Can I create and modify variables in an Excel sheet?

Suppose that someone does not have access to MATLAB, but does to Excel. Could they edit a variable in an Excel sheet, send that sheet to me, and once I upload to it to the Current Folder in MATLAB, have those modifications show up in the workspace?

[Geoff Hayes]

Missael - if someone sends you an updated Excel spreadsheet then those modifications will show up in the MATLAB workspace only once you read (via whichever MATLAB code that you have written) that updated file.

Answer 1

[Image Analyst]

Yes, they can give you data in whatever form you like - text file, csv file, xlsx file, etc. Then you can read in the file and use that variable. When you read them in, they will show up in the workspace.

[Missael Hernandez]

Do I have to create a function to have MATLAB read it?

[Image Analyst]

Yes, though your function or program can call existing low level functions like xlsread(), readmatrix(), importdata() or whatever works.

[Missael Hernandez]

Could you possibly point me in the direction of how I'd create that function? I've never used Excel to MATLAB so this is all new to me. Thanks.

[Image Analyst]

You mean like

data = readmatrix(fileName);

??? If not, attach one of your files. Come on, make it easy for us to help you, not hard.

[Missael Hernandez]

I can't. It's a very very very big Simulink model. And you'd need the a New Eagle licence. I'm studyng vehicle control units.

[Image Analyst]

Are you saying that the Excel file that people send you is some kind of special workbook that depends on Simulink and New Eagle? It's not just a regular xlsx or csv or txt file?

So did readmatrix(), like I showed you, work? If not, try one of the other input functions like importdata() or xlsread(). If none of those work, you might have to create a special reader function to read in that unique kind of file.

[Missael Hernandez]

No. So I have some huge model in Simulink (which requires New Eagle). Some of the blocks have Help Text strings that I, the user, can insert. Like for example, I can put "This block is the vehicle speed." So what I want to do, is make that a variable so any user can chage that string if they want. I already figured that out. I want to take it a step further and use Excel or Notepad, to have a user, who may not have MATLAB, download the Workspace as an Excel/Notepad file, and have them modify that Help Text string in Excel/Notepad. Then I can add that file to the Current Folder on MATLAB and have the Workspace variabales updated to whatever the user put.

[Missael Hernandez]

The highlighted portion is where the string goes. All you do is click the 3 vertical dots to make it a variable and it'll show up in the Workspace.