MATLAB: Unzipping a .tgz file

.tar.gz.tgzextractpermissionpermission deniedtaruntarunzipzipzipped

Hi all, I have encountered difficulty trying to use the untar function to extract a .tgz file that contains many text files within it. I get an error for every single text file saying
Warning: Permission denied to create file "C:<redacted for privacy>". 
> In extractArchive>extractArchiveEntry (line 109)
  In extractArchive (line 52)
  In untar (line 79)
Here's what I've tried to troubleshoot the problem:
  • I am able to use 7-zip to unzip the same .tgz succesfully, so I know it is not a problem with the file itself
  • When the same files are contained in a .tar.gz folder, MATLAB works, so I don't think it's a permissions issue with the directory (for reference, the directory is just a random folder on my Desktop, nothing fancy)
  • There are no existing files with that name that are being overwritten.
The untar documentation says that the function works for .tgz files, but that doesn't seem to be the case in my situation? Thanks in advance for any advice.

Best Answer

Hi all, thanks for the feedback which helped me debug the situation. Rather than modifying untar (in a separate file of course), I've decided to go with this code provided by Wouter to unzip with 7zip using system command. 7-zip appears to take care of the filename problem itself.
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