How to read mixed delimited data from a text file?

I have a text file with a mix of delimiters, tabs and spaces and returns on some of the data. How do I read the data left to right and top to bottom and store them as a single column of datapoints?

The data in the text file looks like this:

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15

(in-between the datapoints there are 4 spaces and one tab)

I'd like to read the data: '1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ....' and then export it to another text file as just a single column.

It's probably fairly basic, but can anyone help me out?

[Bob Thompson]

By mixed delimiters, do you mean varying amounts of white space, or that there are different symbols for delimiters? (I.e. a comma, then a semi-colon, etc.)

[Aimee Coleman]

Varying amounts of white space using both tabs and standard spaces as well as having 5 numbers per row, effectively making 5 columns, each of which is separated by 4 spaces and 1 tab.

Answer 1

[dpb]

If the file is tab-delimited, the spaces won't matter...

data=dlmread(fullfile('yourdirectory','yourfile.txt'),'\t');  % read tab-delimited file
data=data(:);                                                 % ML idiom to convert array to column vector
dlmwrite(fullfile('yourdirectory','yourNEWfile.txt'))         % write a new text file