removeDrivesFromHis​tory

Version 2.2.0 (5.2 KB) by Adam Danz
A solution to the problem of Matlab consuming an enormous amount of time to recover from an "Undefined function or variable" error.
329 Downloads
Updated 17 Mar 2021

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The "current folder history" stores paths to directories that were once current (it differs from the search path). When paths from networks end up on the current folder history and the network becomes unavailable, an undefined variable or function (often caused by a typo) may cause an unbearable delay in the error message to appear [1,2,3]. To alleviate this problem, this function produces a GUI that lists all paths on the current folder history and you can select which paths to remove from the history. The GUI will create a backup of your original history in case you want to restore it.

This was initially developed in Matlab r2017b and does not work with previous releases but the problem did not occur prior to then anyway. Latest release updated in r2021a.

To participate in discussions on this topic, mention me (@Adam Danz) in link #2 below.

[1] https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/395876-undefined-function-error-is-very-slow-to-occur
[2] https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/364153-40-seconds-waiting-for-undefined-function-or-variable-error-2017b
[3] https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/412972-matlab-218a-stalls-on-undefined-variables

Cite As

Adam Danz (2024). removeDrivesFromHistory (https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/72519-removedrivesfromhistory), MATLAB Central File Exchange. Retrieved .

MATLAB Release Compatibility
Created with R2017b
Compatible with R2017b and later releases
Platform Compatibility
Windows macOS Linux
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Version Published Release Notes
2.2.0

Fixed version-check problem with Matlab r2021a. Better control of GUI position and lists paths in cmd window as categories rather than cellstr.

2.1.1

Fixed typo in the "Your current directory is..." message box.

2.1.0

Now shows current directory (cd) at bottom of GUI. If a path is removed from the current folder history that matches the cd the user is notified that the cd will change to the first path listed on the search path.

2.0.0

Instead of selecting entire drives to remove from the current folder history, the user can now select individual paths. The help section, internal comments, and dialog boxes were edited to be more precise.

1.0.2

Message dialogs are now 12 pt font; Greeting message added when program is first run.

1.0.1

Fixed the name of a message window from 'mfilename' to mfilename (without quotes).

1.0.0