How to transpose a cell array converted into a character arrray?

Hi!

I have a cell array such as:

Using xlsread I store the data in an array named Colours.

The type of the array is cell.

So I want to transpose the array from vertical to horizontal usign : C = colours .'

Now I have a horizontal array (a row) - Color: Green Blue Red Yellow

And if I convert it into a charr array the results are like : GBRY

RLEE

.......

In other words, MATLAB converts the words one by one, not the elements of the array?

Any suggestions why ???

[Adam]

What result are you expecting from converting to a char array? Also it would help if you showed some actual code. Your screenshot shows something with a lot of empty cells. Is that your C cell array? If so what size/shape is it?

[John Rebbner]

Colours: 'Green' ' Blue' ' Red' .....

class(Colours) : char

This is what I Expect by converting the cell array into a character.

The screen shot is for example, do not pay attention on the empty cells.

[madhan ravi]

The below ?:

c={'Green' ,'Blue', 'Red'};
char(c).'

[Jan]

@John: This is not clear, because it is no valid Matlab code:

Colours: 'Green' ' Blue' ' Red' .....

class(Colours) : char

Using char to convert a cell string to a char matrix does exactly what is advertised in the documentation: It conatenates the char vectors vertically and pads with spaces on the rigth side.

c = {'Green' ,'Blue', 'Red'};
char(c)
c = ['Green'; ...
     'Blue '; ...
     'Red  ']

Transposing this is not really useful.

Please explain, what you want to achieve.

[Stephen23]

@John Rebner: here is a character vector with one row:

'GreenBlueRed'

What you showed

'Green' ' Blue' ' Red' ...

is three character vectors, apparently in a comma-separated list (e.g. as used to define a cell array or input arguments to a function). What you showed is certainly not one character vector.

What is wrong with just keeping those character vectors in the cell array?

[John Rebbner]

OK! I'm gonna try to explain you exactly what I have:

Name_XT = NameX(end_ln:end) % this is my cell array with the names from excel which is a column
empties = find(cellfun(@isempty,Name_XT)); % here I try to find the empty cells and delete
Name_XT = empties [];

Name_Add = Name_XT.'

Name_Add_char= char(Name_Add) % and here MATLAB converts the array vertically again.

My goal is to convert Name_XT into a horizontal character array, but using this code it gives me Name_XT vertically again automatically

If i use :

Name_Add_char= char(Name_Add).' % MATLAB converts the whole word letter by letter horizontally, and I get the results mentioned above.

[Jan]

Name_XT = empties [];

This is no valid Matlab syntax.

Name_XT = NameX(end_ln:end);
Name_XT(cellfun('isempty',Name_XT)) = [];
Name_Add_char = char(Name_Add);

It is not clear, what you mean by "horizontal character array". Please post an example instead of letting us guess.

[Stephen23]

@John Rebbner: please do not close question which have answers. It is not appreciated when you unilaterally decide that our efforts to help you should be discarded.

Answer 1

[Fangjun Jiang]

a={'Green','Blue','Red'};
b=a';
aa=char(a);
bb=char(b);
isequal(aa,bb)

Both aa and bb are 3x5 char array and they are identical.

What do you really want? What things can't be done with a or aa?

Answer 2

[Stephen23]

Converting to a horizontal character array is easy with a comma-separated list:

>> C = {'Green','Blue','Red'}; % orientation is irrelevant.
>> V = [C{:}] % this is all you need to do.
V = 'GreenBlueRed'
>> class(V)
ans = char
>> isrow(V)
ans = 1

https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/matlab_prog/comma-separated-lists.html

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/320713-how-to-operate-on-comma-separated-lists

Or perhaps you want something like this:

>> M = reshape(char(C).',1,[])
M = 'GreenBlue Red  '
>> class(M)
ans = char
>> isrow(M)
ans = 1

In your comment your wrote "This is what I Expect by converting the cell array into a character"

Colours: 'Green' ' Blue' ' Red' ..... 
class(Colours) : char 

but so far you have ignored us telling you that actually what you showed us are three separate character vectors (without any container variable, e.g. cell or string array). So far what you expect a character vector to be and what they actually are do not correspond.

I suspect that what you really want is a string array:

>> S = string(C).'
S = 1x3 string array
    "Green"    "Blue"      "Red"

[John Rebbner]

Hello mate! The only one problem is when I convert the array from cell to a char array and from vertical to horizontal.

%So the results look like:   
                                       MGFS
                                       AEIL
                                       TAVO
                                       EREW
 %instead :                            MATE   GEAR  FIVE SLOW         

Can not find out where is my mistake. For example:

 Name = [  MATE    %this is my array of cell type. It is vertically
           GEAR    
           FIVE
           SLOW
           ]
 Name_new = (Name).'    %trying to transpose from vertical into a horizontal array, the type of the data is still cell
 Names = char(Name_new)
 
 % and the results are :             
                                       MGFS 
                                       AEIL
                                       TAVO
                                       EREW
  %instead : MATE GEAR FIVE SLOW                                      

[John Rebbner]

I have tryied to transpose Name array without coma after it, I mean : Name_new = (Name)' but the results are the same ....

[Stephen23]

When you read the char documentation it clearly states "If A is a cell array of character arrays, then char converts the cell array to a character array. Each row from each character array in the cell array becomes a row in C, automatically padded with blank spaces as needed." This means if A is a cell vector then its orientation is totally irrelevant, because each cell will simply become one row of the output character array.

However your explanation and your examples do not match each other, and because you do not use valid MATLAB syntax we have no idea what variables you actually have.

Lets have a look at the two possibilities, first with a cell array:

>> Name = {'MATE';'GEAR';'FIVE';'SLOW'}; % Cell array.
>> char(Name)
ans =
MATE
GEAR
FIVE
SLOW
>> char(Name.') % transpose is irrelevant, for the reason I gave above.
ans =
MATE
GEAR
FIVE
SLOW

So it appears that your Names array is actually a character array (not a cell array like you wrote), in which case the char call is totally superfluous anyway:

>> Name = ['MATE';'GEAR';'FIVE';'SLOW'] % Char array, NOT a cell array!
Name =
MATE
GEAR
FIVE
SLOW
>> Name.'
ans =
MGFS
AEIL
TAVO
EREW

So far no surprises: transposing a char array gives the transpose of that char array. All of this indicates that your Name array is actually a character array, and not a cell array as you wrote: "this is my array of cell type"'. You can check the class quite easily by using this command:

class(Name)

and then tell us what its output is.