UIGET

uiget opens a dialog box that allows the user to select folder(s) and/or file(s) in a single UI. This is designed as a generic alternative to MATLAB's more specific UI selection tools: uigetdir and uigetfile

This tool utilizes MATLAB's string objects, introduced in R2016b.

This utility was inspired by: Making a dialog where the user can choose either a file or a folder, a Q&A posted by SO user Dev-iL on 2018-07-20

Syntax

file = uiget()

[file, path] = uiget()

___ = uiget(basepath)

___ = uiget(basepath, Name, Value)

Description

file = uiget() opens a modal dialog box that lists files and folders in the current folder. It enables a user to select or enter the name of a file. uiget returns the file name when the user clicks Open. If the user clicks Cancel or the window close button (X), uigetfile returns "".

NOTE: If the user intends to choose a directory, they must specify a second output argument to uiget. If a directory is chosen in the single-output case, an empty string is returned and the user is presented with a warning. This is true for both a single selection and when using 'MultiSelect'.

[file, path] = uiget() returns the file name and path to a file or folder when the user clicks Open. If the user clicks Cancel or the window close button (X), then uiget returns "" for both output arguments.

___ = uiget(basepath) specifies the start path in which the dialog box opens. If path is empty or is not a valid path, then the dialog box opens in the current working directory.

___ = uiget(basepath, Name, Value) specifies dialog box parameters using one or more Name, Value pair arguments. See below for a list of valid Name, Value pairs.

Examples

Select a single file

>> file = uiget()

file = 

    "uiget.m"

Selecting a directory with a single output provides the behavior described above:

>> file = uiget();
Warning: One or more paths have been selected without requesting the path output.
Please specify a second output to uiget to receive these paths. 

Select a File and Display Full File Specification

function runtest()
[file, path] = uiget();
fprintf('User Selected: %s\n', fullfile(path, file))
end

>> runtest
User Selected: C:\uiget\uiget.m

Set a Custom Dialog Title

>> [file, path] = uiget(pwd, 'Title', 'Please Select 42 Files')

Specify Filters and Filter Descriptions

function runtest()
filterspec = {'*.m;*.mlx;*.fig;*.mat;*.slx;*.mdl', 'MATLAB Files (*.m,*.mlx,*.fig,*.mat,*.slx,*.mdl)';
              '*.m;*.mlx','Code files (*.m,*.mlx)'; ...
              '*.fig','Figures (*.fig)'; ...
              '*.mat','MAT-files (*.mat)'; ...
              '*.mdl;*.slx','Models (*.slx, *.mdl)' ...
              };
[file, path] = uiget(pwd, 'ExtensionFilter', filterspec);
fprintf('User Selected: %s\n', fullfile(path, file))
end

>> runtest
User Selected: C:\uiget\uiget.m

Name, Value Pairs

Parameter	Description	Type	Default Value
'MultiSelect'	Specify whether a user can select multiple files or folders	logical	false
'ScalarPathOutput'	Specify whether a scalar path is output when using 'MultiSelect'	logical	false
'Title'	Specify a custom dialog title	char vector, string scalar	'Select File or Folder'
'ExtensionFilter'	Specify a custom file extension filter	{n x 2} cell array of text, where each row is {extension(s), description}1, 2	All Files
'ForceCharOutput'	Force return of a cell array of char	logical	false

1. Extension filter syntax follows that of uigetfile, see the documentation for additional details and examples.

2. The "All Files" file filter is already provided by the dialog window, so explicitly specifying it will create an additional entry.