writetimetable

Write timetable to file

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Syntax

writetimetable(TT)
writetimetable(TT,filename)
writetimetable(___,Name=Value)

Description

writetimetable(TT) writes the timetable TT to a comma-delimited text file. The file name is the workspace variable name of the timetable, appended with the extension .txt. If writetimetable cannot construct the file name from the input timetable name, then it writes to the file timetable.txt.

Each column of each variable in TT becomes a column in the output file. The variable names of TT become column headings in the first line of the file. The writetimetable function overwrites any existing file.

example

writetimetable(TT,filename) writes to a file with the name and extension specified by filename.

writetimetable determines the file format based on the specified extension. The extension must be one of the following:

  • .txt, .dat, or .csv for delimited text files

  • .xls, .xlsm, or .xlsx for Excel® spreadsheet files

  • .xlsb for Excel spreadsheet files supported on systems with Excel for Windows®

  • .json for JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) files

  • .xml for Extensible Markup Language (XML) files

example

writetimetable(___,Name=Value) specifies options using one or more name-value arguments in addition to any of the input argument combinations in previous syntaxes. For example, you can specify whether to write the variable names as column headings in the output file.

example

Examples

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Open Live Script

Create a timetable, write it to a comma-separated text file, and then write the timetable to another text file with a different delimiter character.

Define a timetable in the workspace with row times duration vector RowTimes.

RowTimes = seconds(1:5)';
TT = timetable(RowTimes,[98;97.5;97.9;98.1;97.9],[120;111;119;117;116],...
               'VariableNames',{'Reading1','Reading2'})
TT=5×2 timetable
    1 sec    98.0000    120
    2 sec    97.5000    111
    3 sec    97.9000    119
    4 sec    98.1000    117
    5 sec    97.9000    116

Write the timetable to a comma delimited text file and display the file contents. The writetimetable function outputs a text file named TT.txt.

writetimetable(TT)
type 'TT.txt'
RowTimes,Reading1,Reading2
1 sec,98,120
2 sec,97.5,111
3 sec,97.9,119
4 sec,98.1,117
5 sec,97.9,116

To write the same timetable to a text file with a different delimiter character, use the 'Delimiter' name-value pair.

writetimetable(TT,'TT_bar.txt','Delimiter','bar')
type 'TT_bar.txt'
RowTimes|Reading1|Reading2
1 sec|98|120
2 sec|97.5|111
3 sec|97.9|119
4 sec|98.1|117
5 sec|97.9|116
Open Live Script

Create a timetable, write it to a spreadsheet file, and then display the contents of the file.

Define a timetable in the workspace with row times as a datetime vector.

Y = [2014:2018]'; M = ones(5,1); D = ones(5,1);
RowTimes = datetime(Y,M,D); % Create Row Times
TT = timetable(RowTimes,[98;97.5;97.9;98.1;97.9],[120;111;119;117;116],...
               'VariableNames',{'Reading1','Reading2'})
TT=5×2 timetable
    01-Jan-2014    98.0000    120
    01-Jan-2015    97.5000    111
    01-Jan-2016    97.9000    119
    01-Jan-2017    98.1000    117
    01-Jan-2018    97.9000    116

Write the table to spreadsheet file 'TT.xlsx'. By default, the writetimetable function writes the first worksheet in the file. Use the 'Sheet' name-value pair to specify the worksheet to write to.

writetimetable(TT,'TT.xlsx','Sheet',2)

Read and display the file contents.

readtimetable('TT.xlsx','Sheet',2) 
ans=5×2 timetable
    01-Jan-2014 00:00:00    98.0000    120
    01-Jan-2015 00:00:00    97.5000    111
    01-Jan-2016 00:00:00    97.9000    119
    01-Jan-2017 00:00:00    98.1000    117
    01-Jan-2018 00:00:00    97.9000    116

Input Arguments

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Input timetable.

File name, specified as a character vector or string scalar.

Depending on the location you are writing to, filename can take on one of these forms.

Location

Form

Current folder

To write to the current folder, specify the name of the file in filename.

Example: 'myTextFile.csv'

Other folders

To write to a folder different from the current folder, specify the full or relative path name in filename.

Example: 'C:\myFolder\myTextFile.csv'

Example: 'myFolder\myExcelFile.xlsx'

Remote Location

To write to a remote location, filename must contain the full path of the file specified as a uniform resource locator (URL) of the form:

scheme_name://path_to_file/my_file.ext

Based on the remote location, scheme_name can be one of the values in this table.

Remote Locationscheme_name
Amazon S3™s3
Windows Azure® Blob Storagewasb, wasbs
HDFS™hdfs

For more information, see Work with Remote Data.

Example: 's3://bucketname/path_to_file/my_file.xlsx'

  • If filename includes the file extension, then the writing function determines the file format from the extension. Otherwise, the writing function creates a comma separated text file and appends the extension .txt. Alternatively, you can specify filename without the file’s extension, and then include the 'FileType' name-value pair arguments to indicate the type of file.

  • If filename does not exist, then the writing function creates the file.

  • If filename is the name of an existing text file, then the writing function overwrites the file.

  • If filename is the name of an existing spreadsheet file, then the writing function writes the data to the specified location, but does not overwrite any values outside the range of the input data.

Data Types: char | string

Name-Value Arguments

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Specify optional pairs of arguments as Name1=Value1,...,NameN=ValueN, where Name is the argument name and Value is the corresponding value. Name-value arguments must appear after other arguments, but the order of the pairs does not matter.

Example: writetimetable(TT,WriteVariableNames=false) specifies not to include variable names as the first row of the output file.

Data Location

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Worksheet to write to, specified as the comma-separated pair consisting of 'Sheet' and a character vector or a string scalar containing the worksheet name or a positive integer indicating the worksheet index. The worksheet name cannot contain a colon (:). To determine the names of sheets in a spreadsheet file, use sheets = sheetnames(filename). For more information, see sheetnames.

Specify the worksheet to write to by name or index:

  • name — If the specified sheet name does not exist in the file, then the writing function adds a new sheet at the end of the worksheet collection.

  • index — If the specified sheet index is an index larger than the number of worksheets, then the writing function appends empty sheets until the number of worksheets in the workbook equals the sheet index. The writing function also generates a warning indicating that it has added a new worksheet.

You can use the 'Sheet' name-value pair only with spreadsheet files.

Example: 'Sheet',2

Example: 'Sheet', 'MySheetName'

Data Types: char | string | single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64

Rectangular portion of worksheet to write to, specified as the comma-separated pair consisting of 'Range' and a character vector or string scalar in one of the following forms.

Form of the Value of Range Description
'Corner1'

Corner1 specifies the first cell of the region to write. The writing function writes the data starting at this cell.

Example: 'Range','D2'

'Corner1:Corner2'

Corner1 and Corner2 are two opposing corners that define the region to write. For example, 'D2:H4' represents the 3-by-5 rectangular region between the two corners D2 and H4 on the worksheet. The 'Range' name-value pair argument is not case sensitive, and uses Excel A1 reference style (see Excel help).

Example: 'Range','D2:H4'

  • If the range you specify is smaller than the size of the input data, then the writing function writes only a subset of the input data that fits into the range.

  • If the range you specify is larger than the size of the input data, then the writing function leaves the remainder of the region as it is.

The 'Range' name-value pair can only be used with Excel files.

Example: 'Range', 'A1:F10'

Data Types: char | string

XML root node name, specified as the comma-separated pair consisting of 'TableNodeName' and either a character vector or string scalar the writing function writes as the root node name in the output XML file. If you do not specify TableNodeName, then the writing function writes 'table' as the name of the root node in the output table.

Example: 'TableNodeName','RootName'

File Information

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Type of file, specified as "text", "spreadsheet", "json", or "xml".

The FileType name-value argument must be used with the filename input argument. You do not need to specify the FileType name-value argument if the filename input argument includes a standard file extension. The following standard file extensions are recognized by the writing function:

  • .txt, .dat, or .csv for delimited text files

  • .xls, .xlsm, or .xlsx for Excel spreadsheet files

  • .xlsb for Excel spreadsheet files supported on systems with Excel for Windows

  • .json for JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) files

  • .xml for XML files

Data Types: char | string

Character encoding scheme associated with the file, specified as the comma-separated pair consisting of 'Encoding' and 'system' or a standard character encoding scheme name. When you do not specify any encoding, the writing function uses UTF-8 to write the file.

Example: 'Encoding','UTF-8' uses UTF-8 as the encoding.

Data Types: char | string

Flag to start an instance of Microsoft Excel for Windows when writing spreadsheet data, specified as the comma-separated pair consisting of 'UseExcel' and either true, or false.

You can set the 'UseExcel' parameter to one of these values:

  • true — The writing function starts an instance of Microsoft Excel when writing the file.

  • false — The writing function does not start an instance of Microsoft Excel when writing the file. When operating in this mode, functionality for writing differs in the support of file formats and interactive features, such as formulas and macros.

UseExcel

true

false

Supported file formats

.xls, .xlsx, .xlsm, .xltx, .xltm, .xlsb, .ods

.xls, .xlsx, .xlsm, .xltx, .xltm

Support for interactive features, such as formulas and macros

Yes

No

When writing to spreadsheet files on Windows platforms, if you want to start an instance of Microsoft Excel, then set the 'UseExcel' parameter to true.

UseExcel is not supported in noninteractive, automated environments.

Writing mode, specified as the comma-separated pair consisting of 'WriteMode' and a character vector or a string scalar. Select a write mode based on the file type.

File Type

Write Mode

Text Files

  • 'overwrite' (default) — Overwrite the file.

  • 'append' — Append data to the file.

If the file you specified does not exist, then the writing function creates and writes data to a new file.

Spreadsheet Files

  • 'inplace' (default) — Update only the range occupied by the input data. The writing function does not alter any data outside of the range occupied by the input data.

    • If you do not specify a sheet, then the writing function writes to the first sheet.

  • 'overwritesheet' — Clear the specified sheet and write the input data to the cleared sheet.

    • If you do not specify a sheet, then the writing function clears the first sheet and writes the input data to it.

  • 'append' — The writing function appends the input data to the bottom of the occupied range of the specified sheet.

    • If you do not specify a sheet, then the writing function appends the input data to the bottom of the occupied range of the first sheet.

  • 'replacefile' — Remove all other sheets from the file, then clear and write the input data to the to the specified sheet.

    • If you do not specify a sheet, then the writing function removes all other sheets from the file, and then clears and writes the input data to the first sheet.

    • If the file you specified does not exist, then the writing function creates a new file and writes the input data to the first sheet.

  • When WriteVariableNames is set to true, the writing function does not support the write mode 'append'.

  • For spreadsheet files:

    • When the write mode is 'append', the writing function does not support the Range parameter.

    • If the file you specified does not exist, then the writing function performs the same actions as 'replacefile'.

Example: 'WriteMode','append'

Data Types: char | string

Variables and Rows

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Indicator for writing variable names as column headings, specified as the comma-separated pair consisting of 'WriteVariableNames' and either true or false.

Indicator

Behavior

true

The writing function includes variable names as the column headings of the output. This is the default behavior.

false

The writing function does not include variable names in the output.

XML row node name, specified as the comma-separated pair consisting of 'RowNodeName' and either a character vector or string scalar the writing function writes as the node name in the output XML file that corresponds to the rows in the input table. If you do not specify RowNodeName, then the writing function writes 'row' as the name of the row nodes in the output table.

Example: 'TableNodeName','RootName'

Data Formatting

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Locale for writing dates, specified as a string scalar or character vector of the form xx_YY, where:

  • xx is a lowercase ISO 639-1 two-letter code indicating a language.

  • YY is an uppercase ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code indicating a country.

Use DateLocale to specify the locale in which writetimetable writes month and day-of-week names and abbreviations. However, the function ignores the DateLocale value whenever dates can be written as Excel-formatted dates.

This table lists some common values for the locale.

Locale LanguageCountry
"de_DE"GermanGermany
"en_GB"EnglishUnited Kingdom
"en_US"EnglishUnited States
"es_ES"SpanishSpain
"fr_FR"FrenchFrance
"it_IT"ItalianItaly
"ja_JP"JapaneseJapan
"ko_KR"KoreanKorea
"nl_NL"DutchNetherlands
"zh_CN"Chinese (simplified)China

Example: DateLocale="ja_JP"

Indicator for writing quoted text, specified as "minimal", "all", or "none".

  • If QuoteStrings is "minimal", then the function encloses any variables containing the delimiter, line ending, or double-quote character in double-quote characters.

  • If QuoteStrings is "all", then the function encloses all text, categorical, datetime, and duration variables in double-quote characters.

  • If QuoteStrings is "none", then the function does not enclose variables in double-quote characters.

You can use the QuoteStrings name-value argument only with delimited text files.

Since R2026a

Preserve Inf and NaN values in the output JSON file, specified as a numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). By default, writetimetable writes Inf and NaN values to the output JSON file. Specify this argument as false to write all Inf and NaN values as JSON null values.

Example: PreserveInfAndNaN=false

File Formatting

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Field delimiter character, specified as the comma-separated pair consisting of 'Delimiter' and a character vector or string scalar containing one of these specifiers:

Specifier

Field Delimiter

','

'comma'

Comma. This is the default behavior.

' '

'space'

Space

'\t'

'tab'

Tab

';'

'semi'

Semicolon

'|'

'bar'

Vertical bar

You can use the 'Delimiter' name-value pair only for delimited text files.

Example: 'Delimiter','space'

Data Types: char | string

Attribute suffix, specified as the comma-separated pair consisting of 'AttributeSuffix' and either a character vector or string scalar indicating which variable names in the input table to write as attributes in the output XML file.

For example, for a variable name AttName_att in the input table, you can specify 'AttributeSuffix','_att' to indicate that 'AttName' should be written out as an attribute in the output XML file.

  • If you do not specify 'AttributeSuffix', writetimetable defaults to writing variables with the suffix 'Attribute' as attributes in the output XML file.

  • If the attribute specified as the value of 'AttributeSuffix' matches the suffix appended to the variable name in the input table, the suffix will be dropped from the variable name in the output XML file. For example, if you specify 'AttributeSuffix','_att', a variable in the input table named MyField_att will correspond to the attribute named MyField in the XML file.

Example: 'AttributeSuffix','_att'

Preserve cell formatting of existing spreadsheet, specified as true or false. If you specify false, writetimetable will not preserve the cell formatting of the spreadsheet. Formatting includes elements such as fonts, cell borders, and color-shaded cells.

When writing datetime data to a spreadsheet file, you must set both 'PreserveFormat' and the 'UseExcel' Name-Value pair to true to preserve the existing cell formatting. If 'UseExcel' is set to false and 'PreserveFormat' is set to true when writing datetime data to the file, writetimetable will not preserve the existing cell formatting of the file.

Example: 'PreserveFormat',false

Automatically adjust column width, specified as true or false. If you specify a value of 0 or false, then writetimetable will not automatically adjust the column widths to fit the data in the cells.

Example: 'AutoFitWidth',0

Since R2026a

Indent text in the output JSON file, specified as a numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). By default, writetimetable formats text in the JSON file using an indentation of four spaces. By default, writetimetable formats text in the JSON file using an indentation of four spaces. If you specify PrettyPrint as false, writetimetable writes the JSON text without indentations or new lines.

Algorithms

  • There are some instances where the writetimetable function creates a file that does not represent the input data exactly. You will notice this when you use the readtimetable function to read that file. The resulting data might not have the exact same format or contents as the original data. If you need to save your timetable and retrieve it at a later time to exactly match the original timetable, with the same data and organization, then save it as a MAT-file. writetimetable writes an inexact table in the following instances:

    • writetimetable writes out numeric data using long g format, and categorical or character data as unquoted text.

    • writetimetable writes out variables that have more than two dimensions as two dimensional variables, with the trailing dimensions collapsed.

    • For cell-valued variables, writetimetable writes out the variables differently based on the data type of the content in the cells.

      • If the content of the cell is of the data type numeric, text, logical, categorical, datetime, or duration, then the writetimetable function writes out the contents of each cell as a single row, in multiple, delimiter-separated fields.

      • Otherwise, the writetimetable function writes out a single empty field.

  • Excel converts Inf values to 65535. MATLAB® converts NaN, NaT, <undefined> categorical values, and <missing> string values to empty cells.

Version History

Introduced in R2019a

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See Also

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