matlab intrinsic function call fails with "Invalid text character" error

I have recently installed MATLAB and I get the following error with some of MATLAB intrinsic functions, such as the following:

usejava('desktop')
Error: File: system_dependent.m Line: 1 Column: 24
Invalid text character. Check for unsupported symbol, invisible character, or pasting of non-ASCII characters.

What is the source of this error and how can it be resolved?

[Steven Lord]

What does this command display?

which -all system_dependent

If it too throws an error try:

builtin('which', '-all', 'system_dependent')

[Walter Roberson]

try

restoredefaultpath; rehash toolboxcache

if that improves the problem then savepath

[A.B.]

Hi Steve, I tried both, both none throws an error and te problem still persists.

Hi Walter, I tried your suggestion, but that too fails with a similar message:

restoredefaultpath; rehash toolboxcache
Error: File: system_dependent.m Line: 1 Column: 24
Invalid text character. Check for unsupported symbol, invisible character, or pasting of non-ASCII characters.
Error in userpath (line 56)
p = system_dependent('getuserworkfolder');

[A.B.]

here is another similar error that I get when I click on an error to open the main.m file where it occurred:

Error in main (line 71)
thisObject.thisMethod ( thisNumber  ... 
Error using matlab.desktop.editor.openDocument (line 29)
Error: File: system_dependent.m Line: 1 Column: 24
Invalid text character. Check for unsupported symbol, invisible character, or pasting of non-ASCII characters.
Error in opentoline (line 56)
editorObj = matlab.desktop.editor.openDocument(fileName); 

[Walter Roberson]

Use your system file explorer to find system_dependent.m looking first under your own files and then under the MATLAB installation directory. What do you find?

Basically, you should not find any system_dependent.m as it is an undocumented built-in function.

[A.B.]

that solved it! thanks a bunch... there was apparently another copy of this file hidden somewhere in the directories, I do not know how it got there, but I basically removed the whole directory and now the error is gone. perhaps you'd want to write your comment as a separate answer so that I can accept it as the correct answer.

Answer 1

[Walter Roberson]

Use your system file explorer to find system_dependent.m looking first under your own files and then under the MATLAB installation directory. What do you find?

Basically, you should not find any system_dependent.m as it is an undocumented built-in function.

[Fangliang Bai]

This solved my problem. Thanks Walter.

In my case, it turns out that the system_dependent.m was located under my own Matalb App folder that has a Runtime. Delete that folder or remove it from the Matlab setpath should solve this problem.

To locate the system_dependent.m, you cannot click the file in the error message because it will throw the same error again. Instead, you can move your mouse over that file in the error message, the Matlab status bar at the bottom of the window should give you the full path to that file.