MATLAB: How to read or write a file according to its absolute path

text file

I read a txt file using importdata. I pass the name of txt file to that function. Instead to pass only the name I would pass the absolute path. The same thing when I write data on file using dlmwrite. I would pass to that function the absolute path where save the file.

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I don't see any problem. I'm sure every Matlab function can deal with local files as well as with absolute paths.

This may help you: http://www.mathworks.com/help/symbolic/mupad_ref/pathname.html

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MATLAB: Addpath from a different subfolder of the same parent directory

Data folder should never be added to the search path. It's dangerous (you may change what functions are in scope) and there's no need to anyway.

All matlab IO functions accept full paths of data file for import/export. It's much better to specify the full path of files. That way they can be anywhere you want, even on a network folder.

So, instead of something like:

%code that relies on the folder where mydatafile.txt resides to be on the path or be the current folder
data = csvread('mydatafile.txt');  %actual function used for importing is irrelevant

use

%code that works regardless of location of folder. Doesn't need to be on the path or be the current folder
folder = 'C:\somewhere\somefolder';  %location of mydatafile.txt. Could even be remote
data = csvread(fullfile(folder, 'mydatafile.txt'));

MATLAB: How to create paths relative to a specific folder to facilitate moving project folders to other locations

Hi Adriel,

Here's one approach, concatenation

% give the path a short name, the idea is on the computer you only have to specify this once
outD = 'C:\Users\myusername\Documents\subfolder1\subfolder2\subfolder3\myProject_Folder';
% then
txt_files_path = [outD, '\txt_files_Folder']
txt_files_path2 = [outD, '\new_txt_files_Folder2']
% and so forth.

You can also make use of the cd function. In my case

Cpath = cd
Cpath = 'c:\users\dave\tech\matlab'

which is a string you can concatenate with something else as with outD, or lop part of it off.

If you have a home base and want to go to the end of some path and temporarily make it the local directory you can do

home_path = cd        % save your location
% and
cd(txt_files_path)

Then you can read files in and out locally with no path prefix. After that, cd(home_path) takes you back from whence you came.

Lots of possibilities, this is kind of the 'original' way and if there are more sophisticated ways I imagine others will weigh in.

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Related Solutions

MATLAB: Addpath from a different subfolder of the same parent directory

MATLAB: How to create paths relative to a specific folder to facilitate moving project folders to other locations

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