exporting from cell to excel

hi I have a 32000x24 cell array. Whenever I try to export it to excel (using xlswrite) or to csv (using cell2csv) it takes ages as matlab displays a busy signal. Any tip about how to export this file to excel?

Answer 1

[TED MOSBY]

Hi @Wassim Dbouk,

• Usewritematrixorwritecell:If using a recent version of MATLAB (R2019a or later), try usingwritematrixorwritecellinstead ofxlswrite. These functions are generally faster and more efficient for writing data to files.

        % Assuming your data is stored in a variable named 'data' 
        writecell(data, 'output.xlsx'); 

• Split the Data:If possible, split your data into smaller chunks and write them individually.
• Save as CSV:If Excel format is not a strict requirement, saving as a CSV file can be faster. You can usewritecellorwritematrixfor this purpose:

        writecell(data, 'output.csv'); 

• Increase MATLAB's Java Heap Memory:If you're running into memory issues, you might consider increasing the Java heap memory in MATLAB. You can do this by going toPreferences > MATLAB > General > Java Heap Memory.
• Use Parallel Computing:If you have the Parallel Computing Toolbox, you could try to parallelize the export process. This might not be always faster.

Here is the documentation for writeCell and writeMatrix :

www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/ref/writecell.html?searchHighlight=writecell&s_tid=srchtitle_support_results_1_writecell

www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/ref/writecell.html?searchHighlight=writecell&s_tid=srchtitle_support_results_1_writecell

Hope this helps!