How do I extract number from file name?

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My file names are like 1443242345.88.png,1232342.45.png. I want these numbers of the file name and extract them as integers like 1443242345.88, 1232342.45 and use them for mathematical operations.
How do I do it with regexp or any other method?

Accepted Answer

Emmanuel
Emmanuel on 2 Mar 2017
So, this works: if A is 1443242345.88.png
A = A(1:end-4)
At = str2num(A)
gives numeric value of A which is 1443242345.88
  1 Comment
Stephen23
Stephen23 on 2 Mar 2017
Edited: Stephen23 on 2 Mar 2017
It would be better to use str2double, because this avoids the slow eval inside str2num and gives predictable output with non-number input strings:
At = str2double(A)
and also your code does not take into account the fact that file extensions are not always the same length, e.g. .m, .jpeg, etc. A much more robust solution is to use fileparts, which will always split this correctly:
[P,N,E] = fileparts(A);
V = str2double(N);
You also might like to consider Guillaume's very nice answer with regexp.

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More Answers (1)

Guillaume
Guillaume on 2 Mar 2017
Edited: Guillaume on 2 Mar 2017
An integer is a number with no fractional part so 1443242345.88 is not an integer.
numbers = str2double(regexp(filenames, '\d+\.\d+', 'match', 'once'))
will extract the numbers as double and assumes that all numbers have a dot in them
tokens = regexp(filenames, '(\d+)\.(\d+)', 'tokens', 'once');
numbers = str2double(vertcat(tokens{:}))
will extract the numbers on each side of the dots as a two column matrix of integers.
Note: and either will work will a cell array of filenames, so you can do the conversion in one go for ALL your files unlike your solution which you accepted when I was writing mine.
Note 2: and because I use str2double instead of str2num, the solution doesn't risk executing arbitrary code.

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