Import Spreadsheets
Spreadsheets often contain a mix of numeric and text data as well as variable and row
names, which is best represented in MATLAB® as a table. You can import data into a table using the Import
Tool or the readtable
function.
Import Spreadsheet Data Using the Import Tool
The Import Tool allows you to import into a table or other data type.
For example, read data from the sample spreadsheet file
patients.xls
as a table in MATLAB. Open the file using the Import Tool and select options
such as the range of data and the output type. Then, click the Import
Selection button to import the data into the MATLAB workspace.
Import Spreadsheet Data Using readtable
Alternatively, you can read spreadsheet data into a table using the
readtable
function with the file name, for
example:
T = readtable('patients.xls');
You can also select the range of data to import by specifying the range parameter.
For example, read the first five rows and columns of the spreadsheet. Specify the
range in Excel notation as
'A1:E5'
.
T = readtable('patients.xls','Range','A1:E5')
T = 4×5 table LastName Gender Age Location Height ____________ __________ ___ _____________________________ ______ {'Smith' } {'Male' } 38 {'County General Hospital' } 71 {'Johnson' } {'Male' } 43 {'VA Hospital' } 69 {'Williams'} {'Female'} 38 {'St. Mary's Medical Center'} 64 {'Jones' } {'Female'} 40 {'VA Hospital' } 67
Import Spreadsheet Data as Other Data Types
In addition to tables, you can import your spreadsheet data into the MATLAB workspace as a timetable, a numeric matrix, a cell array, or separate column vectors. Based on the data type you need, use one of these functions.
Data Type of Output | Function |
---|---|
Timetable | readtimetable |
Numeric Matrix | readmatrix |
Cell Array | readcell |
Separate Column Vectors | readvars |