After saving my figure to a FIG file, why do I get an error about an "Invalid field name component" when trying to open it?

I am able to open the saved figure the first time, but I get an error on the second try.

Using OPENFIG,

hf = figure;

surf(peaks);

drawnow

hgsave(hf,'test1-bad.fig');

close(hf)

hf=openfig('test1-bad.fig')

close(hf)

hf=openfig('test1-bad.fig')

 I get the following error:

 ??? Error using ==> subsref

 Invalid field name component.

 Error in ==> D:\Applications\MATLABR12p1\toolbox\matlab\graphics\getappdata.m

 On line 27  ==>     value = subsref(value,struct('type','.','subs',name)); 

 Error in ==> D:\Applications\MATLABR12p1\toolbox\matlab\graphics\openfig.m

 On line 50  ==> figs = getappdata(0, TOKEN);

Using OPEN,

hf = figure;

surf(peaks);

drawnow

hgsave(hf,'test2-bad.fig');

close(hf)

hf=open('test2-bad.fig')

close(hf)

hf=open('test1-bad.fig')

 I get the following error:

 ??? Error using ==> open

 Invalid field name component.

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

This bug has been fixed for Release 14 SP1 (R14SP1). For previous releases, read below for any possible workarounds:

This is a bug in MATLAB 6.5 (R13) and previous versions.

The problem is related to the characters used to name the FIG file. As a general rule, any file name that passes the ISVARNAME test will not cause this problem. see the documentation on ISVARNAME for more information.

As a workaround, you can rename the FIG file such that it passes the ISVARNAME test, and restart MATLAB. You will then be able to open the file without any problems.