All I want to do (initially) is read an Excel or csv file

Hi- I'm at the pre-novice level. Your patience is requested.

I have a csv file that has the top row containing column identifiers ( about 20 columns) and every row after that containing data.

All I want to do is read the data into Matlab. I've tried all sorts of commands but all I get is error messages. I don't want to use the import wizard--I need to learn how to write the commands.

How about a shove in the right direction?

Answer 1

[Eric]

Something like the following should work:

      %Prompt user for filename
      [fname, pname] = uigetfile('*.csv');  

       %Create fully-formed filename as a string
       filename = fullfile(pname, fname);

       %Check that file exists
       assert(exist(filename,'file')==2, '%s does not exist.', filename);

       %Read in the data, skipping the first row 
       data = csvread(filename,1,0);

Good luck,

Eric

[Eric]

Useful things for novices in this code are:

1. Use of uigetfile() to prompt user for a filename

2. Use of the fullfile() function to create path-resolved filenames

3. Use of assert() to perform error checking

Note that if your version of Matlab is a bit dated, assert() may not work. It's been in Matlab for a few years now, but I forget when it first made its appearance.

A nice complement to fullfile() is fileparts().

-Eric

[Frank]

Thank you for your help. I appreciate you coaching me with this problem.

Answer 2

[Fangjun Jiang]

try d=importdata('test.csv') and check the value of d in MATLAB workspace.

[Frank]

OK, I tried it and it comes back with

??? Error using ==> importdata at 136

Unable to open file.

How can I get it to ask me for the file name and let me navigate to it?

[Fangjun Jiang]

Specify the full path of the file like 'c:\mydocument\test.csv', or use

[FileName,PathStr]=uigetfile;

d=importdata(fullfile(PathStr,FileName))

[Frank]

Thank you for your help. Eric provided a little bit more detail which I needed since I am being slow on the uptake. :(

[Frank]

This is the better answer. The other answer uses commands like csvread that are going to be eliminated.

[Eric]

I believe csvread has received a reprieve. In the Matlab R2010b Release Notes:

csvread and csvwrite Will Not Be Removed

The R2010a Release Notes originally stated that csvread and csvwrite would be removed in a future release. As of R2010b, there are no plans to remove these functions.