Run, Make Thumbnail, Delete File (Show Actions) :: Tuning and Managing M-Files (Desktop Tools and Development Environment)

Desktop Tools and Development Environment

Run, Make Thumbnail, Delete File (Show Actions)

Select the Show actions check box and click Refresh. Below the description for each M-file, the Visual Directory lists the actions you can perform on that file. The make thumbnail and delete thumbnail entries appear only when the Show thumbnails check box is also selected.

Image of Visual Directory with show actions and show thumbnails selected. The example includes two file, logo5 and chirpy. The logo5 entry has a thumbnail image, while chipy does not. Actions for logo5 include delete thumbnail.

Run M-File

Click run to execute an M-file. Script M-files run, but M-file functions that require an input argument do not run.

Delete M-File

Click delete to remove the file. The file is permanently removed from the directory.

Make and Delete Thumbnail

When Show thumbnails is also selected, the make thumbnail and delete thumbnail actions appear. A thumbnail is a snapshot of the graphical output the M-file produces. Specifically, the snapshot is the figure returned by gcf after the M-file runs. In the example, there is a snapshot shown for logo5.m. Thumbnails help you to

Distinguish between similar M-files, such as different versions of a file you experimented with.
Find a file when you do not remember the exact name.
Look at files created by others and quickly identify the ones in which you might be interested, based on the snapshots.

To create a thumbnail for a file, click make thumbnail. You cannot make thumbnails for M-file functions that require an input argument. To delete a thumbnail, click delete thumbnail. The thumbnail does not automatically update when you make changes to the file. To update a thumbnail to reflect the latest version of the M-file, click make thumbnail again.

Image of Visual Directory view showing example after deleting the thumnail for logo5 and making a thumbnail for chirpy. Available actions have changed as a result. For example. logo5 actions now include make thumbnail.

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