How can I use "dir" with multiple search strings? or join the results of two dir calls?

Hi,

How can I use "dir" with multiple search strings? or join the results of two dir calls?

I basically want to do something like this:

dir('*.txt','*.doc')

so that I get a list of the .txt and .doc files.

Or join the results of two dir calls.

Answer 1

[Walter Roberson]

jointdir = [dir('*.txt'); dir('*.doc')];

[Jan]

Most compact answer, which matchs the question exactly.

Answer 2

[Seth DeLand]

You can save the output of DIR as a structured array, or in your case two structured arrays that can then be combined:

files1 = dir('*.txt');
files2 = dir('*.doc');
allfiles = [files1;files2];

You can then access names by indexing into the array:

filename = allfiles(7).name;

This will return the name of the 7th file in the array.

Answer 3

[Matt Tearle]

Do you just need the filenames, or do you actually need file info as well? If it's just the names, the simplest way (I think) is to use ls rather than dir:

x = cellstr(ls('*.m'));
y = cellstr(ls('*.txt'));
[x;y]

Answer 4

[Walter Roberson]

On Unix systems, if you just need the names, the simplest way would probably be to use

[junk, allfiles] = system('ls *.{txt,doc}');

This would not work on Windows. Also, it can not be shortened to

allfiles = ls('*.{txt,doc}');

as Matlab's ls function deliberately escapes any unix meta-characters before sending them to ls.