cd

Change current folder

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Syntax

cd
cd newFolder
oldFolder = cd(newFolder)

Description

example

cd displays the current folder.

example

cd newFolder changes the current folder to newFolder. Folder changes are global. Therefore, if you use cd within a function, the folder change persists after MATLAB® finishes executing the function.

example

oldFolder = cd(newFolder) returns the existing current folder to oldFolder, and then it changes the current folder to newFolder.

Examples

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Open Script

Change the current folder to the featured examples folder for MATLAB R2017a, assuming that version is installed on your C: drive.

cd 'C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2017a\examples\matlab_featured'

Using the full path, change the current folder from C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2017a\examples\matlab_featured to C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2017a.

cd ..\..

Use a relative path to change the current folder from C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2017a back to C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2017a\examples\matlab_featured.

cd examples\matlab_featured
Open Script

Change the current folder to the featured examples folder for MATLAB R2017a, assuming that version is installed on your C: drive. Then restore the current folder to its original location.

Change the current folder to the featured examples folder for MATLAB R2017a.

cd 'C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2017a\examples\matlab_featured'

Change the current folder to C:\Program Files, saving the folder path before changing it.

oldFolder = cd('C:\Program Files')

oldFolder =

    'C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2017a\examples\matlab_featured'

Use the cd command to display the new current folder.

cd

C:\Program Files

Change the current folder back to the original folder, using the stored path. Use the cd command to display the new current folder.

cd(oldFolder)
cd

C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2017a\examples\matlab_featured
Open Script

Change the current folder to the featured examples folder for MATLAB R2016b, assuming that version is installed in your user home folder on a UNIX platform.

cd ~/MATLAB/R2016b/examples/matlab_featured

Input Arguments

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New folder path to which you want to change the current folder, specified as a character vector or string scalar. If newFolder is a string, enclose it in parentheses. For example, cd("FolderName").

Valid values include a full or relative path or one of these values.

../One level up from the current folder.
Multiples of ../Multiple levels up from the current folder.
./A path relative to the current folder. cd assumes that the path is relative to the current folder even if the ./ is not present.

If newFolder contains spaces, enclose it in single quotation marks. For example, cd 'Folder Name'.

On UNIX® systems, you can use the ~ (tilde) character to represent the user home folder. For example, ~/ or ~username/.

MATLAB resolves folder path names containing '.', '..', and symbolic links to their target location before changing the current folder. For example, if you specify c:\matlab\..\work, MATLAB resolves the path name to c:\work before changing the current folder.

Output Arguments

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Previous current folder that was in place before you issued the cd command, returned as a character vector.

More About

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Current Folder

The current folder is a reference location that MATLAB uses to find files. This folder is sometimes referred to as the current directory, current working folder, or present working directory.

See Also

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Topics

Introduced before R2006a

MATLAB Documentation

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