| MATLAB Function Reference | Search  Help Desk |
| lookfor | Examples See Also |
Keyword search through all help entries
lookfor topic
lookfor topic -all
lookfor topic
searches for the string topic in the first comment line (the H1 line) of the help text in all M-files found on MATLAB's search path. For all files in which a match occurs, lookfor displays the H1 line.
lookfor topic -all
searches the entire first comment block of an M-file looking for topic.
For example
lookfor inverse
finds at least a dozen matches, including H1 lines containing "inverse hyperbolic cosine," "two-dimensional inverse FFT," and "pseudoinverse." Contrast this with
which inverse
or
what inverseThese commands run more quickly, but probably fail to find anything because MATLAB does not ordinarily have a function
inverse.
In summary, what lists the functions in a given directory, which finds the directory containing a given function or file, and lookfor finds all functions in all directories that might have something to do with a given keyword.
dir Directory listing
help Online help for MATLAB functions and M-files
what Directory listing of M-files, MAT-files, and MEX-files
which Locate functions and files
who List directory of variables in memory