At start-up, MATLAB will display a desktop with three windows. The window on the right is the command window, in which MATLAB commands are entered and executed. The windows on the left display the Current Folder Browser and the Workspace Browser.

The Workspace Browser allows you to view and make changes to the contents of the workspace. It is also possible to plot a data set using the Workspace window. Just highlight the data set to be plotted and then select the type of plot desired. MATLAB will display the graph in a new figure window. The Current Folder Browser allows you to view MATLAB and other files and to perform file operations such as opening and editing or searching for files.

It is also possible to open up a fourth window that displays the Command History. It allows you view a log of all the commands that have been entered in the command window. This window can be accessed from the Command Window by pressing the up arrow key. To repeat a previous command, just click on the command to highlight it. The selected command will now appear on the current line in the Command Window and may be edited and executed.

Any of the MATLAB windows can be closed, maximized, docked, or undocked by clicking on the solid triangle located in the upper right-hand corner of the window and choosing the desired option.