How can I completely get rid of MATLAB Drive

I used MATLAB Drive for a project I was working on for a team remotely. I now want to get rid of MATLAB Drive from both my personal laptop and their work computers. I have uninstalled and deleted the folder as suggested in:

https://uk.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/452867-how-can-i-log-out-of-matlab-drive-connector-the-desktop-application-for-syncing-with-matlab-drive

But I still have a MATLAB Drive folder. I want to completely get rid of this so there are no issues with syncing and because they now want to continue using the folder for other work.

Answer 1

[Conor Burgess]

After following the instructions in that answer, you should just be able to delete your MATLAB Drive Folder locally (it isn't being synchronised anymore, but the uninstall doesn't delete it because it contains your files).

[ChiPhi85]

Ok, thanks for your response. The only issue is, this is a local folder on my laptop linked to a shared folder on the end user's network. What happens if I delete my folder? This may sound like a stupid question, but it wouldn't delete their folder and/or contents would it?

[Conor Burgess]

When you say "shared folder on the end user's network", do you mean shared via MATLAB Drive and synchonised to your computer via MATLAB Drive Connector? If that's the case and MATLAB Drive Connector is still installed and running, deleting it on your local machine would just move it to the "Deleted Files" in your MATLAB Drive, without deleting their original folder or the contents. You can still restore this folder back to your MATLAB Drive folder at this point.

Once you've shut down / uninstalled MATLAB Drive Connector, deleting it on your local machine will have no effect on what's in your MATLAB Drive online (i.e. you would still see the folder on MATLAB Drive - though you can safely delete it there and it'll just move it to the Deleted Files area, again with no impact on the owner of the folder or any other people it's shared with).

However, it might be worth pointing out to the owner of the folder that they can use MATLAB Drive to manage the sharing of the folder and remove you from the people it is shared with.

[ChiPhi85]

Sorry, I realise how unclear that was. I mean it's a network drive on their insitution's network, shared between multiple users, granted permission by their IT department. It's where they want the MATLAB files and they are unable to download .exe files over the internet so I used MATLAB Drive to sync my laptop and their network folder. Probably a bit dodgy but we were short on time and couldn't think of another way to do it without getting IT involved. They will also start storing a lot of data in there that I shouldn't be able to access so I need to break all ties. They don't actually use MATLAB Drive at all as they have no need for it.

Currently, as you say, I don't believe files are syncing between my laptop and their network, but I'd like to remove any instance of MATLAB Drive from their computers as I think it would look bad if they were audited and unable to say who has access to that network folder through MATLAB Drive once they start putting sensitive data in there.

Hope that makes sense?? Thanks for your attention with this!

[Conor Burgess]

Ah, yes, ok, I see. So once you've completed the uninstall from your laptop and their work computers, you'll still be left with a folder which looks like your MATLAB Drive Folder (even though it isn't being synchronised anymore). Inside this folder you should find a hidden folder called ".MATLABDriveAppData" and a hidden "desktop.ini" file if you're on Windows. Removing both of these should restore the folder to its original non-MATLAB Drive state.

[ChiPhi85]

Excellent! Thank you