check if a file exists

I'm using the "importdata" function to import data from a text file. I would like to have a way to check if the text file exists before attempting to import data from the file. If the file doesn't exist, I would then like to display a custom error message. What is the function that I should use?

Answer 1

[Jan]

Starting in R2017b, you can use the "isfile" function to check if a file exists. For example:

if isfile(filename)
     % File exists.
else
     % File does not exist.
end

The "isfile" function searches for files only on the specified path or in the current folder.

For R2017a and previous releases, use the "exist" function. For example:

if exist(filename, 'file') == 2
     % File exists.
else
     % File does not exist.
end

Be sure to specify an absolute path for the file name. The "exist" function searches all files and folders on the search path, which can lead to unexpected results if multiple files with the same name exist.

[shuchita bahadur]

thanks, works

[Muhammad Asad]

It is mentioned that

"Be sure to specify an absolute path for the file name. The "exist" function searches all files and folders on the search path, which can lead to unexpected results if multiple files with the same name exist."

Can you please elaborate with example

Answer 2

[Image Analyst]

if exist(fullFileName, 'file')
  % File exists.  Do stuff....
else
  % File does not exist.
  warningMessage = sprintf('Warning: file does not exist:\n%s', fullFileName);
  uiwait(msgbox(warningMessage));
end

[Valentino]

Works perfect, thanks!

[Nelson dos Santos Netto]

Thanks for the information! Btw, I was wondering if this check is purely done regarding the file name or the content in the file itself...The thing is:I'm trying to develop a script to regularly copy files from a sourcefolder to a destinationfolder, but I wanted to make sure I copy only the most recent and modified data, in order to get a more efficient and quicker programme. Could you help me out, please?? Tks a lot!

[Image Analyst]

It checks if a file with that filename is there. It does not check what the contents are, or even if there are contents. It's possible to have a file with zero bytes. You can use fileInfo = dir(filename) to check size.

Answer 3

[Azzi Abdelmalek]

a=dir  %  or  a=dir('folder')
b=struct2cell(a)
any(ismember(b(1,:),'filename.txt'))

[goc3]

I prefer this answer, as it only checks in the current directory.

[Jan]

But if the current directory contains a huge number of files, it is a waste of time. If the current folder is in a network drive, the slow down is substantial. This is more efficient:

isfile(fullfile(cd, 'filename.txt'))

And if it is unknown, if the file contains a path or not, use https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/28249-getfullpath

Answer 4

[José-Luis]

doc exist

Answer 5

[Simon]

A more modern / more succinct approach:

assert( exist( filename, 'file ) == 2, 'File not found.' );

Assert is a wonderful thing, and makes error-catching code a lot more compact than lots of if blocks! The way it works is,

assert( condition, error );

where condition is something that returns a logical true or false, and error is the message that results if it's false.

[Miguel Diaz]

This is a very nice solution. Except exist(filename,'file') == 2 would occur when the file DOES exist. so a corrected version of this would be:

assert(exist(filename,'file') ~= 2, 'File not found.' );

Overall, nice solution my friend!

[Image Analyst]

Though a friendlier more informative error message (like in my answer) would be an improvement.

But you're not totally correct. Like you said "exist(filename,'file') == 2 would occur when the file DOES exist." and exist(filename,'file') == 2 would be FALSE when the file DOES NOT exist. Since assert only spits out the error message when the file does not exist (the condition is false), it was correct as Simon originally had it, not your "correction".

Remember, in summary, if the file does exist, the condition is true, and the 'File not found.' message is not printed to the command window. If the file does NOT exist, the condition is false, and so the 'File not found.' message is printed to the command window.

Answer 6

[ABHAY K K]

is there a way to check the files exists in a particular directory without using the filename, What i mean to say is the more generalised way to find out

[Mahmoud Salah]

you can use a function called isfile and can be used as followed

if isfile(filename)==1

else

end

[Image Analyst]

No. If you don't know the filename(s), you cannot determine if a file exists. The best you could do is to see if ANY files exist in the folder by using the dir() function.