MATLAB^® comes with an extensive set of documentation consisting of an online Help facility and online function reference, as well as printed manuals.

Included in the Help facility is the MathWorks Help Desk, which provides online access to documentation through your Web browser. All manuals are available in PDF form; selected titles are also available in HTML form. The complete set of manuals is listed under Online Manuals, which has descriptions of the manuals and links to the PDF versions. The manuals available from the Help Desk in HTML include Known Software and Documentation Problems, Release 11 New Features, Getting Started with MATLAB, and Using MATLAB Graphics.

The Help Desk includes the online MATLAB Function Reference, which provides descriptions of all the MATLAB functions and operators. To find the information for a function, use either the listing by subject area or the index. In addition, the Help Desk provides quick access to the descriptions of the Handle Graphics^® properties through the Handle Graphics Objects browser.

The Help Desk also provides reference material in HTML form for other Release 11 products.

The following table explains where to look in the documentation set to find particular information.

How to Use the MATLAB Documentation Set
What I Want	What I Should Do
I need to install MATLAB.	See the Installation Guide for the PC or UNIX.
I want to know the system requirements for Release 11.	See Release 11 System Requirements on The MathWorks Web site.
I'm upgrading from a previous release.	Read Release 11 New Features to find out about the new features in Release 11 and how to upgrade from previous releases. If you are updating from MATLAB 4, read Upgrading From MATLAB 4 to MATLAB 5.0.
I'm new to MATLAB and want to learn it fast.	Start by reading Getting Started with MATLAB. The most important things to learn are how to enter matrices, how to use the : (colon) operator, and how to invoke functions. After you master the basics, you can access the rest of the documentation as needed, or you can use online help and the demonstrations to learn other commands.
I want to know how to use a specific function.	Use the online Help facility. For brief online help, use the help window (type helpwin or select Help Window from the Help menu on the PC). For a full description, use the online MATLAB Function Reference via the Help Desk or via the doc command (type doc followed by the name of the function). The MATLAB Function Reference is also available in PDF format (Volume 1: Language and Volume 2: Graphics) if you want to print out any of the function descriptions in higher-quality form than is currently available via HTML.
I want to find a function for a specific purpose but I don't know its name.	There are three choices: Use lookfor from the command line (e.g., lookfor inverse). Use the online search from the Help Desk. Visit The MathWorks Web site and see if there is a user-contributed file to solve your problem.
I want to know what functions are available in a general area.	Use the help window (type helpwin or select Help Window from the Help menu on the PC) to see a list of functions organized by directory group, or use the Help Desk to see the Function Reference's grouping by subject area.
I want to learn about a specific MATLAB topic, such as sparse matrices, ordinary differential equations, or cellarrays.	See the appropriate chapter in Using MATLAB [PDF].
I want to know how to use the MATLAB API.	The Application Program Interface Guide [PDF] describes how to use the MATLAB API. For reference information about particular API functions, select Application Program Interface from the Help Desk.
I want to know how to use other Release 11 products (e.g., Simulink®, Stateflow™, toolboxes, blocksets).	Use the online documentation via the Help Desk or the printed manual(s) for the product.
I have a problem I want help with.	For tips and troubleshooting problems, visit the Technical Support section of The MathWorks Web site (www.mathworks.com). Use the Solution Search Engine to search the Technical Support database of problem solutions.
I want to contact The MathWorks Technical Support.	Use the Help Desk to submit an e-mail help-request form describing your question or problem.
I want to report a software bug or make a suggestion.	Use the bug-report or suggestion forms via the Web, or send e-mail to bugs@mathworks.com or suggest@mathworks.com.
I want to report a documentation bug or make a suggestion.	Use the Give Us Your Feedback form or send e-mail to doc@mathworks.com.