How can I use an answer from a prompt as a file name?

I am currently trying to use an answer from a prompt given as a file name for a table that gives the location of cells on an image. However I keep getting error messages or am only able to save the table as one name. Below is the codes that I am using:

prompt1 = 'What would you like the data file to be called?';

filename = input(prompt1,'s');

writetable(centroiddata, filename)

I have tried several solutions to resolving this, including changing the filename in the 3rd line to 'filename' and specifying the file path.

If anyone can help me out I would be very grateful!

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

[Stephen23]

Try this:

[~,name] = fileparts(input(prompt1,'s'));
writetable(centroiddata, [name,'.txt'])

[Stephen23]

Nathan Costin's "Answer" moved here:

Thank you very much, if I want to specify the folder location do I need to put it before the .txt?

[Stephen23]

If you specify the path then the filename needs to look something like this:

C:\work\my_data\my_file.txt

More info here:

http://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/matlab_env/specify-file-names.html

[Nathan Costin]

Thank you! I'm just having an issue inputting the directory, but I will ask someone from where I am about that. Thank you again :)

[Stephen23]

We are happy to help you too... if you show us the exact error message (all of the red text) then we can help figure out how to get it working for you.

[Nathan Costin]

Ok excellent, the file location that I am hoping to save my data to is

\\userfs\nac515\w2k\MATLAB\Tables and Pictures

so I changed my code to this:

prompt1 = 'What would you like the data file to be called?';
[~,name] = fileparts(input(prompt1,'s'));
writetable(centroiddata, [name,'\\userfs\nac515\w2k\MATLAB\Tables and Pictures\.txt'])

then this error message appears

Error using writetable (line 106)
Unable to open file
'first\\userfs\nac515\w2k\MATLAB\Tables and Pictures\.txt'
for writing:

No such file or directory

Error in BacteriaCounter (line 41)
writetable(centroiddata,
[name,'\\userfs\nac515\w2k\MATLAB\Tables and
Pictures\.txt'])

[Stephen23]

Try this (note that the path goes in front of the filename):

locPath = '\\userfs\nac515\w2k\MATLAB\Tables and Pictures';
prompt1 = 'What would you like the data file to be called? ';
[~,locName] = fileparts(input(prompt1,'s'));
locFull = fullfile(locPath,[locName,'.txt']);
writetable(centroiddata, locFull)

[Nathan Costin]

Excellent it works thank you! What I have done is taken a still from a video of bacteria growth so I can analyse it, then I'm going to upgrade the code to video. The entroids that I'm finding are then plotted over the original image. In order to save that figure created should I just change the write table command to imwrite or imsave?

[Stephen23]

Try using imwrite.

[Nathan Costin]

The issue I am having is that the original image is being saved but without the centroids after I have processed the image this is the code I am using:

baccenter = regionprops(imclean4, 'centroid');

centroids = cat(1, baccenter.Centroid);

measurements = regionprops(imclean4, 'BoundingBox', 'Area');

centroiddata = regionprops('table', imclean4, 'Centroid')

areadata = regionprops('table', imclean4, 'Area')

imshow(I)

hold on

plot(centroids(:,1),centroids(:,2), 'b*')

hold off

Is it just a case of removing the 'hold off'?

[Stephen23]

@Nathan Costin: image handling is quite a different topic, and you would be better off asking it a new question.

[Nathan Costin]

Ok I shall do thank you for your help

Answer 2

[Image Analyst]

Why not simply use the function meant for asking the user for a filename?

Why are you not using uiputfile()???

[Nathan Costin]

I'm struggling to understand the documentation as I'm very new to using matlab, could you possibly give an example?

[Image Analyst]

Try this:

% Get the name of the file that the user wants to save.
% Note, if you're saving an image you can use imsave() instead of uiputfile().
startingFolder = userpath % Or "pwd" or wherever you want.
defaultFileName = fullfile(startingFolder, '*.*');
[baseFileName, folder] = uiputfile(defaultFileName, 'Specify a file');
if baseFileName == 0
  % User clicked the Cancel button.
  return;
end
fullFileName = fullfile(folder, baseFileName)

[Nathan Costin]

Thank you, I will give it a shot :)