Why do I get a "property name already in use" error when I edit, save, or zoom into a plot in MATLAB?

When I try to edit, save, or zoom into a plot using the standard figure toolbar, I get the following error:

 ??? Property name already in use.

 Error in ==> uigetmodemanager at 26

    mmgr = uitools.uimodemanager(hFig);

 Error in ==> hasuimode at 12

 hManager = uigetmodemanager(hFig);

 Error in ==> uimode at 82

 if hasuimode(hObj,name)

 <SNIP>

The above error was generated when I tried to zoom into the plot. However, a similar error (starting with "Property name already in use") is generated for each of the other operations, too.

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

This error is known to occur when a third-party toolbox is installed that defines an ISPROP function which shadows the ISPROP function that ships with MATLAB.

To identify if this is the cause of the issue, type the following command at the MATLAB command prompt:

 which -all isprop

Only the following file should be listed in the output, where $MATLABROOT is the MATLAB installation directory (which can be obtained by typing matlabroot at the MATLAB command prompt):

 $MATLABROOT\toolbox\matlab\datatypes\isprop.m

To work around this issue, remove the directory containing the conflicting ISPROP function from the MATLAB path, using the RMPATH command. This may conflict with the third-party toolbox's operation, however.