Move or rename file or folder
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Syntax
movefile source
movefile source destination
movefile source destination f
status = movefile(___)
[status,msg]= movefile(___)
[status,msg,msgID]= movefile(___)
Description
example
movefile source movesthe file or folder source to the current folder. movefile doesnot preserve the archive attribute of source.
example
movefile source destination moves source to the file or folder destination. If source and destination are in the same location, then movefile renames source to destination. To rename a file or folder when moving it, make destination a different name from source and specify only one file or folder for source.
If source is a folder, then destination must be a folder. If source is a folder or is capable of specifying multiple files and destination does not exist, then movefile creates destination.
example
movefile source destination f performs the move, even when destination is not writable. The state of the read/write attribute for destination does not change. This syntax will overwrite read-only files.
example
status = movefile(___) moves the specified file or folder and returns a status of 1 if the operation is successful. Otherwise, movefile returns 0. You can use this syntax with any of the input argument combinations in the previous syntaxes.
example
[status,msg]= movefile(___) also returns the message text for any warning or error that occurs.
example
[status,msg,msgID]= movefile(___) additionally returns the message ID for any warning or error that occurs.
Examples
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Move Files to Current Folder
Move files and folders to the current folder by omitting the destination input.
Create two folders: the first, myfiles, containing the file myfile1.m, and the second, myotherfiles, containing the file myfile2.m.
mkdir myfilesmovefile myfile1.m myfilesmkdir myotherfilesmovefile myfile2.m myotherfiles
Move myfile1.m to the current folder. Since a destination is not specified, MATLAB® assumes the destination is the current folder.
movefile myfiles/myfile1.mSet the current folder to myfiles. Move myotherfiles and its contents to the current folder.
cd myfilesmovefile ../myotherfiles
Move Files and Folders to New Folder
Open Live Script
Move files and subfolders whose names begin with my from the current folder to the folder newFolder, where newFolder previously does not exist.
movefile my* newFolder
Rename Folder
Open Live Script
Create the folder myoldfolder, and then rename it to mynewfolder.
mkdir myoldfoldermovefile myoldfolder mynewfolder
Move File to Read-Only Folder
Open Live Script
Move the file myfile1.m from the current folder to the read-only folder restricted.
Create the read-only folder restricted.
mkdir restrictedfileattrib restricted -w
Move the file myfile1.m. A status of 0 shows the copy was unsuccessful.
status = movefile('myfile1.m','restricted');status
status = logical 0Move the file myfile1.m using the 'f' option to override the read-only status of the destination folder. A status of 1 and an empty message and messageID confirm the copy was successful.
[status,message,messageId] = movefile('myfile1.m','restricted','f');status
status = logical 1message
message = 0x0 empty char array
messageId
messageId = 0x0 empty char array
Input Arguments
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source — File or folder to move
character vector | string scalar
File or folder to move, specified as a character vector or string scalar. To move multiple files or folders, use wildcards (*).
source can be an absolute or relative path when moving local files or folders. However, to move files and folders at a remote location, source must contain a full path specified as a uniform resource locator (URL). For more information, see Work with Remote Data.
Note
If source is a string, enclose all the inputs in parentheses. For example, movefile("myfile.m","newfolder").
destination — File or folder destination
character vector | string scalar
File or folder destination, specified as a character vector or string scalar. destination cannot include wildcards (*).
If destination is local, it can be specified as an absolute or relative path. If destination is remote, it must contain a full path specified as a URL. For more information, see Work with Remote Data.
Note
If destination is a string, enclose all the inputs in parentheses. For example, movefile("myfile.m","newfolder").
Output Arguments
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status — Move status
0 | 1
Move status, indicating if the attempt to move the file or folder is successful, returned as 0 or 1. If the attempt is successful, the value of status is 1. Otherwise, the value is 0.
Data Types: logical
msg — Error message
character vector
Error message, returned as a character vector. If an error or warning occurs, msg contains the message text of the error or warning. Otherwise, msg is empty, ''.
msgID — Error message identifier
character vector
Error message identifier, returned as a character vector. If an error or warning occurs, msgID contains the message identifier of the error or warning. Otherwise, msgID is empty, ''.
Extended Capabilities
C/C++ Code Generation
Generate C and C++ code using MATLAB® Coder™.
Usage notes and limitations:
The
movefilefunction can move files only to an empty directory, not to one that contains files.The
movefilefunction does not support wildcard operations or URLs as input.Code generated from MATLAB® might behave differently from its execution within MATLAB.
In such instances, file handling in the generated code is similar to the
MoveFileExAfunction on Windows® platforms or therenamefunction on UNIX® systems in theClanguage.
Thread-Based Environment
Run code in the background using MATLAB® backgroundPool or accelerate code with Parallel Computing Toolbox™ ThreadPool.
Version History
Introduced before R2006a
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R2020a: Wildcard expression *.* on UNIX platforms matches only files that have an extension
Starting in R2020a, on UNIX platforms, the wildcard expression *.* no longer matches folders or files without an extension. In previous releases, the expression matches folders or files regardless of extension, including files without an extension. This change of behavior does not apply to Microsoft® Windows platforms.
See Also
cd | delete | dir | mkdir | copyfile | rmdir
Topics
- Manage Files and Folders
- Specify File Names
- Work with Remote Data
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