MATLAB - Get current path and then use it to navigate to a different folder

Question

I have a bunch of codes that are currently stored on my local machine. There are two folders, one called "Resources" and another called "src". There is one main script that needs to be run called "main.m" in "src" which calls files from "Resources".

If I copy this whole thing onto a new computer, the paths will change and MATLAB may not be able to find "Resources" anymore. I know that relative to "main.m", I need to go up one level and then into "Resources".

What is the best way of getting MATLAB to point to "Resources"?

I am currently trying along the lines of

P = mfilename('fullpath') 

which gives the path for main.m. Now, I want to navigate from here, one folder up and then into "Resources". Or if there is a better way, please let me know.

Eventually, I want to extend it to work for multiple folders "Resources1", "Resources2" etc. so MATLAB needs to be able to navigate to the right folder.

Answer 1

You can get it like:

fullfile(fileparts(mfilename('fullpath')), '..', 'Resources');

Explanation:

• mfilename('fullpath') will return the full path and name of the M-file in which the call occurs, without the extension
• fileparts will return the path of the passed file (only the containing directory)
• fullfile will build the full directory specification from the folder names passed (Note: '..' always means the parent directory)

Based on this it is quite simple to write a function that gets the sibling directory of the directory containing the file:

getSiblingOfParentDirectory.m

function siblingDirPath = getSiblingOfParentDirectory(filepath, siblingDirName)
    siblingDirPath = fullfile(fileparts(filepath), '..', siblingDirName);
end

then to use it in an M-file:

for i = 1:3
    disp(getSiblingOfParentDirectory(mfilename('fullpath'), ['Resources', num2str(i)]));
end

Sample output:

D:\pathtest\Resources1
D:\pathtest\Resources2
D:\pathtest\Resources3