Using File Exchange
Authored by the MATLAB and Simulink user community on the MATLAB Wiki.
MATLAB Central's File Exchange (http://newsreader.mathworks.com) has been completely redesigned and will be redeployed in fall 2008. This page is a quick reference for anyone, newcomer or expert, who wants to learn about the new functionality.
If you have questions about using the File Exchange, please feel free to post your questions on our support mailing list or through the Newsreader.
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What is the File Exchange at MATLAB Central?
The File Exchange is a place for uploading and downloading many kinds of files: code, published M-files, screenshots, PDFs, and others. Visitors to the File Exchange can rate uploaded content and leave comments and questions.
What kind of files can I upload?
Most file types except binaries are OK -- no DLLs, MEX files, or p-files. Multiple files must be bundled in a ZIP file, but not RAR, TAR, or other archive types. Include any necessary source files, but don’t compile them. If necessary, give instructions on how to compile them once downloaded.
What is a "submission"?
You can upload a single file or a zipped collection of files to the File Exchange. We refer to these uploads as "submissions," because they have been submitted for public posting.
Who can use the File Exchange?
Anyone who is logged in to MATLAB Central can submit a file. Note that before submitting, you need to set up an email address for File Exchange in your MATLAB Central community profile. This address will be visible to everyone who visits the File Exchange.
To control spam, you may want to set up a separate email address, use a free email provider, or both. Another way to prevent spam is to embed some extra characters (like remove.this) in your address. Just make it clear which characters need to be deleted to make the address work.
How do I upload a submission to File Exchange?
Easy! Log in to MATLAB Central and make sure you have specified a File Exchange email address. Click on the “Submit a File” button, fill out the appropriate fields, upload your content, and click “submit”. See also Submit a File Video (http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/21831)
What is tagging?
A tag is like a keyword or category label attached to a file in File Exchange. Tags make it easier to find or recall particular files of interest. They’re also a good way to categorize your bookmarked items, so you can browse your bookmarks by subject.
Tags benefit the community, too. Anyone who is logged in can tag a File Exchange item. You can view only your own tags, or tags applied by everyone. This means that tagging provides a way to see the big trends in File Exchange content, or your own unique view.
Your tags are public—anyone can view them on your Community Profile page. This gives community members some insight into your interests, and makes it easier for community members to collaborate or exchange ideas.
What makes a "good" tag?
A good tag helps people find the file. When you tag a file, think about how you might search for that file in the future. Try tagging a file with several relevant terms, even if they’re unrelated to one another. For example, you might want search for a file using either “video” or “image processing” as the tag search term, so it’s a good idea to apply both of those tags. Go ahead and experiment with tag searches -- it’s the best way to learn what tagging is all about. Try adding and deleting tags, too.
Can I use a text string of multiple words as my tag?
Yes! As an example, instead of howto in the example above, we could also use "how to". It is important to use the quote so that both words are included as part of the tag. Note that howto and "how to" are seen as completely different tags.
Can I add multiple tags?
Yes, just separate your tags with commas.
Can I use other characters such as numbers, capitals or such in my tags?
Certainly. Any character other than the comma and quote is allowed in your tag. Since commas are used to separate tags, they aren't going to be seen within a tag. The quotations delineate a literal text string.
How do I remove a tag that I have applied to a thread?
Look at the file. In the right column, you will see all the tags for the file. Go to the section Tags I've Applied and click on the - (minus sign) to remove it.
What is a tag cloud?
A tag cloud is a visual display of tags that have been applied by all community members. The more often a tag is applied, the larger its font in the cloud. By default, clicking on >> See all tags from the search box will display a list of the top 50 tags from the past year. You can click on cloud to change from list view to cloud view. Click on Week, Month, Year, or All Time to specify the time period covered by the list.
What is a Watch List?
A watch list allows you to be notified of updates made to postings selected by author, file, or any search variable. Your watch list notifications can be sent by email (set delivery to Daily digest or Immediate), displayed in My File Exchange (set email delivery to "Never"), or sent via RSS feed.
How do I use Advanced Search commands?
The Advanced Search page lets you search by one or more categories, like author or title. You can combine search terms to find the particular file or files you want. Enter your search term(s) in the appropriate fields on the page. When you enter more than one search term, the result will be all files that match all of your search terms (an AND search). See the Advanced Search help page for a full description of the advanced directives and their use.
Once you have crafted your query and executed it, you can save your query to use again by:
- Bookmarking it
- Adding it to your watch list
- Adding the RSS feed to your favorite feedreader
See also Find a File (http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/21832) and Find an Author (http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/21833) videos.
Searching by subject
If you want to search just the subject lines, use the advanced directive subject:subject line.
Example: To search for all files with in the subject MATLAB Compiler, go to the File Exchange home page (http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/). Enter subject:"MATLAB Compiler" into the search field in the search box in the middle of the page.
Total Downloads
In older versions of the File Exchange, it was possible to see the total number of downloads for a file or author in a few places. Now we always window these counts to the last 30 days. These "all time" counts were problematic for a number of reasons.
The downloads count is easy to artificially inflate by users wanting to game the system. Also, it is incremented by web crawlers and other non-humans. Because the counts were kept indefinitely, the inaccuracies accumulated and stayed on the site forever. The download counts tended to correlate with the length of time the file had been on the File Exchange, skewing the numbers toward older submissions.
Artificially skewed download numbers are still a problem, but their effects are minimized by only using most recent download data.