◆ MATLAB

Find location of current m-file

This is real work, not a feature someone invented — it comes from real job ads and real questions people asked. Below are four ready AI prompts: get it done, make it easy for the next person to say yes to, work out the right move when you are stuck, and stop it coming back.

4prompts
See the prompt↓All MATLAB tasks

The same task, four prompts

today's deadline · the next reviewer · the stuck moment · the pattern
AExecute — do the immediate taskDisplay the full path to the current script file in the command…+
Display the full path to the current script file in the command window.
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
BImprove — make it easier to acceptWhen this script runs, automatically determine its own location on the file system. Then, use…+
When this script runs, automatically determine its own location on the file system. Then, use that location to construct a path to a 'config' folder that's in the same directory, so it can load the correct settings file without hardcoding paths.
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
CDecide — diagnose the stuck momentMy simulation script works fine on my machine, but when my colleague runs it, it can't find the…+
My script can't find its data files on another machine.
My simulation script works fine on my machine, but when my colleague runs it, it can't find the necessary input data files. The data is always in a subfolder relative to the script, but their working directory is different. I'm worried they'll waste time manually adjusting paths. How can I make the script dynamically find its own location and then find the data relative to itself?
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
DBecome — change the patternMy scripts often fail when I move them to a new computer or share them with colleagues because…+
My scripts break when moved to new environments.
My scripts often fail when I move them to a new computer or share them with colleagues because they rely on hardcoded file paths. I spend too much time fixing these broken paths. What habit should I adopt to ensure my scripts always dynamically locate their own position and relative files, making them portable and robust across different environments?
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?

Questions people actually ask

honest answers, no sign-up

Every task here was seen in the real world. Someone doing the job named it, a real job ad asked for it, or a lot of people asked about it online.

If nothing real showed a task, it is not on the page. That is the whole rule.

They are the same job approached four ways, because what you need depends on where you are.

Get it done today. Make it easy for the next person to say yes to. Work out the right move when you are stuck. Learn the pattern so the job stops coming back.

For most of these jobs it can carry the heavy thinking - draft it, sort it, check it, rehearse it with you.

It cannot sit in your chair, take the blame when a number is wrong, or notice what nobody wrote down. Let it do the first 80%. Keep the last 20% that is truly yours.

No. Copy any prompt and paste it into the AI you already use. No account, no score, no wall in the way.

Any of them. The prompts describe the work rather than naming a product, so they are not tied to one assistant.

That is also why they keep working when you switch.

Change it freely. Every prompt is a starting line, not a rule.

Put in your real numbers, your real names and your real deadline. The more you make it yours, the better the answer comes back.

The tasks come from real job ads, published job data and the questions people ask in public forums.

The steps come from MATLAB's own documentation, with practitioner sources for the traps the manual does not mention.

Push once. Ask it to sharpen the weakest part and to say what it assumed.

Most wrong answers come from a missing detail rather than a bad prompt - tell it the thing it could not know.