name: 'my_file' date: '' bytes: [] isdir: 0 datenum: []
where n is the index for my_file, found by searching r by the name field.
With empty matrices returned, code you write to use the results of dir can be simpler and more robust. For more information, see the reference page for the dir function.
Compatibility Considerations. In previous versions, dir returned inappropriate values for files that could not be queried:
r(n) = name: 'my_file' date: '18-Jan-2038 22:14:07' bytes: 0 isdir: 0 datenum: 7.4438e+05
If you have existing M-files that rely on the results of dir for a file that could not be queried, your code might not produce the result it used to. If you write new code that depends on the new results for dir and run it in a previous version of MATLAB, it might not produce the results you expect. In either case, there will probably not be a warning or error.
Rearrange, add, or remove buttons and other controls from the Workspace Browser toolbar using File > Preferences > Toolbars. Alternatively, right-click the toolbar and select Customize from the context menu. By default, the Print button is not on the toolbar.
For more information on customizing the toolbar, see Setting Toolbars Preferences for Desktop Tools.
On UNIX platforms, MATLAB now uses a semicolon (;) as the character that separates directories in the search path file, pathdef.m, which is the character used on Windows platforms. This is beneficial if you work with the contents of the pathdef.m file programmatically on both Windows and UNIX platforms. In versions prior to Version 7.7 (R2008b), MATLAB used the colon (:) character as the path separator on UNIX platforms.
Compatibility Considerations. MATLAB will continue to accept the colon (:) character as a valid path separator on UNIX platforms, so any existing code you have that relies on it will still work.
You will experience a problem if you have any directories that contain a semicolon in their name. You will need to rename the directories to include them on the search path.
New features and changes introduced in Version 7.7 (R2008b) are:
When you create new function M-files and class definition files (classdef), you can start with a template that reminds you to include standard information. Select File > New > Function M-File, or File > New > Class M-File. A new file containing template information opens in the Editor.
While you enter statements in the Editor or Command Window, you can display the syntax for a function in a temporary pop–up window. For more information, see View Syntax Hints While Entering Statements.
You also can find the names of and get help for functions using the new Function Browser—for more information, see Find Function Names and Get Help Using the New Function Browser.
In the Editor, where you can enable a vertical line to indicate a right-hand text limit, you now can set the width and color of the line. Note that the default color for the line is now gray, instead of light red.
Set preferences for the line by selecting File > Preferences > Editor/Debugger > Display, which opens the Preferences dialog box.
Click Help in the Preferences dialog box for more information.
When you press the Home key, the cursor goes to the first nonwhite character on the current line. When you press the Home key twice, the cursor goes to the beginning of the line.
Compatibility Considerations. In versions prior to Version 7.7 (R2008b), the Home key always moved the cursor to the first column of the current line.
You can now suppress a specific M-Lint message throughout an M-file by right-clicking on an M-Lint indicator that elicits the message, and then from the context menu, selecting Suppress All Instances in this File.
For details, see Suppress All Instances of an M-Lint Message in the Current File in the MATLAB Desktop Tools and Development Environment documentation. For information on manually inserting the string that tells M-Lint to suppress the message throughout the file, see the documentation for the mlint function.
An M-Lint message now appears if you previously suppressed a message using the %#ok directive, and that message no longer appears. This can result if the message is already suppressed using preferences (File > Preferences > M-Lint), and the code has changed such that the message is no longer generated, or if the rules M-Lint follows for generating the message have changed. The new message is:
An M-Lint message was suppressed here, but the message no longer appears. Use the context menu to fix.
For an example, see the Suppressing All Messages on a Line with mlint example in the mlint function documentation.
To open an M-Lint Message ToolTip using the keyboard, place the cursor over the marked code and press Ctrl + M. This feature is offered in addition to the identical behavior available when you use the mouse pointer to hover over code that is marked by M-Lint. For an example of viewing an M-Lint message in a ToolTip, see Ways to Use the M-Lint Code Analyzer in the MATLAB Desktop Tools and Development Environment documentation.
To fix a problem marked by M-Lint as having an automatic fix available, place the cursor over the marked code, and then press Alt + Enter. This feature is offered in addition to the identical behavior available when you use the context menu. For an example of using the M-Lint autofix feature, see Ways to Use the M-Lint Code Analyzer in the MATLAB Desktop Tools and Development Environment documentation.
By default, the Editor now supports code folding for single program, multiple data (spmd) blocks. For more information on code folding, see Code Folding — Expanding and Collapsing M-File Constructs in the MATLAB Desktop Tools and Development Environment documentation.
The File and Directory Comparisons Tool now uses shades of colors to mark differences in the contents of two directories being compared. Light colors indicate files that differ and dark colors indicate subdirectories that differ. For details and an example, see Comparing Two Folders in the MATLAB Desktop Tools and Development Environment documentation.
Compatibility Considerations. In releases prior to Version 7.7 (R2008b), the same color intensity highlighted differences in both files and directories.
The Block Indent option will no longer be provided, starting in the next version of MATLAB. Currently, this option is available for M, Java, and C/C++ programming languages, when you select File > Preferences > Editor/Debugger > Language. To attain the effect of block indenting, you can use the No indent option and indent lines manually using the Tab and space keys.
If you have concerns about the pending removal of the Block Indent option, please e-mail Technical Support at support@mathworks.com.
Starting in MATLAB 7.7 (R2008b), on Macintosh platforms, you cannot use file browser GUIs to directly access contents of the MATLAB root directory. For example, when you use File > Open from the Editor, you cannot directly select a file located within matlabroot. For more information, see Contents of MATLAB Root Directory.
You now access Directory Reports by navigating to the directory
containing the M-files for which you want to produce reports. Then,
on the Current Directory browser toolbar, click the Actions down
arrow
and select the type of report you want
to run for all the M-files in the current directory. Note that these
reports are now referred to as Reports, rather than Directory Reports.
Compatibility Considerations.
In versions prior to Version 7.7 (R2008b), you navigated to
the directory containing the M-files for which you wanted to produce
reports. Then, you clicked the Directory Reports down
arrow
on the Current Directory browser toolbar.
New features and changes introduced in Version 7.7 (R2008b) are:
In versions prior to Version 7.7 (R2008b), when you published an M-File that included a figure window, only the graph or figure was included in the published document. Using the figureSnapMethod option, you can now specify that you want the window details included in the published document. For details, see the publish reference page.
In versions prior to Version 7.7 (R2008b), you could publish LaTeX code in a published document as a code block, separate from the rest of your comments, if any. Now, you can publish LaTeX math symbols inline with the rest of your comments. For details, see Including Inline LaTeX Math Symbols in M-Files for Publishing.
In versions prior to Version 7.7 (R2008b), there was a Cascading
Style Sheet setting on the Publish Configurations dialog
box (which you access by clicking the Publish down-arrow button
). This setting is now
called XSL File, to more accurately reflect the
setting.
Compatibility Considerations. The Cascading Style Sheet setting on the Publish Configurations dialog box is now XSL File.
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