Installation guide

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allow it, w hich is the primary purpose of this option. U sing th is option is
equivalent to running
save -v7.3. This format of the resulting MAT-file is
HDF5-based. You cannot load these MAT-files into any versions prior to
MATLAB Version 7.3; in those cases, use one of the other two options.
• M ATLAB Version 7 or later (save -v7)—Starting in M ATLAB Version 7,
MATLAB compresses the data w h en saving a M AT-file, there by reducing
the storage space required. When you load the MAT-file, MATLAB
automatically uncompresses the data. In addition, MATLAB uses Unicode
character encoding for strings w hen you save a MAT-file, making the data
accessible to other MATLAB users, regardless of the default character
encoding scheme used by their systems. MAT-files saved with this option
work in all MATLAB 7 versions. Using this option is equivalent to running
save -v7.
• M ATLAB Version 5 or later (save -v6)—Releases of M ATLAB prior to
Ve rsio n 7 did not save compressed MAT-files. They also did not use Unicode
character encoding, wh ich sometimes prevented the exchange of MAT-files
among users, particularly when they used localized systems. Specify this
option to save MAT-files for use with versions prior to MATLAB Version 7.
Using this option is equivalent to running
save -v6.
Like other preferences, the MAT-file save format preference gets its initial
value from the preference file for the previous installed version. For example,
if the setting in your MATLAB 7.4 preference is
-v6, when you upgrade from
MATLAB Version 7.4 (R2007a) to MATLAB Version 7.5 (R2007b), the initial
value in Version 7.5 is
-v6.
If you upgrade from a versio n prior to M ATLAB Version 7.3, or if y ou do not
have a previous MATLAB version installed, the initial value is
-v7.
Note For more information about MAT-file save formats, including
restrictions, see Version CompatibilityOptionsandRemarksinthe
save
reference page.
Function Alternative
Yo u can override the M AT-file save format preference by using the save
function with a specified version compatibility option. For occasional use, this
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