MATLAB Programming Fundamentals - MathWorks

Create Live Functions

Live functions are program files that contain code and formatted text together in a single

interactive environment called the Live Editor. Similar to live scripts, live functions allow

you to reuse sequences of commands by storing them in program files. Live functions

provide more flexibility, though, primarily because you can pass them input values and

receive output values.

Create Live Function

To create a live function, go to the Home tab and select New > Live Function.

Open Existing Function as Live Function

If you have an existing function, you can open it as a live function in the Live Editor.

Opening a function as a live function creates a copy of the file and leaves the original file

untouched. MATLAB converts publishing markup from the original script to formatted

content in the new live function.

To open an existing function (.m) as a live function (.mlx) from the Editor, right-click the

document tab and select Open functionName as Live Function from the context menu.

Alternatively, go to the Editor tab, click Save , and select Save As. Then, set the Save as

type: to MATLAB Live Code Files (*.mlx) and click Save.

NoteYou must use one of the described conversion methods to convert your function to a

live function. Simply renaming the function with a .mlx extension does not work and can

corrupt the file.

Create Live Function from Selected Code

If you have an existing large live script or function, you can break it into smaller pieces by

automatically converting selected areas of code into functions or local functions. This is

called code refactoring.

To refactor a selected area of code, select one or more lines of code and on the Live

Editor tab, in the Code section, click Refactor. Then, select from the available

options. MATLAB creates a function with the selected code and replaces the original code

with a call to the newly created function.

Create Live Functions