Import .txt file and write to txt file

hi,

I have a file, Force_inputt.txt, which I want to read, change one value and write it back, this is how I did it so far:

Where I chose to import the .txt file by use of data import, use enough spacespacespace... delimiters and save it as a table.

Forceinput = importfile1('Force_input.txt', 1, inf)
Forceinput.VarName3(end,1) = 5
writetable(Forceinput,'Force_test.txt')

This works, however, then I get a messy file:

VarName1,LOADS,VarName3,VarName4,VarName5,VarName6
"**","LOADS",NaN,,,
"**","",NaN,,,
"**","Name:",-1,Type:,Concentrated,force
"*Cload","",NaN,,,
"Set-7,","2,",5,,,

Instead, I just want to write it back to the clean file, such as this:

** LOADS
** 
** Name: Load-1   Type: Concentrated force
*Cload
Set-7, 2, -0.5

any recommendations??

[Ameer Hamza]

Using tables is not the most useful way to make changes to such files. What are you trying to do here? Can you describe what you are trying to do here? Is the purpose is just to change the last number in the file?

[Frank Oosterveld]

Yess that's it! I make an iterative script,

1. load the .txt file
2. change the last number in the file
3. save over the current file name

[Frank Oosterveld]

Any idea which is more efficient than with the tables as you proposed?

[Ameer Hamza]

Tables are useful when data is properly organized in columns, each column containing data of a similar type. You data following a custom formatting. For such cases, reading text, using sscanf(), textscan(), strrep(), regexp(), etc are more useful.