MATLAB Known Software and Documentation Problems

getframe Does Not Work Correctly with Docked Figures

If you use the getframe command on a docked figure, it is possible that the captured image will not be correct. As a workaround, undock the figure or use the print command.

Cannot Change to Top Level Directory of a UNC Path

For Windows platforms, you cannot use cd or any directory tool in the MATLAB desktop (including the Current Directory browser and Set Path dialog box) to access the top level of a UNC (Universal Naming Convention) path, that is, a path that starts with \\.

Cannot Save Datatips in Fig-File

If you save a figure with datatips as a Fig-File, the reloaded figure (hgload) will not contain the data tips.

Command Window Print Selection Sometimes Fails, Producing Java Errors

When you make a selection in the Command Window and then select File -> Print Selection, MATLAB sometimes fails to print and the Command Windows shows a Java error occurred. As a workaround, paste the selected text into a file in the MATLAB Editor or another text editor, and print the selection from there.

Copying Button Group Produces Warning

If you make a copy of a uibuttongroup that contains radio buttons or toggle buttons, one or more warnings are issued similar to this:

Warning: Callback for uicontrol of style radiobutton will be overwritten 
when added to a UIBUTTONGROUP.
Use the SelectionChangeFcn property on the button group instead.

You should include code to control radio buttons and toggle buttons that are contained in a button group in the button group's SelectionChangeFcn callback, not in the radio buttons' or toggle buttons' Callback function.

Current Directory Browser: Creating New Folders Sometimes Causes Errors

When you create a new folder in the Current Directory browser, then double- click to open the new folder and try to create a new file or another new folder within it, MATLAB sometimes generates exceptions in the Command Window. If that happens, close the Current Directory browser to stop errors from displaying in the Command Window, and for the rest of that session, use equivalent functions instead of the Current Directory browser features. To use the Current Directory browser again, you must restart MATLAB. If you encounter these exceptions frequently, consider using equivalent functions instead of the using the Current Directory browser.

Cutting From Current Directory Browser Sometimes Copies Instead

If you cut a file from the Current Directory browser, and then paste the file into a file system browser outside of MATLAB, such as Windows Explorer, the file remains in its original folder; the cut is effectively a copy. As a workaround, after moving a file to its new location, use Delete in the Current Directory browser to remove the file from its original location.

Desktop Tools Have Gray Background Color

For some UNIX platforms, the background color is dark gray for desktop tools, such as the Editor/Debugger. This is because MATLAB uses system colors by default, and some windows managers use gray for backgrounds as their default. To change the color, select File -> Preferences -> Colors and clear the check box for Use system colors. Then select a new Background color from the palette.

Figure Undo Does Not Work in All Cases.

The Undo item on the Figure Edit menu does not always work correctly when used to undo operations performed with the plotting tools.

HDF4 Functions Not Supported on 64-bit Linux AMD Opteron Platform

HDF4 functions are not supported on the 64-bit Linux AMD Opteron platform. These functions issue an error message when called on this platform.

For a list of the HDF4 functions, enter

help hdf

at the MATLAB prompt.

Help and Web Browser Printouts Lose Spaces with 12 Point Fonts

When you print from the Help browser or Web browser, and the font size preference is set to 12 pt, some spaces between words are lost, making that portion of the text illegible. As a workaround, change the font size preference for HTML Proportional Text, for example to 10 pt, to make the printing legible.

Insertion Point Hidden When Dragging Text

When you drag text, for example, in the Editor, you cannot see the text insertion point.

International Keyboard Caret (^) and Tilde (~) Keys Do Not Work on Linux

If you use an international keyboard on Linux platforms, MATLAB is affected by a known Java VM problem that prevents the use of any dead key+space bar combination. This key sequence does not hang MATLAB as it did in Release 13, but it does not type any character. For many international keyboards, the caret (^) key and the tilde (~) key use a dead key+space bar combination. See solution 1-1AF8K at http://www.mathworks.com/support/solutions/data/1-1AF8K.html?solution=1-1AF8K for known workarounds.

Japanese Directories: Some Names Prevent Access

You cannot access a directory whose name ends with one of these words:

If you try to, MATLAB displays a directory access failure message in the Command Window. As a workaround, rename the directory. This problem applies to words that end with 5C encoding.

Japanese Directory Names on Macintosh Platform Do Not Display in Command Window and Current Directory Browser

Directory names consisting of Japanese characters appear as question marks (?) in the Command Window and Current Directory browser on Macintosh platforms. For this reason, you should not access directory names that consist of Japanese characters. As a workaround, rename the directories in English.

Japanese Linux Systems Must Set Language Environment Variable to C Before Starting MATLAB

If you run the Japanese version of MATLAB on a Linux platform, before starting MATLAB, execute

setenv LANG C

which sets the language environment variable to C. Then start MATLAB from the same shell. If you do not set the language environment variable to C, you might not be able to build Simulink models, and other problems could result.

Japanese Version: M-Lint Messages Not Translated

On the Japanese version of MATLAB, M-Lint messages appear in English instead of in Japanese. These messages have not been translated.

Japanese Version: Macintosh Keyboards Require Option+¥ to Create \ (Backslash)

On Macintosh systems that have Japanese keyboards, the ¥ (yen) key does not create a \ (backslash) in the Command Window and Editor (used for the mldivide function, for example). This is true for all applications running on the Macintosh OS X platform with a Japanese keyboard.

To create the \ character, type Option+¥.

Keys Misinterpreted on Linux with XFree86 4.x

On Linux platforms with XFree86 4.x, when Num Lock is on, keys you type might be interpreted as hot keys instead of normal characters. This is because the keystrokes arrive in MATLAB with the META flag set. If you encounter this problem, turn off Num Lock.

Macintosh: File Open and Save Dialog Boxes Do Not Have Standard Macintosh Look

On the Macintosh, MATLAB dialog boxes for opening and saving files do not have the standard Macintosh look. In the previous version, MATLAB used file dialog boxes with the standard Macintosh look, but these caused MATLAB to crash. See the Fixed Bugs section of these Release Notes for more information about that problem. The MathWorks is working on a solution that uses file dialog boxes with the stanard Macintosh look. For the latest information, search the Technical Support Solutions Web page at http://www.mathworks.com/support/ and use the keywords "Macintosh file dialog".

Macintosh: Folder Operations in Dialog Boxes Can Terminate MATLAB

On the Macintosh, when you perform folder operation using a dialog box, MATLAB can terminate unexpectedly. For example, using the Path Browser to make changes to the MATLAB search path can cause a crash. As a workaround, use equivalent functions, such as addpath, to perform folder operations.

Macintosh: MATLAB Menus Not Located with Other Screen Menus

On the Macintosh, MATLAB menus are not located at the top of the screen. Instead, MATLAB menus appear within the MATLAB desktop and MATLAB tools. This change was made because of a problem with screen menus that caused MATLAB on the Macintosh to crash or generate stack overflow errors.

You can run this version of MATLAB with screen menus. Prior to starting MATLAB, create a file named java.opts in your MATLAB startup directory. Put this line in the file:

-Dapple.laf.useScreenMenuBar=true

If you use screen menus, MATLAB might generate stack overflow errors, become nonresponsive, or terminate unexpectedly. If so, remove the java.opts file from your startup directory and work without the screen menus. The MathWorks is working on a better solution to this problem. For the latest information, search the Technical Support Solutions Web page at http://www.mathworks.com/support/ and use the keywords "Macintosh screen menus".

MATLAB 7 may be more sensitive to spaces than earlier versions

We have made some changes in the way that MATLAB distinguishes between command dual statements like hold on and expressions. In particular, we use a heuristic that behaves like earlier MATLAB versions most of the time, but can sometimes recognize something as command dual when an expression was intended. For example, xxx {1} attempts to call the function called 'xxx' and pass it the argument '{1}' If you wanted to access a variable called xxx, you should write it as xxx{1}

Memory Leak with Generic Opengl

Creating OpenGL figure windows on Windows with generic OpenGL (hardware acceleration disabled) leaks a bitmap. After a couple of thousand figure windows, this can cause the MATLAB process to run out of drawing resources and crash. Users who are creating extremely large numbers of figure windows should either use "opengl neverselect" or use hardware acceleration.

Nested quantifiers in regexp can cause inefficient failures

If a regular expression contains a parenthesized subexpression which is quantified, and the inner expression is quantified as well, for example '(.+)+'; it can take the parser a long time to determine that a match can not be made. The computational complexity of this problem is exponential with the number of characters in the string that must be tested. In most practical applications, it is not difficult to rewrite the inner expression to be more specific such that each backup doesn't introduce a new set of matches for the outer loop.

Notebook: Transparency Properties Not Supported for Figures

Notebook does not support transparency properties in figures.

Printing on Macintosh Platform Sometimes Only Prints to Default Printer

On the Macintosh platform, when you try to print to a printer other than the default, MATLAB instead prints to the default printer. As a workaround, make the printer you want to print to become the default, print from MATLAB, and then reset the default printer to your usual setting.

Private function loses precedence when called through script

When a function F calls a private function P, and there is another function P somewhere on the path, the private function takes precedence and MATLAB dispatches to that function. A new feature of Release 14 allows a function to access a private function through an M-file script. In this case, function F calls script S which calls private function P. However, due to a bug in MATLAB, the former precedence rules are not adhered to under these circumstances. If there is another function P on the path, then it is that function rather than the private that is dispatched to.

Problem Docking Non-Resizable Figures

If a non-resizable figure (Resize property is off) is docked, then it is resizable while docked and its Resize property is on. But when it is subsequently undocked, the figure is not resizable interactively, even though the Resize, property is on.

Resize Behavior for Figures Has Changed

On Windows platforms, when you resize a figure, the figure is redrawn only when you release the sizing pointer. The contents do not change while you are dragging the pointer. In effect, the Windows display property, Show window contents while dragging, is ignored. This property appears on the Effects tab of the Windows Display Properties dialog box.

In addition, MATLAB does not execute the figure ResizeFcn callback while dragging. The ResizeFcn callback executes only when you release the sizing pointer.

Resizing Docked Figures with ActiveX Controls May Hang MATLAB

If you dock a figure that contains an ActiveX control and then attempt to resize the figure, MATLAB may hang.

Avoid docking figures with ActiveX controls. By default, figures with ActiveX controls are not dockable, and you should not change this setting.

Solaris Non-Modal Dialog Boxes Might Not Stay on Top of Parent Dialog Box

On the Solaris platform, non-modal dialog boxes might not stay on top of the parent window. This is especially problematic when the non-modal dialog is completely within the MATLAB desktop area and you then click on the desktop or minimize MATLAB; it is difficult to find the non-modal dialog again. To avoid that situation, keep non-modal dialogs at least partially outside of the MATLAB desktop area.

Sometimes Figure Windows Disappear or Fail to Display.

In MATLAB 7.0 and later, figure windows sometimes disappear or fail to display. One of the following may correct the condition.

• Exit MATLAB, then end any remaining matlab.exe processes on the Process tab of the Windows Task Manager. A rogue process may be causing the problem. You may have to log off and back on or restart your computer to end such processes. See Technical Support Solution 1-OG714 for more information.
• Reinstall your graphics card driver. See Technical Support Solution 1-ORHNB for more information.

Symbol and Marlett Fonts Not Supported in Editable Text Field Uicontrols

The Symbol and Marlett fonts are not supported in uicontrols with editable text fields. If the fontname of such a control is set to one of these fonts, "unknown character" boxes appear in place of the correct characters.

Uibuttongroup Handle Confusion in GUIDE

In MATLAB 7.0.1, for a uibuttongroup created in GUIDE, the automatically generated comment,

% hObject    handle to uipanel1 (see GCBO)

is incorrect. hObject is the handle of the selected radio button or toggle button, and not the handle of the uibuttongroup. Use handles.buttongroup-tag as the handle of the uibuttongroup.

Using a Wildcard (*) to Retrieve a File with No Extension

In MATLAB 7.0 and later, if you save a file without providing an extension, and then later use the uigetfile function, i.e., the standard dialog box, to retrieve it and (1)use a wildcard in the filename and (2) do not specify an extension, you get a warning dialog similar to:

<'path of file'> already exists. Do you want to replace it?

Ignore the warning dialog by selecting Yes and the application should do the right thing. For more information, see Technical Support Solution 1-OUD8V