Why did I get different print format in the output txt file?

Dear All,

I used Matlab compiler to generate a standalone application exe file. I then tested it in 3 different computers. I obtained good printing format in the result txt file using my iMac and new Dell (2019), but obtained bad printing format in the result txt file using my old Dell (2015). I copied parts of the results from different computers and compare them as follows:

I. iMac and new Dell

II. Old Dell

I am wondering why the alignment of columns when using my old Dell are Not as good as those when used my iMac and new dell. How can I fix this problem?

Thanks.

Benson

[Walter Roberson]

which Windows versions on the PC?

Answer 1

[Stephen Cobeldick]

"I am wondering why the alignment of columns when using my old Dell are Not as good as those when used my iMac and new dell."

This has absolutely nothing to do with MATLAB.

It is because you are not using a fixed-width (aka monospaced) typeface in that text editor.

"How can I fix this problem?"

Change the text editor to use a fixed-width font, e.g. Consolas or Courier or PT Mono (which is what your first screenshot appears to show, whereas the second screenshot appears to show Arial, which is a variable-width typeface).

In MS Notepad change the font via menus Format -> Font... and then select the font.

[Benson Gou]

Hi, Stephen,

Thanks for your reply and suggestions.

I am wondering if it can automatically select Consolas or Courier or PT Mono in my code.

Thanks a lot.

Benson

[Walter Roberson]

not with a txt file. perhaps if you emitted a rtf file (matlab does not have much support for rtf)

[Stephen Cobeldick]

"I am wondering if it can automatically select Consolas or Courier or PT Mono in my code."

Text files store character codes only. They do not store any formatting information: no colors, no typeface, no fontsize, etc. If it is not a character code, then it is not saved in a text file.

Of course you could:

• save the data in a file format that does store formatting information, e.g. rtf, etc.
• write a text file using some markup.language, e.g. html, xml, latex, etc.

But neither of these are particularly trivial to create, nor are they likely to be appreciated by anyone who has to actually use your data (text files are much much simpler to work with).

Why not just change your text editor settings? That would be the simplest solution.

[Benson Gou]

Hi, Stephen,

Thanks for your suggestions.

Do you mean that I can set up the print format of txt file in my Matlab code? This is what I want to do actually, because the user does not need to manually change the text edtior settings.

Benson

[Stephen Cobeldick]

"Do you mean that I can set up the print format of txt file in my Matlab code?"

No.

As I already wrote, text files do NOT store any font format information.

[Benson Gou]

Hi, Stephen,

Thanks for your prompt reply.

So it is Impossible to set up the printing format in my Matlab code, right? How about using other printing type like excel instead of text file?

Benson

[Stephen Cobeldick]

"So it is Impossible to set up the printing format in my Matlab code, right?"

The fact that text files do not store formatting information has nothing to do with MATLAB. Text files do not store formatting information. End of story.

"How about using other printing type like excel instead of text file?"

Excel workbooks do store formatting information for the cell contents. Due to their readability, simplicity, and universality text files are usually preferred over more complex fle formats for data exchange.

[Walter Roberson]

Perhaps you should be using Report Generator.

[Walter Roberson]

An increasing number of "binary" file formats turn out to be compressed text file formats -- combining the smaller size of binary with the flexibility of processing the text.

However, there are some contexts such as CDF and HDF5 file formats that are structured binary files that are not text. Some of those standardized binary file formats have advantages in being more consistent in making the metadata more explicit -- for example being much more clear as to how the files represent time.

MATLAB -v7.3 files are HDF5 files underneath, but the structure of HDF5 files is not an especially good match for structured compound data types like MATLAB uses, so -v7.3 .mat files can be much larger and slower than the proprietary -v7 format.