Opening an external file in a deployed application

Hello, I'm trying to figure out how I might include a help file with my packaged GUI program. I'd like to have a help button that when clicked opens a PDF that I've written. It's easy enough to use winopen when using matlab, but how do I make it do this with a deployed application?

I've tried including the PDF in with the other secondary files at the time of packaging but that doesn't work. It would appear the winopen function will use the current directory and not its internal directory or whatever it does when calling included .m files.

Answer 1

[Titus Edelhofer]

Hi James,

you can use the function

ctfroot

zu build up an absolute path to where your .pdf is when packed into the application. Or, if the .pdf is in the same folder as the function calling it, you might do something like the following

folder = fileparts(mfilename('fullpath'));
winopen(fullfile(folder, 'mydoc.pdf'));

Titus

[James Kerns]

Interesting. I didn't know about the ctfroot function. I believe I could use it for some other things I was trying to do. Thanks for the response.

I was actually able to resolve the issue by simply using open instead of winopen. I wouldn't have thought there was a difference, but it seems to work.

[sandeep singh]

Hello James, Even I am facing the issues with same. Even open function is not opening pdf after deployment, can u please help me

[Titus Edelhofer]

The difference is: "open" is doing what MATLAB would do if you double click on it within MATLAB. winopen (if on Windows, of course!) does the action you would expect when double clicking within Windows explorer