How can I open a file to be read, from a relative file location?

The function which reads from the text file is located at:

C:\Users\x\x\x\MatlabFiles\Connor_Matlab

and it needs to open:

%C:\Users\x\x\x\OUTPUT\Square\M1CR100S4\(AllFld_SVE).OALLFLD

Right now I've tried the relative path. I cannot write it as an absolute path, as it needs to be opened on multiple different computers.

fID = fopen('..\OUTPUT\Square\M1CR100S4\(AllFld_SVE).OALLFLD','r');

Answer 1

[Yash Trivedi]

Hi Connor,

According to the relative path in your fopen() call, you need to go one level higher up in the directory hierarchy.

fID = fopen('..\..\OUTPUT\Square\M1CR100S4\(AllFld_SVE).OALLFLD','r') should work.

A single .. will look for the 'OUTPUT' folder in the 'MatlabFiles' folder and not in the last 'x' folder.

[Connor Sherod]

Thank you!

So if I had the file located 4 folders back would I need to repeat that 4 times and then proceed from there? Essentially the '..\' acts as taking it back a single step?

[Yash Trivedi]

Yes, that's right. The '..\' acts as taking it back a single step. You might want to read through this thread which suggests alternatives and potential pitfalls with relative paths, especially if you're going up four levels of hierarchy -

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/402182-fopen-a-file-from-another-directory-location?s_tid=answers_rc1-2_p2_MLT