how to override a diary command if another diary already exists?

I usually create a log file at the start of each session by adding it to startup.m. Now, I'm trying to run a piece of code that maintains a local log by creating another diary. Once this second diary is created, my global diary loses its logging capabilities.

Is there a way I can override a new diary creation if another diary file already exists?

Answer 1

[Geoff Hayes]

You can check the status of the diary with the following code

 diaryStatus = get(0,'Diary');

The diaryStatus will be the string 'on' if a diary has already been started to log keyboard input. If the status is 'off' then there is no existing diary and a new one can be started. See http://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/ref/diary.html for details.

Hope the helps!