Why does the import data wizard take a very long time to open in MATLAB 7.2 (R2006a)?

I am attempting to import a 500kB text file. I select the "File->Import Data..." option from the MATLAB menu and select the file. Nothing seems to happen and MATLAB is mostly frozen. Finally about 8 minutes later, the import wizard appears.

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

In some cases, the Import Wizard takes a long time to do the initial loading and display of the data in MATLAB 7.2 (R2006a).

To work around this issue, use the IMPORTDATA function or one of the other file IO commands. For more information on Importing Files please see the Tech Note listed below. These commands take only a fraction of the time required by the Import Wizard.