MATLAB Installation Guide for PC

Saving Your MATLAB Preferences

MATLAB stores your environment preferences, such as command history and Help favorites, in four files, listed below.

Filename	Preferences
cwdhistory.m	Command Window history
history.m	Command history
matlab.prf	General MATLAB preferences
matlab_help.hst	Help favorites

By default, the Release 13 uninstaller does not delete these preference files. The uninstaller included with MATLAB releases before Release 12.1 deletes your MATLAB preference files. Before removing one of these earlier MATLAB releases, you may want to preserve your preference files by performing these steps:

1. Save copies of the existing preference files in a directory that is not going to be deleted.

1. To find the location of your preferences files, run the prefdir function at the MATLAB prompt. For example, on Windows NT systems, prefdir returns

   • prefdir
     ans =
     C:\WINNT\Profiles\yourname\Application Data\MathWorks\MATLAB\R12
     

2. Run the uninstaller associated with the MATLAB installation. This deletes the preference files.

Note    Because preferences are associated with particular users, the uninstaller only deletes the preferences for the user performing the uninstall.

3. Move the saved copies of the preferences files back into the appropriate Windows preference directories.

Removing Installations That Use Dongles

In some installations, MATLAB requires a dongle. A dongle is a hardware-based security device that attaches to the serial or parallel printer port of a desktop computer. It uses embedded codes and passwords to control access to software applications.

If your system uses dongles, the uninstaller asks if you want to delete the dongle drivers. If other applications you run on your system use dongles, do not delete these drivers. For more information, see Troubleshooting an Installation That Uses Dongles.

Running the Uninstaller Noninteractively

Network License Installation Procedure