Why does a .dat file look good in Matlab, then open with incorrect formatting externally??

Hi All,

As per the title, this short script:

    for i = 1:length(X)
      fid = fopen(['LUKE_',num2str(i),'.dat'],'w');
      fprintf(fid, ['LUKE''s blade design, element number ',num2str(i),'\n']);
      fprintf(fid, 'data here NOT from PROPID \n')
      fprintf(fid, '1 \n') %No. airfoil tables in this file
      fprintf(fid, [num2str(i),'\n']) %table ID parameter
      fprintf(fid, '13 \n') %stall angle
      fprintf(fid, '0 \n') %not used
      fprintf(fid, '0 \n') %not used
      fprintf(fid, '0 \n') %not used
      fprintf(fid, '-4.245 \n') %Angle of attack for zero Cn for linear Cn curve (deg)
      fprintf(fid, '6.009 \n') %Cn slope for zero lift for linear Cn curve (1/rad)
      fprintf(fid, '1.809 \n') %Cn at stall value for positive angle of attack for linear Cn curve
      fprintf(fid, '-1 \n') %Cn at stall value for negative angle of attack for linear Cn curve
      fprintf(fid, '0 \n') %Angle of attack for minimum CD (deg)
      fprintf(fid, '0.01072 \n') %Minimum CD value
      for k = 1:length(AERO_ANG)
          fprintf(fid,'%-8s',num2str(AERO_ANG(k)));
          fprintf(fid,'%-8.6s',num2str(AERO_CL(k,i)));
          fprintf(fid,'%-8.7s\n',num2str(AERO_CD(k,i)));
      end
      fclose(fid)
  end

Output looks as expected when 'opened as text' in Matlab. This is not the case when opened externally. Could someone please explain why?

Thanks,

Pascal

Answer 1

[Walter Roberson]

If you need to open in NotePad, then change the 'w' in the fopen() to 'wt' .

[Geoff]

+1 : this solution is platform-independent.

[Jan]

Another platform independent solution is deleting NotePad and use any other editor. I associate text files with WordPad or NotePad++ on every Wondows machine I have to administrate.

Anyhow, Walter, I agree that here 'wt' is a working solution. +1

Using '\r\n' would create the identical files under Linux.

Answer 2

[Image Analyst]

Maybe try \r\n instead of only \n.

Answer 3

[Jason Ross]

When you are opening the file externally, what are you using? It could look "incorrect" if you are opening it in a program that uses a non-monospaced font.

I'm assuming that "incorrect" means "the stuff doesn't line up". If that's not it, please clarify what you mean by "incorrect"

Answer 4

[Pascal Galloway]

Thanks guys! The 'wt' works perfectly! Just to clarify Jason's comment, I do mean incorrectly lining up when using notepad.