`importdata`

Loads data from a file, choosing the loader by file type.

Category: Data Import and Analysis > Data Import and Export

Syntax

A = importdata(filename)

Returns the numeric data when the file holds only numbers.

[A, delimiter, nheaderlines] = importdata(...)

Also returns the detected delimiter and header line count.

Description

importdata is a convenience wrapper: it looks at the file, finds the delimiter and the header lines, and returns the numbers. It is handy for a quick look at a data file; for repeatable scripts, readmatrix or readtable give you explicit control.

Input arguments

filename: Name of a text, CSV, image, audio or MAT file.

Output arguments

A: A numeric matrix, or a struct with data, textdata and colheaders when the file has headers.

Example

Numbers with and without a header

fid = fopen('n2.txt', 'w'); fprintf(fid, '1 2 3\n4 5 6\n'); fclose(fid);
A = importdata('n2.txt')
fid = fopen('h.csv', 'w'); fprintf(fid, 'name,age\nAnn,30\nBob,25\n'); fclose(fid);
D = importdata('h.csv')

Output

A = 2×3

     1     2     3
     4     5     6
D = struct with fields:

          data: [2×2 double]
      textdata: {'name,age'}
    colheaders: {'name'  'age'}

importdata