The problem
Building hardware is full of small mechanisms that wear or need tools: cabinet catches, drawer stops, shutter fasteners, picture hooks. Magnetic catches exist, but conventional magnets grab from a distance, give an abrupt feel, and do not hold well on painted walls.
How coded magnets help
Correlated Magnetics Research names several building uses on its applications page. Latch Polymagnets that repel at a distance and attract when pushed together serve as cabinet latches, with different designs giving different repel and attach strengths to tune the feel. Storm and hurricane shutters can be attached and released with a twist of a magnet in each corner. Its catalog includes a drawer detent pair.
Walls are the other use. CMR launched Hooked on Paint, magnets designed for walls coated with magnetic paint, which CMR says hold frames and art on plaster, concrete or brick surfaces that are hard to drill. CMR's blog also describes Gator Magnetics garage wall organization products built with Polymagnets and sold at Home Depot and HSN.