diff --git a/src/function/Matheval.cpp b/src/function/Matheval.cpp
index 64d112e14aacf9298a8728f7f5184bc4d737fdd1..517a7e77b1c1fff771abcdb95c3cf70e571693f9 100644
--- a/src/function/Matheval.cpp
+++ b/src/function/Matheval.cpp
@@ -60,10 +60,6 @@ This names can be customized using the VAR keyword (see examples below).
 If you want a function that depends not only on collective variables
 but also on time you can use the \subpage TIME action.
 
-\attention
-The MATHEVAL object only works if libmatheval is installed on the system and
-PLUMED has been linked to it
-
 \par Examples
 
 The following input tells plumed to perform a metadynamics
@@ -82,8 +78,7 @@ to atoms 10, 12, and 15.
 Also notice that since MATHEVAL is used without the VAR option
 the two arguments should be referred to as x and y in the expression FUNC.
 For simple functions
-such as this one it is possible to use \ref COMBINE, which does
-not require libmatheval to be installed on your system.
+such as this one it is possible to use \ref COMBINE.
 
 The following input tells plumed to print the angle between vectors
 identified by atoms 1,2 and atoms 2,3
@@ -103,7 +98,7 @@ PRINT ARG=theta
 \endplumedfile
 (See also \ref PRINT and \ref DISTANCE).
 
-Notice that the matheval library implements a large number of functions (trigonometric, exp, log, etc).
+Notice that this action implements a large number of functions (trigonometric, exp, log, etc).
 Among the useful functions, have a look at the step function (that is the Heaviside function).
 `step(x)` is defined as 1 when `x` is positive and `0` when x is negative. This allows for
 a straightforward implementation of if clauses.
diff --git a/src/tools/SwitchingFunction.cpp b/src/tools/SwitchingFunction.cpp
index 168d8452ff6b922432452a16aa359030e2059bc7..8b98f27fc770a500bc9bb38aa0eb1518578a9c93 100644
--- a/src/tools/SwitchingFunction.cpp
+++ b/src/tools/SwitchingFunction.cpp
@@ -135,10 +135,7 @@ s(r) = FUNC
 </table>
 
 \attention
-Similarly to the \ref MATHEVAL function, the MATHEVAL switching function
-only works if libmatheval is installed on the system and
-PLUMED has been linked to it
-Also notice that using MATHEVAL is much slower than using e.g. RATIONAL.
+Notice that using MATHEVAL is much slower than using e.g. RATIONAL.
 Thus, the MATHEVAL switching function is useful to perform quick
 tests on switching functions with arbitrary form before proceeding to their
 implementation in C++.
diff --git a/user-doc/Installation.md b/user-doc/Installation.md
index 9013f5fe72533f95174b054b7ffec22413d1604a..62b416d9d8272d875355c76217bfcad6b296673b 100644
--- a/user-doc/Installation.md
+++ b/user-doc/Installation.md
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ Notice that some functionalities of PLUMED depend on external
 libraries which are looked for by configure. You can typically
 avoid looking for a library using the "disable" syntax, e.g.
 \verbatim
-> ./configure --disable-mpi --disable-matheval
+> ./configure --disable-mpi --disable-xdrfile
 \endverbatim
 
 Notice that when mpi search is enabled (by default) compilers
@@ -146,34 +146,34 @@ or not the libraries were properly detected.
 
 If a library is not found during configuration, you can try to use options to modify the
 search path.
-For example if your matheval libraries is in /opt/local (this is where MacPorts put it)
+For example if your xdrfile libraries is in /opt/local (this is where MacPorts put it)
 and configure is not able to find it you can try
 \verbatim
 > ./configure LDFLAGS=-L/opt/local/lib CPPFLAGS=-I/opt/local/include
 \endverbatim
-Notice that PLUMED will first try to link a routine from say matheval
+Notice that PLUMED will first try to link a routine from say xdrfile
 without any additional flag, and then in case of failure will retry adding
-"-lmatheval" to the LIBS options.
-If also this does not work, the matheval library will be
+"-lxdrfile" to the LIBS options.
+If also this does not work, the xdrfile library will be
 disabled and some features will not be available.
 This procedure allows you to use libraries
 with custom names. So, if
-your matheval library is called /opt/local/lib/libmymatheval.so you can 
+your xdrfile library is called /opt/local/lib/libmyxdrfile.so you can 
 link it with
 \verbatim
-> ./configure LDFLAGS=-L/opt/local/lib CPPFLAGS=-I/opt/local/include LIBS=-lmymatheval
+> ./configure LDFLAGS=-L/opt/local/lib CPPFLAGS=-I/opt/local/include LIBS=-lmyxdrfile
 \endverbatim
-In this example, the linker will directly try to link `/opt/local/lib/libmymatheval.so`.
+In this example, the linker will directly try to link `/opt/local/lib/libmyxdrfile.so`.
 This rule is true for all the libraries, so that you will always be able to link
 a specific version of a library by specifying it using the LIBS variable.
 
-Since version 2.3.2, the search for the library functions passing to the linker a flag with the standard library name (in the matheval example,
-it would be `-lmatheval`) can be skipped by using the option `--disable-libsearch`.
+Since version 2.3.2, the search for the library functions passing to the linker a flag with the standard library name (in the xdrfile example,
+it would be `-lxdrfile`) can be skipped by using the option `--disable-libsearch`.
 Notice that in this manner only libraries that are explicitly passed using the `LIBS` option will be linked. For instance
 \verbatim
-> ./configure --disable-libsearch LIBS=-lmatheval
+> ./configure --disable-libsearch LIBS=-lxdrfile
 \endverbatim
-will make sure that only matheval is linked and, for instance, blas and lapack libraries are not.
+will make sure that only xdrfile is linked and, for instance, blas and lapack libraries are not.
 This might be useful when installing PLUMED within package managers such as MacPorts to
 make sure that only desired libraries are linked and thus to avoid to introduce spurious
 dependencies. The only exception to this rule is `-ldl`, which is anyway a system library on Linux.
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ try to set correctly
 the runtime path by using
 \verbatim
 > ./configure LDFLAGS="-L/opt/local/lib -Wl,-rpath,/opt/local/lib" \
-  CPPFLAGS=-I/opt/local/include LIBS=-lmymatheval
+  CPPFLAGS=-I/opt/local/include LIBS=-lmyxdrfile
 \endverbatim
 Notice that although the file 'src/lib/plumed-shared' is not necessary, being
 able to produce it means that it will be possible to link PLUMED dynamically
@@ -222,7 +222,7 @@ native lapack libraries have problems.
 As a final resort, you can also edit the resulting Makefile.conf file.
 Notable variables in this file include:
 - DYNAMIC_LIB : these are the libraries needed to compile the PLUMED
-library (e.g. -L/path/to/matheval -lmatheval etc). Notice that for the
+library (e.g. -L/path/to/xdrfile -lxdrfile etc). Notice that for the
 PLUMED shared library to be compiled properly these should be dynamic
 libraries. Also notice that PLUMED preferentially requires BLAS and LAPACK library;
 see \ref BlasAndLapack for further info. Notice that the variables 
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@ variable. This is a bit misleading but is required to keep the configuration
 files compatible with PLUMED 2.0.
 - LIBS : these are the libraries needed when patching an MD code; typically only "-ldl" (needed to have functions for dynamic loading).
 - CPPFLAGS : add here definition needed to enable specific optional functions;
-e.g. use -D__PLUMED_HAS_MATHEVAL to enable the matheval library
+e.g. use -D__PLUMED_HAS_XDRFILE to enable the xdrfile library
 - SOEXT : this gives the extension for shared libraries in your system, typically
 "so" on unix, "dylib" on mac; If your system does not support dynamic libraries or, for some other reason, you would like only static executables you can
 just set this variable to a blank ("SOEXT=").
@@ -529,7 +529,7 @@ First of all, we highly recommend using the module file that PLUMED provides to
 Just edit it as necessary to make it suitable for your environment.
 
 Notice that PLUMED can take advantage of many additionaly features if specific libraries are available upon
-compiling it. Install libmatheval first and check if PLUMED `./configure` is detecting it. Libmatheval is a must have with PLUMED.
+compiling it.
 If someone uses gromacs, install libxdrfile first and check if PLUMED `./configure` is detecting it.
 PLUMED will be able to write trr/xtc file, simplifying analysis.
 
@@ -537,7 +537,7 @@ Try to patch all MD codes with the `--runtime` option. This will allow independe
   Users will be able to combine any of the installed gromacs/amber/etc versions with any of the installed PLUMED versions.
 Notice that it is sometime claimed that statically linked codes are faster. In our experience, this is not true.
 In case you absolutely need a static executable, be ready to face non trivial linking issues. PLUMED is written in C++,
-thus required the appropriate C++ library to be linked, and might require additional libraries (e.g. libmatheval).
+thus required the appropriate C++ library to be linked, and might require additional libraries (e.g. libxdrfile).
 
 Sometime we make small fixes on the patches. For this reason, keep track of which version of PLUMED you used
 to patch each of the MD code. Perhaps you can call the MD code modules with names such as `gromacs/4.6.7p1`,
@@ -565,9 +565,9 @@ It will take more time to compile but it will allow you to use a single module.
 PLUMED version with different optimization levels.
 
 Using modules, it is not necessary to make the PLUMED module explicitly dependent on the used library. Imagine a
-scenario where you first installed a module `libmatheval`, then load it while you compile PLUMED. If you
+scenario where you first installed a module `libxdrfile`, then load it while you compile PLUMED. If you
 provide the following option to configure `LDFLAGS="-Wl,-rpath,$LD_LIBRARY_PATH"`, the PLUMED executable and
-library will remember where libmatheval is, without the need to load libmatheval module at runtime.
+library will remember where libxdrfile is, without the need to load libxdrfile module at runtime.
 Notice that this trick often does not work for fundamental libraries such as C++ and MPI library. As a consequence,
 usually the PLUMED module should load the compiler and MPI modules.