Clear Filters
Clear Filters

Read files in a folder with dates on them

13 views (last 30 days)
Hi everyone, I have a folder with multiple.mat files that are named : Profile_YYYY_Mon for example Profile_1990_Jan.mat the monts are Jan Feb Mar until Dec .How can i read each file in the correct chronological order and then use it to do something inside a for loop?

Accepted Answer

Stephen23
Stephen23 on 14 Jun 2023
Edited: Stephen23 on 14 Jun 2023
The actual solution is to parse the filenames that you gave. Lets create some fake files with fake data:
X=1;save Profile_1990_Jan.mat X
X=2;save Profile_1990_Feb.mat X
X=3;save Profile_1990_Mar.mat X
X=4;save Profile_1990_Apr.mat X
Now lets read them in chronological order:
P = '.'; % absolute/relative path to folder where files are saved.
S = dir(fullfile(P,'Profile*.mat')); % alphabetical order.
I = regexp({S.name},'\d+_\w+','match','once');
DT = datetime(I,'InputFormat','y_MMM')
DT = 1×4 datetime array
01-Apr-1990 01-Feb-1990 01-Jan-1990 01-Mar-1990
[~,X] = sort(DT);
S = S(X); % sort into chronological order
for k = 1:numel(S)
F = fullfile(P,S(k).name);
D = load(F);
D.X % do whatever you want with the imported data
end
ans = 1
ans = 2
ans = 3
ans = 4
Another approach without REGEXP:
S = dir(fullfile(P,'Profile*.mat')); % alphabetical order
DT = datetime({S.name},"InputFormat","'Profile'_y_MMM'.mat'")
DT = 1×4 datetime array
01-Apr-1990 01-Feb-1990 01-Jan-1990 01-Mar-1990
[~,X] = sort(DT);
S = S(X); % sort into chronological order.
for k = 1:numel(S)
F = fullfile(P,S(k).name);
D = load(F);
D.X % do whatever you want with the imported data
end
ans = 1
ans = 2
ans = 3
ans = 4
  1 Comment
lena kappa
lena kappa on 14 Jun 2023
Thank you so much @Stephen23! Both answers work but is one better that the other?

Sign in to comment.

More Answers (2)

Image Analyst
Image Analyst on 14 Jun 2023
Edited: Image Analyst on 14 Jun 2023
How about something like this to sort by file time/date stamp:
folder = pwd; % Wherever you want.
filePattern = fullfile(folder, 'Profile*.mat');
fileList = dir(filePattern);
[~, sortOrder] = sort([fileList.datenum], 'ascend');
fileList = fileList(sortOrder)
allFileNames = fullfile(folder, {fileList.name});
for k = 1 : numel(allFileNames)
thisFileName = allFileNames{k};
fprintf('Now processing "%s" with a date of %s.\n', thisFileName, fileList(k).date);
% Now do something with the file.
end

Image Analyst
Image Analyst on 14 Jun 2023
Edited: Image Analyst on 14 Jun 2023
How about something like this to sort by the 3 letter month string:
months = {'Jan', 'Feb', 'Mar', 'Apr', 'May', 'Jun', 'Jul', 'Aug', 'Sep', 'Oct', 'Nov', 'Dec'}
folder = pwd; % Wherever you want.
filePattern = fullfile(folder, 'Profile*.mat');
fileList = dir(filePattern);
[~, sortOrder] = sort([fileList.datenum], 'ascend');
fileList = fileList(sortOrder)
allFileNames = fullfile(folder, {fileList.name})
for k = 1 : numel(months)
indexes = find(contains(allFileNames, months(k)));
for m = 1 : numel(indexes)
thisFileName = allFileNames{indexes(m)};
% See if this filename contains the k'th month.
% If it does, process it. If not, skip it.
fprintf('Now processing "%s" with a date of %s.\n', thisFileName, fileList(indexes(m)).date);
end
end

Categories

Find more on MATLAB Coder in Help Center and File Exchange

Community Treasure Hunt

Find the treasures in MATLAB Central and discover how the community can help you!

Start Hunting!