How to read only some columns of a text file?

I'd like to read out only columns from 3 to 7. However, this is not working. Can you help?

Thanks!

%Get events from text file
prompt_totalfiles = 'Enter number of files you want to input: '; %asks for number of files
total_files = input(prompt_totalfiles);
fileids = cell(total_files,1);

j = 1;
Baseline_adjustment = 0.1; %put in baseline photodetector value here (the readout with the led on but the patch cable in pitch black
wholedff = cell(1, 11);

for file = 1:total_files
[inputfile,path] = uigetfile('*.txt');
fileids{file} = fopen(fullfile(path, inputfile));
if fileids{file} == -1
    error('Failed to open file "%s"', fullfile(path, inputfile));
end

b = textscan(fileids{file},'%*n %*n %n %n %n %n %n', 'delimiter', '/t');
num = b{3};
epochn = b{4};
state = b{5};
count = b{6};
duration = b{7};

[Walter Roberson]

'delimiter', '\t'

Also if columns 1 and 2 might not be numeric then use %*s for them.

Answer 1

[per isakson]

The text file might have more than 7 coloums.

Replace

'%*n %*n %n %n %n %n %n'

by

'%*s%*s%n%n%n%n%n%*[^\n]'  

%*[^\n]' skips to the end of line

The code doesn't include end to close the for-loop.

The result of the import might be overwritten for each iteration of the loop.

[Samuele Bolotta]

The text file has 7 columns, and the fifth is non-numerical! This:

'%*s%*s%n%n%n%n%n%*[^\n]'  

gives me the same error.

[Walter Roberson]

'%*s%*s%n%n%s%n%n'  

[Samuele Bolotta]

Index exceeds the number of array elements (5).

Error in SocialTest (line 21)
count = b{6};

Still gives me the same error... I really don't get what's going on.

[Walter Roberson]

Why would you expect it to have 6 elements, when you only ask to read in 5 columns?

When you use %*s then that does not mean that it should insert an empty array at that point in the output sequence: it means that those values are not output at all. You skip two input columns, so input column 6 is the 4th column of what is saved.

[Samuele Bolotta]

Of course, stupid mistake! Thanks!

Now the only problem seems to be that by using %s on the fifth column, it reads for the first row not only NR, but also 2 and 20; second row, not only W, but also 94 and 940. So basically it takes the sixth and the seventh column and it reads them in the fifth.

[Walter Roberson]

Please upload a sample file (in exactly the same format you are using)

[Samuele Bolotta]

Ah no I actually found out the problem! I should use %2s instead of %s. Thanks!

[per isakson]

" [...] I should use %2s instead of %s." No, the problem is rather with the delimiter. I assume there is no '\t' after the six coloumn.