Dynamically adding callback functionalities to uimenu items

EDIT:

Following the suggestions to my question here, I was able to create a temporary file that stores the recently accessed files (here is the code):

function myRecentlyAccessedFiles(app, Fullfilename)
    [~, name, ext] = fileparts(Fullfilename);    
    fichier = [name ext]; % creates the filename with extension    
    tempfile = 'temp.xlsx';   
    if ~exist(tempfile, 'file')
        uimenu(app.OpenrecentlyaccessedfileMenu, 'Text', '< No files >');
        writecell({''}, tempfile);
        return;
    else
        writecell({fichier Fullfilename}, tempfile, 'WriteMode', 'append');
        data = readcell(tempfile, 'FileType', 'SpreadSheet');
        [C,ia,~] = unique(data(:,2), 'stable');
        if numel(ia) > 5
            maxLimit = 5;
        else 
            maxLimit = numel(ia);
        end        
        for i = 1 : maxLimit 
            tmp = uimenu(app.OpenrecentlyaccessedfileMenu, 'Text', char(C(i)), 'MenuSelectedFcn', @MenuSelected);
        end
    end    
    function MenuSelected(src,event)
        % Execute this for each file
    end  
end

By doing so, after each iteration, the "Open recently accessed file" menu gave me the proper list (screensot below)

I need to open the file that is selected from the sub-menu of the "Open recently accessed file".

However, when I execute this, irrespective of the file chosen, the code always executes the last file in the list.

Am I doing something wrong here?

[Geoff Hayes]

Shreedhar - can you show us the code that you have written (presumably this is the MenuSelected function) that tries to open or load the file?

[Shreedhar Savant Todkar]

Hi Geoff,

Even if I simply try to print 'tmp.Text' in the MenuSelected function, it always prints the last filename from the list.

This is the menu selected function:

    function MenuSelected(src,event)
        setappdata(0, 'accessByMainWindow', 'False');
        tmp.Text %Checking if the selected file is same as the file that will be processed.
        setappdata(0, 'recentFile', tmp.Text);
        BrowseWindow_optimized_App(); % <-- This function simply loads my file
        % This function uses the 'tmp.Text' value (that contains the
        % selected filename and uses it for further processing.
    end 
    

PS: I understand that 'setappdata' and 'getappdata' are not recommended, but in this case I just want it to work , I will opitmize it once I get this going.

[Rik]

You can replace getappdata and setappdata with a hidden property of your app. All Matlab functions will have access to the groot object, so storing it there is a bad idea in general.

Wouldn't it be the best solution to store these names in a cell vector? By using a property the callback using the file can easily add the current file to the list, removing the oldest if the number of elements exceeds the max count or reordering if the file is already in the list.

Answer 1

[Geoff Hayes]

Shreedhar - in your loop, the variable tmp is always being overwritten

for i = 1 : maxLimit 
    tmp = uimenu(app.OpenrecentlyaccessedfileMenu, 'Text', char(C(i)), 'MenuSelectedFcn', @MenuSelected);
end

so this local variable will always refer to the last created menu item. I haven't tested this, but since your callback signature is

function MenuSelected(src,event)

then the src input parameter should correspond to the menu item object that was selected. In that case, you might be able to change your code to

function MenuSelected(src,event)
    setappdata(0, 'accessByMainWindow', 'False');

    setappdata(0, 'recentFile', src.Text); % <---- use src if possible
    
    BrowseWindow_optimized_App(); % <-- This function simply loads my file
end 

Again, I haven't tested this but it might* work.

[Shreedhar Savant Todkar]

You're absolutely right, it works. Works like a charm!