title: How to install SPAMS toolbox in Matlab 2014b under windows 8.1
body: <p>I am trying to learn how to successfully compile "Sparse Modeling Software" (SPAMS) in my machine which uses a Windows 8.1 OS and MATLAB R2014b. </p>
  
  <p>The steps I have taken are as followed (some parts might have been unnecessary or missing) </p>
  
  <p><strong>Step 1.</strong> Installed "Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Professional".</p>
  
  <p><strong>Step 2.</strong> Installed "Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit (SDK)".</p>
  
  <p><strong>Step 3.</strong> Download "spams-matlab-v2.4-svn2014-02-18.tar" from <a href="http://spams-devel.gforge.inria.fr/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://spams-devel.gforge.inria.fr/</a></p>
  
  <p><strong>Step 4.</strong> Unzip it in Windows using 7-zip. Only 1 error I received but all he other data were uncompressed. The error is this : </p>
  
  <pre><code>ERROR: Can not set reparse data: C:\Users\Yashar\Desktop\spams-matlab\cpp_library\spams.h
  </code></pre>
  
  <p><strong>Step5:</strong> In MATLAB, I set the compiler: </p>
  
  <pre><code>&gt;&gt; mex -setup C++
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>message I recieve: </p>
  
  <pre><code>MEX configured to use 'Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Professional' for C++  language compilation.
  Warning: The MATLAB C and Fortran API has changed to support MATLAB
   variables with more than 2^32-1 elements. In the near future
   you will be required to update your code to utilize the
   new API. You can find more information about this at:
   http://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/matlab_external/upgrading-   mex-files-to-use-64-bit-api.html.
  </code></pre>
  
  <p><strong>Step 6.</strong> Open compile.m in SPAMS (as recommended) and run it. The error I get looks like this:</p>
  
  <pre><code>compilation of: -I./linalg/ -I./decomp/ -I./prox/ -I./dictLearn/ dictLearn/mex/mexTrainDL.cpp
  Error using mex
  C:\Users\Yashar\Desktop\spams-matlab\Files not found; check that you are in the
  correct current folder, and check the spelling of
  'C:\Users\Yashar\Desktop\spams-matlab\Files'.
  Error in compile (line 391)
  mex(args{:});
  </code></pre>
  
  <p><strong>Question :</strong> What I am doing to me looks pretty standard but I know it takes a while learning how to cope with issues with regard to interfacing codes with MATLAB, etc. Can you please help me with getting around the problems I have and managing to compile SPAMS toolbox in my machine? FYI, I am interested in using mexLasso function in this toolbox.</p>