dir() function not working

A script I'm working with uses dir(pwd) to index the folders in the current directory and access the relevant ones. For the last few months it's been working perfectly. Now I get an error, and I've found that it stems from dir() listing the contents of the directory in a different order than the directory itself, so when the script tries to access the relevant files, they are not what I need.

folders = dir(pwd) ;
folders = folders([folders.isdir] & ~strncmpi('.', {folders.name}, 1)) ;

The directory in question lists files in alphabetical order. When dir() reads the contents, it mixes up the order of the files. I've tried to sort the filenames given by dir(), but for some reason this doesn't work either.

The strange thing is that it worked perfectly for a long time, and stopped working with no changes at all to the script or directory in question. Please help!

[Stephen23]

You could use NATSORTFILES

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/47434-natural-order-filename-sort

something like this:

S = dir('.'); % simpler and more efficient than calling two functions
S = natsortfiles(S,[],'rmdot','noext');
S = S([S.isdir])

Answer 1

[Rik]

It doesn't mix up the order. It sorts it, which is not what you expect. Sorting by character means that you get all upper case first, followed by lower case.

I suggest you use something like natsort (search the file exchange for it) to sort the output of dir.

Note that dir also relies on the operating system, meaning that any changes in windows might cause differences. It is not a good idea to rely on the output order.

[Frederikke Hansen]

Thank you! I will check out natsort.