Installation Management Tasks

Start MATLAB Software

The method you use to start MATLAB^® software depends on your platform.

Windows Systems:
- On systems running Windows^® 8, go to the Windows Start screen or the desktop and click the MATLAB R2015b icon.
- On systems running Windows 7, click the Windows Start menu, and then select MATLAB R2015b .
- On systems running Windows XP, click the Windows Start menu, and then select Programs > MATLAB > R2015b, and click MATLAB R2015b.
- If you chose to create a shortcut on your desktop during the installation, you can double-click the MATLAB icon on the desktop.
- Navigate to matlabroot/bin, where matlabroot is your MATLAB installation folder, and double-click matlab.exe.
Linux Systems:
- Enter the matlab command at the system prompt. If you did not set up symbolic links on the Installation Options dialog box during installation, you must enter the full path name, matlabroot/bin/matlab, where matlabroot is the name of your MATLAB installation folder.
Mac OS X Systems:
- Navigate to your installation folder and double-click the MATLAB icon.

Update Your License

Throughout the term of your license, your MATLAB installation periodically contacts MathWorks to verify that your license is up-to-date. If your license is up to date, the validation process is transparent. If it determines that you need to update your license, the validation process displays a dialog box giving you the option to update your license.

You can disable validation at the License Center at the MathWorks website. See the License Center Help for step-by-step instructions.

Set Your MATLAB Startup Folder

If you start MATLAB using the shortcut on your desktop, the initial current folder (or startup folder) is My Documents\MATLAB. (You can choose to have the installer create this shortcut at Step 8: Specify Installation Options.) To learn how to specify the startup folder, see the MATLAB Desktop Tools and Development Environment documentation.

Set Up MATLAB Environment Options

To customize MATLAB environment options, create a file named startup.m in the matlabroot\toolbox\local folder and add commands to it. For example, you can use the startup.m file to specify welcome messages, default definitions, or any MATLAB expressions that you want executed every time you invoke MATLAB. The local folder includes a sample startup file, named startupsav.m, that you can rename and use as a starting point.

Perform any additional configuration by typing the appropriate command at the MATLAB command prompt. For example, to configure the MATLAB Notebook, type notebook -setup. To configure a compiler to work with the MATLAB External Interface, type mex -setup.

Find Information About MATLAB Software

After successfully installing MATLAB, you are probably eager to get started using it. The following list provides pointers to sources of information and other features you might find helpful in getting started with MATLAB.

Task	Description
Get an overview of MATLAB and its capabilities	Read the MATLAB Getting Started documentation.
Find out what's new in this release	Read the Release Notes documentation.
Start a product or access product demonstration programs	Select the Apps tab, browse the apps gallery, and find the app you want to start.
Get information about specific MATLAB features	On the Home tab, in the Resources section, click Help > Documentation to view reference and tutorial information in hyperlinked HTML format.
Get help with specific questions you cannot find answered in the documentation	Go to the MathWorks^® website (`www.mathworks.com`), click Support, and search for answers.

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