diff --git a/preProcessing/preprocessSession.m b/preProcessing/preprocessSession.m
index d343478..d9ed585 100644
--- a/preProcessing/preprocessSession.m
+++ b/preProcessing/preprocessSession.m
@@ -161,7 +161,11 @@ function preprocessSession(varargin)
 end
 
 %add standard "ignore" prefixes to be extra safe
-ignoreFolders = [ignoreFolders, "ignore", "backup", "memory_usage"];
+if ignoreFolders == ""
+    ignoreFolders = ["ignore", "backup", "memory_usage"];
+else
+    ignoreFolders = [ignoreFolders, "ignore", "backup", "memory_usage"];
+end
 
 % Check for active breakpoints
 dbstatus_ = dbstatus('-completenames');