force_delete

Forces the deletion of a file; without the warning: File not found or permission denied.

You are now following this Submission

Picture the scenario:

You have opened the same file twice, first for writing and then for reading, you now have two file identifiers for the one file. But you have 'misplaced' the one of the file identifiers that you were using. You use fclose on the remaining file identifier but then wonder why you are getting the 'File not found or permission denied' warning when you try to delete the file. Yes you could use fclose('all') but then you will close all the other files you have open as well.

Just use: force_delete(filename)

it will find all the file identifiers associated with your file, fclose them all and then delete your file.

Will not work if the file you want to delete is open in a program outside of MATLAB

Cite As

Alan (2026). force_delete (https://in.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/40012-force_delete), MATLAB Central File Exchange. Retrieved .

General Information

MATLAB Release Compatibility

  • Compatible with any release

Platform Compatibility

  • Windows
  • macOS
  • Linux
Version Published Release Notes Action
1.0.0.0