for loop and "importdata" function

Hi. I hope some of you have time to help me with this one: I am trying to import some ascii-files with a 5 line header plus tab-separated numbers. I want to sum the tab-separated numbers only, and I have 200 files. The code I have written is:

clear;

files = dir('H:\testmappe_sletmig');
for i=1:length(files)
    data = importdata(files(i).name, '\t', 6);
    summarise = sum(data(:));
end
xlswrite(summarise_fetch,summarise);

However, I get an error message saying

"Error using importdata (line 215)
Unable to load file.

Use TEXTSCAN or FREAD for more complex formats.

Error in extractsum (line 8)
        data = importdata(files(i).name, '\t', 6);

Caused by:
    Error using fileread (line 27)
    Could not open file .. Invalid argument."

Any help is much appreciated!

[Oleg Komarov]

Is the file damaged or protected?

[A Westergaard]

No, the file is not damaged or write protected. Thanks

[per isakson]

Can you import the files interactively with the Import Wizard? The [Import Data] button in the Workspace toolbar.

[A Westergaard]

Hi. Yes, I can import them manually by choosing "Import Data", either from Matlabs browser (right-click file -> Import Data) or with the Import Data button in the Workspace toolbar. The wizard automatically detects the header (5 lines) and the tab-separated data. The result is a textdata-matrix (with header info) and a data-matrix (with the actual data). Thanks

Answer 1

[A Westergaard]

Ah, here we go. Problem solved!

clear;
  files = dir('H:\testmappe_sletmig\*.txt');

        for i=1:length(files)
            eval(['x = importdata(files(i).name)']);
            summarise(i) = sum(x.data(:));

        end
            xlswrite('summarise_fetch',summarise);

Answer 2

[A Westergaard]

Thank you for your inputs. I managed to get it working, however one challenge remains: I would like to export the sum of the data matrices to excel, so the sum of each input file is stored in a corresponding cell in an excel-sheet. When I use the code below, the sum of all the input files are stored in a single cell.

clear;
files = dir('H:\testmappe_sletmig\*.txt');

      for i=1:length(files)
          eval(['x=importdata(files(i).name)']);
          summarise = sum(x.data(:));
      end
          xlswrite('summarise_fetch',summarise);