How do you attach the documentation of your interfaces?

I would like to know how you allow an end-user to access the documentation (.pdf, .ppt, .doc...) of your MATLAB Interface. For example from the Menu Editor, clicking on the Help Menu will open the related documentation.

Since it is not possible to encrypt and embed with MATLAB compiler a Word document for example , user needs to have the documentation on his path. And then I call the web command for example to open it. The drawback is to always thing about sending end-user both the standalone and the .doc file.

To workaround this drawback , sometimes I write the doc in a string variable directly inside the M-file. Then I call the the msgbox command to make the message to appear in a message box. But it means that the help must be not too long to be displayed on a screen.

Do you have other tricks?

Thanks for sharing your advice and stories !

Answer 1

[Jan]

I recommend not to use Word documents as documentation: A lot of users do not install the MicroSoft Office, e.g. because they use OpenOffice / LibreOffice. Although these programs import the DOC and DOCX files also, the display can be slightly but remarkably distorted. Customers do not like a distorted help...

I'm creating a HTML-version and include it in the Matlab-docs (see Providing Your Own Help and Demos). This is very intuitive when the source codes are delivered.

In addition I use a web link to the hosted current documentation, such that I can include a list of found and fixed bugs.

For compiled programs I include a PDF-version of the HTML-files and a web link. Instead of trying to include the PDF to the compiled files, I found it easier to ship it separately.

[Aurelien Queffurust]

Hi!

Like you! I also use a web link . I create a HELP label in the menu bar of my GUIs . Then I call the web command to open Release Notes , User's Guide ... web coorectly does the work. It tries to find the best application to open the doc. For example under Linux , it will suggest to use OpenOffice to open a pptx. I think it is the most simple way for end-users to reach the doc.

Thanks .

[Alexandre Voute]

Hello! It seems that the link to Providing Your Own Help and Demos is broken now. Is the content of that page somewhere else at the moment?

[Image Analyst]

See https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/creating-help.html

Answer 2

[Friedrich]

Hi,

why not write the word file on a button click? Read the word file as binary into matlab and save it as an mat file. This file can be attached to the compiler project. During enduser runtime load the mat file and write it back to disk and open it.

[Aurelien Queffurust]

+1 !

Thanks a lot Friedrich! It 's a shame that we cannot accept several answers.

I have learned something thanks to you. I was aware that it was possible to add files with the flag -a of mcc. But I thought that it was only for M-files , just to help MATLAB Compiler to find callbacks for example.

I have tested your solution and it works perfectly.

THX a lot

[Kushal Bhattarai]

I am in a same boat. How do I read the pdf file as binary into matlab and save it as a mat file? what function do I use? and what functions is required write it back to pdf file?