Can't open additional instance of MATLAB in release 2024b?

I'm on a Mac (M1), running the latest OSX.

I don't seem to be able to open an additional instance of MATLAB by right-clicking on the icon, as I used to in 2024a (and all recent releases). In fact, I can't find any way to do so.

Is this a bug, or has MathWorks dropped this feature? I could not find any mention in the Release Notes.

[Walter Roberson]

Datapoint:

I am running on MacOS Senoma on Intel (so the second most recent MacOS, as Sequoa was released a month ago.)

I am not having difficulty with opening an additional instance of R2024b.

[the cyclist]

In response to this comment and @goc3's answer, I realize I should be more specific.

The right-clicking I mean is clicking on the icon in the dock, which in prior releases brought up this menu:

Note the "Open Additional Instance of MATLAB" choice. That no longer appears for me in R2024b.

I also could not find another way within the IDE. I can use the method suggested in @goc3's answer, but this is significantly less convenient.

[goc3]

I have the same option to "Open Additional Instance of MATLAB" for R2024a—I did not know about that before now. I also do NOT have that right-click option for R2024b. (The Command Window option is also not available in R2024b.) So, it is a problem specific to R2024b, NOT M-series chips vs. Intel Macs.

I would recommend contacting support to let them know about this. They can either take note of it and (hopefully) fix it in a subsequent patch or let you know that it was discontinued. Either way, let us know.

Also, the Terminal approach is more work. But, it allows other options, such as opening MATLAB without a GUI, to run things in the background.

[Walter Roberson]

Datapoint:

I just updated to Sequoia on Intel iMac.

I continue to see "Open Additional Instance of MATLAB" for R2024b -- provided that MATLAB R2024b is currently open.

[the cyclist]

I actually had not been notified about Sequoia yet, so I it turns out I am not on the latest OSX. I'll probably upgrade this weekend. I'm curious if that will matter.

[the cyclist]

UPDATE:

I submitted this to tech support, and they have confirmed that it is a bug in 2024b, and will be fixed in a future release.

Note the bug is consistently present (for me) when I launch MATLAB either directly from /Applications, or from an icon in the Dock. But it does not occur when launching from the command line using /Applications/MATLAB_R2024b.app/bin/matlab. Thanks to @goc3 for that suggestion.

Answer 1

[goc3]

I am using an older Mac (Intel) and OS (Ventura), so, I do not know if this will help.

Nonetheless, I am still able to open an additional instance using the following (path) command in the Terminal:

/Applications/MATLAB_R2024b.app/bin/matlab

Of course, this is contingent upon R2024b being installed in the base /Applications directory. If it is not, then update the path accordingly before running that (path) command in the Terminal.

Answer 2

[the cyclist]

R2024b Update 1 fixed this (presumed) bug.

[Walter Roberson]

Interesting.

I have R2024b with no update, but I am not observing any problem.

[Abdullah]

I have the updated version of R2024b installed on my Mac (M2 Max) but I am still having this issue. There is no option to open an additional instance while right-clicking the app in the dock. Earlier on I was using R2021b where the option was available and worked just fine. Seeing Walter's comment I even updated to Sequoia but the problem persists. If someone finds a general fix please do share.

[goc3]

Installing R2024b Update 1 did fix this problem for me (Intel, Ventura 13.6).

[Abdullah]

That didn't work for me unfortunately. I decided to step down to R2024a which seems to be working fine.

[the cyclist]

My option to launch additional instances has disappeared again! I have no idea what has changed in the meantime. Ugh.

[the cyclist]

OK, so now I noticed that the "Settings" menu option is also not available! Yikes.

Time to contact support.

Answer 3

[Gil Shamai]

SOLVED: Open a New MATLAB Instance via Terminal

1. Open Terminal on your Mac.
2. Use the following command to open a new instance of MATLAB:

open -na "MATLAB_R2024b.app"

• The -n flag allows you to open a new instance.
• The -a flag specifies the application name. Ensure the application path matches exactly.