Check if file exists (without having the full name)

Lets call the file i want to save file1. I am versioning the files.

file1_v1-0

file1_v1-1

Lets say i want to save file1_v1-1. I want Matlab to check if file1 is already existing in the folder i want to save it.

1. If file1_v1-1 is already there -> skip
2. If file1_v1-1 is there but in an older version. -> Delete old version and save new one.
3. If file1_v1-1 is not there at all. -> save file1_v1-1

I have huge trouble with point 2. I tried to build something with "dir " and "stringfind". But that was not very satitisfying. Also tried to use "exist" but i need the full filename to work with that

Hope i made my problem clear. Thanks for your help.

Answer 1

[Stephen23]

You might like to download my FEX submission nextname:

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/64108-next-available-filename

For example:

subd = 'absolute or relative path to where the files are saved';
name = nextname(subd,'file1_v1-<0>.txt',true)

You could easily adapt the function to also check the files' timestamps (in the output from DIR). Compare the datenum values using numeric comparisons, not using string operations.