Read a string from text file returning strange characters

I'm reading a string like "1.0.2" from text file with these codes :

reader = fopen('Address\My_Text.txt');
Out= textscan(reader,'%str'); 
Out1=Out{1} ; 
Out2=Out1{1};
fclose(reader);

This code (Out2) returns a string like this: "1.0.2" . This is a text file that copied by MATLAB from other place in HDD (The main file is working correctly). When I create a text file manually, insert "1.0.2" in it, These codes read this value correctly. What is the problem? What is the solution for MATLAB?

Thanks.

[Geoff Hayes]

Jack - what do you mean by text file that copied by MATLAB from other place in HDD? Do you mean that you have some MATLAB code that copied the file? If so, what does that code look like?

[Jack]

My code is downloading a text file from FTP server. after that compare it with containing of other file and at last replace it with that file by movefile, so only I read it ( with above codes ) and copy it with movefile. In last phase I want read it again and have this problem.

Answer 1

[per isakson]

I guess that you see a "problem" with the encoding of your file. I guess it's UTF-8 and that "" is a distorted BOM-character. What is the encoding? Try open the file with Excel to let Excel guess.

See

• fopen, encodingIn
• http://www.unicode.org/faq/utf_bom.html

[Noam Greenboim]

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/75708-update-bom-for-unicode-text-files

Answer 2

[John]

Play around with the EncodingIn key value pair for the fopen function. Chances are its opened in the wrong encoding mode.

http://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/ref/fopen.html#inputarg_encodingIn