doc

Reference page in Help browser

Syntax

doc

doc name

Description

doc opens the Help browser. If the Help browser is already open, but not visible, then doc brings it to the foreground and opens a new tab.

doc name displays documentation for the functionality specified by name, such as a function, class, or block.

• If name corresponds to a MathWorks^® reference page, then doc displays the page in the Help browser. The doc command does not display third-party or custom HTML documentation.

• If name does not correspond to a reference page, then doc searches for help text in a file named name.m or name.mlx. If help text is available, doc displays it in the Help browser.

• If name does not correspond to a reference page and there is no associated help text, then doc searches the documentation for name and displays the search results in the Help browser.

Examples

Display Function Reference Page

Display the reference page for the abs function.

doc abs

Several products include different versions of abs. If your Help preferences support displaying documentation for those products, then the Help browser displays the MATLAB® abs reference page and a message with links to other versions of abs. This message appears at the top of the page.

Class and Method Reference Pages

Display the reference page for the handle class.

doc handle

Display the reference page for the findobj method in the handle class.

doc handle.findobj

Display the reference page for the Map class in the containers package.

doc containers.Map

Custom Class Pages

Display formatted help text for a custom class.

The class file sads.m is an example file that shows how to create a class. Add the example folder to the path and request the documentation for sads.

addpath(...
   fullfile(matlabroot,'help','techdoc','matlab_env',...
   'examples'))
doc sads

Display the help for the steer method of the sads class. Because the help text follows MATLAB conventions, MATLAB formats the display in the browser.

doc sads.steer

Input Arguments

name — Name of functionality

character vector

Name of functionality, such as function, class, or block, specified as a character vector. Alternatively, an operator symbol.

Some classes and other packaged items require that you specify the package name. Events, properties, and some methods require that you specify the class name. Separate the components of the name with periods, such as:

doc className.name
doc packageName.name
doc packageName.className.name

Methods for some classes are not accessible using the doc command; instead, use links on the class reference page.

Tips

• To access third-party or custom documentation, open the Help browser and navigate to the documentation home page. Then, at the bottom of the page, click Supplemental Software.