Loop through folders to pick data file

What is wrong with this code?

I want to access folders that each have a data file named specimen.dat, perform operations on it and then go back and pick a new data file (and so on..). The folders are in my root directory. But everytime I do so, the program picks only 1 specimen.dat file that is outside the folder I selected and performs rest of the script operations.

% Find all sample folders

Folders = uigetdir(matlabroot,'MATLAB Root Folder');

myFiles = dir(fullfile(Folders,'**/specimen.dat')); %gets all data files in folders

for myFile = 1:length(myFiles)

[Stephen23]

"The folders are in my root directory"

Do NOT save your own files under the installation folder of any application.

Answer 1

[dpb]

You shouldn't be putting your data files under the MATLABROOT tree....that's fraught with difficulties when upgrade.

MATLAB creates a working directory on installation; using it or a subdirectory under it or another entirely separate location for a given project would be far preferable.

We can't see the file structure you have created, however, nor do we know what the value of the variable Folders is so we have no way to diagnose what might have done.

What does myFiles contain when it returns after dir()?

If it does contain the desired files, then you've forgotten to show us the code that tries to open each in turn; it should look something like

for myFile=1:length(myFiles)
  data=readmatrix(fullfile(myFiles(myFile).folder,myFiles(myFile).name));
  % operate on data in data here...
end

The "veritable plethora" of like-looking variable names in the above is VERY difficult to parse; hence I would write the above more nearly like

d=dir(fullfile(Folders,'**/specimen.dat'));
for i=1:numel(d)
  data=readmatrix(fullfile(d(i).folder,d(i).name));
  % operate on data here...
end

where the temporary variables are much shorter and thus less clutter to wade through in reading the code. Your mileage may vary, but that's my strong preference after 40 years' coding...