uipickfiles: uigetfile on steroids

Version 1.25.0.0 (15.7 KB) by Douglas Schwarz
Many-featured, platform independent file and directory picker.
5.0
(91)
17.8K Downloads
Updated 25 Aug 2025

View License

Editor's Note: This file was selected as MATLAB Central Pick of the Week

This is a GUI application that allows multiple files or directories to be selected and allows you to manage the list (remove files, reorder, etc.) before returning. It has basic filtering as well as regular expression filtering and navigation of the file system is easy. The output is configurable (cell, struct or char arrays). It is written entirely in M and so is platform independent.

Cite As

Douglas Schwarz (2026). uipickfiles: uigetfile on steroids (https://uk.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/10867-uipickfiles-uigetfile-on-steroids), MATLAB Central File Exchange. Retrieved .

MATLAB Release Compatibility
Created with R2025a
Compatible with any release
Platform Compatibility
Windows macOS Linux
Categories
Find more on App Building in Help Center and MATLAB Answers
Tags Add Tags

Version Published Release Notes
1.25.0.0

This version is R2025a-aware. It will use the desktop theme and a unicode character for the folder icons. It behaves as before in older MATLAB versions.
1.24.0.0

Fixed bug related to sorting introduced in version 1.23.
1.23.0.0

Added ability to sort files in natural order; requires sort_nat function.
1.22.0.0

Re-upload of version 1.21. For some reason, previous upload did not work properly and available version was 1.15.
1.21.0.0

Applied tip from William Thielicke (thanks!) to get icon images to show up in R2020a. Also, fixed longstanding bug that prevented struct output from working correctly.
1.13.0.0

Addressed problem mentioned by Chris. Now, on Windows, an attempt to open "My Documents" will be silently converted to an open of "Documents" instead if "My Documents" doesn't really exist.
1.12.0.0

Fixed bug identified by Bryan.
1.11.0.0

Added use of escape key as equivalent to Cancel button.
1.10.0.0

GUI is now resizable and remembers the size and position last used.
1.9.0.0

Added ability to sort file list by name, date or size.
1.8.0.0

Fixed bug in yesterday's version in recalling folders.
1.7.0.0

Added ability to recall previous selections. Fixed a few minor bugs.
1.5.0.0

Recent Folders list (right-click path box) is now sorted in chronological order and is persistent between calls (via a preferences setting). Also, ctrl-F will select all files (leaving folders unselected).
1.4.0.0

Minor interface changes -- backspace will go up one directory, control-A (command-A on the Mac) will select all as before, but won't cause menu bar to appear.
1.3.0.0

(Windows only) Now works correctly with UNC-named resources (e.g., \\machine\share).
1.2.0.0

Updated the user interface, appearance, documentation and internal comments.
1.1.0.0

Fixed bug identified by W Thielicke.
1.0.0.0

Updated to work with R2007a.