App Designer 2019b : automatic add of Figbrowser menu at load of app and then it's impossible to save or run

I create a new blank app in App designer 2019b and save it immediately without editing anything. Then I reopen it and a complex FigBrowser menu appears. I am now unable to either run the app or save it. both buttons are greyed out. Any idea how to fix that? All my older apps have become impossible to edit and save.

Answer 1

[Larry McDermott]

I've seen this in 2018b and 2021A and at times can't remove it!

Answer 2

[Jim Brown]

This is EVRI's fault. I assume you are using PLS_Toolbox. They have a figbrowser function that adds this FigBrowswer menu automatically to figures. I had the same problem in R2021a. Once you open an App in App Designer with PLS_Toolbox in the path, the App is forever broken. The FigBrower code is like a virus in your App. You can try to delete the FigBrowser menu by right clicking and selecting delete. It will disappear, but when you save the App and reopen, it reappears and if you try again, you get a million error messages and App Designer freezes. Once you save the App after FigBrowser showed up, your App is largely useless as there are a whole lot of errors in the code due to FigBrowser. Easiest thing is to remove the EVRI code from your path before using App Designer. In that case you can open a clean copy of an App and work with it. If you really have to have PLS_Toolbox too, then look at the documentation for figbrowser on the EVRI wiki. They have ways to control when it shows up and you may be able to prevent it from openning in anything that is not EVRI code related.

[Larry McDermott]

Thanks Jim, appreciate these suggestions! Curious...are you the Jim/James Brown of EM/Schneider?

[Jim Brown]

That's me. Had to chuckle when I saw your name on a question about this. Helped convince me it what EVRI's code that was screwing with things. The person at Mathworks that was helping me on recovering a screwed up App was sure it was due to FigBrowser, but wasn't too sure where FigBrowser came from. She seems to think they added that feature in R2021a, but I can't find any documentation. There is a figbrowser.m in PLS_Toolbox, and it is clearly the problem. Unfortunately, once App Designer uses it, it can't seem to forget it. There most be something buried in the mlapp file even after you try to delete the FigBrowser item. It reincarnates itself and blows up your code in the process. I made a copy of my path with and without PLS_Toolbox, and will switch if I have to edit my app.

[Patrick Wray]

I know this comment comes a little late, but thanks to you guys i tracked it down to PLS toolbox. I looked up the documentation and managed to turn it off. I am still using Guide for my app - i will move to app designer when it is ready - but i was able to remove it but putting the following line in "guim_OpeningFcn":

figbrowser('off')

Documentation

Hopefully this will help some people.

[Jose Marcelino]

I'm facing the same issue. I removed the EVRI functions, and the app won't even open in the App Designer. Does anyone know how to solve this situation?