Append Column from Loaded Data to Matrix in a Loop

Hi, I am trying to load data into a matrix. Every iteration should result in a new column. My code currently appends everything in 1 column as a new row.

Open to any simplifications or suggestsions! I am new to matlab and have been using this load code as my go-to.

TYIA

spectra_dir = uigetdir; %gets directory
my_spectras = dir(fullfile(spectra_dir,'RSN*.txt')); %gets all txt files in struct
spectras_load = []; %creates matrix from data in each vector
for k = 1:length(my_spectras)
    baseFileName = my_spectras(k).name;
    fullFileName = fullfile(spectra_dir, baseFileName);
    spectra_file = load(fullFileName); 
    psa_spectra = spectra_file(:, 2);
    spectras_load = [spectras_load; {psa_spectra}];
end

spectras = cell2mat(spectras_load);

Answer 1

[the cyclist]

Changing this

spectras_load = [spectras_load; {psa_spectra}];

to this

spectras_load = [spectras_load, {psa_spectra}]; % Notice use of comma rather than semicolon

Beware aware that building arrays by adding columns is very inefficient for memory management, and can become very slow. You could use preallocation to speed this code.