How do I Remove Double Quotes from my Table?

I started with this seemingly simple problem as a way to learn some new skills in MatLab:

Given a list of names in a cell array, sort the list by the last name. My end-goal was to have a table with two columns, last and first name, sorted by last name. I think I'm close to a solution, but the table output includes double quotation marks. I'd like to understand a simple way of removing the quotation marks.

list = {'Barney Google','Snuffy Smith','Dagwood Bumstead'}; 
list = list';
list2 = split(list);
T = array2table(list2,...
    'VariableNames',{'FirstName','LastName'});
T = sortrows(T,'LastName');

[Csaba Noszaly]

starting at 2021a, Matlab has formattedDisplayText, whose output can be adjusted as needed:

>> mtx=["1" "2"; "alma" "körte"];
>> t=formattedDisplayText(array2table(mtx))

t = 

    "     mtx1      mtx2  
         ______    _______
     
         "1"       "2"    
         "alma"    "körte"
     "

>> disp(replace(t, '"', " "))
     mtx1      mtx2  
    ______    _______

     1         2     
     alma      körte 

>> 

Answer 1

[dpb]

The quotes are a fignewton of the Matlab display formatting; you can't eliminate them from the command window excepting by either writing the string with a formatting expression or via disp or the like...but while the type indicator characters are displayed, they are not part of the data itself. Illustration with a slight modification; use the new(ish) string class instead of cellstr array...

slist = ["Barney Google";"Snuffy Smith";"Dagwood Bumstead"];
T = array2table(split(slist),'VariableNames',{'First','Last'});

>> T.First(1)    % observe the " to indicate a string
ans = 
    "Barney"
>> disp(T.First(1))  % with disp() only the data shown
Barney
>> 

>> strfind(T.First(1),'"')  % show there's no " stored...
ans =
     []
>> 

>> fprintf('%s\n',T.Last(1))  % or write the data; no quotes, either.
Google
>>

The table output format is not intended to be a printed report; it's intended as a working interface to the use of the table and the reminders of the datatype are consistent with the "ordinary" display of similarly-typed variables in the command window.

[Mike Raymond]

Thank you so much!

[dpb]

It might not be a bad enhancement request to simply ask for a report generator similar to that of table format, however.

[Sepehr Ariaei]

Hello. I have the same problem. I have a char which I use a Delimiter ' , ' to split it into a cell and then when I use cell2table I constantly get ' ' quotes which I cannot remove. How can I remove this from my table some way? Or how can I turn this string below into a matlab table ?

Thank you in advance

'  PHIPS-SCT,20210621144520818,829,1860,1,1,1,1,1,2,1,2,1,1,2,2,1,2,1,2,1,2,1,2,2,2,2,1,1,2,1,2,1,2,1,1,2047,'

[dpb]

Show us the exact code -- we can't debug or decode what we don't have/can't see...

If it is simply the display of a cellstr() value in a table variable, then reread the above -- it's a fignewton of the display format MATLAB uses and not part of the actual data itself.

[Walter Roberson]

S = '  PHIPS-SCT,20210621144520818,829,1860,1,1,1,1,1,2,1,2,1,1,2,2,1,2,1,2,1,2,1,2,2,2,2,1,1,2,1,2,1,2,1,1,2047,'

S = '  PHIPS-SCT,20210621144520818,829,1860,1,1,1,1,1,2,1,2,1,1,2,2,1,2,1,2,1,2,1,2,2,2,2,1,1,2,1,2,1,2,1,1,2047,'

C = strsplit(S, ',')

C = 1×38 cell array
    {'  PHIPS-SCT'}    {'20210621144520818'}    {'829'}    {'1860'}    {'1'}    {'1'}    {'1'}    {'1'}    {'1'}    {'2'}    {'1'}    {'2'}    {'1'}    {'1'}    {'2'}    {'2'}    {'1'}    {'2'}    {'1'}    {'2'}    {'1'}    {'2'}    {'1'}    {'2'}    {'2'}    {'2'}    {'2'}    {'1'}    {'1'}    {'2'}    {'1'}    {'2'}    {'1'}    {'2'}    {'1'}    {'1'}    {'2047'}    {0×0 char}

nC = length(C);
T = table('Size', [0 nC], 'VariableTypes', repmat("categorical", 1, nC));
T = [T; num2cell(categorical(C))]

T = 1×38 table
      Var1             Var2           Var3    Var4    Var5    Var6    Var7    Var8    Var9    Var10    Var11    Var12    Var13    Var14    Var15    Var16    Var17    Var18    Var19    Var20    Var21    Var22    Var23    Var24    Var25    Var26    Var27    Var28    Var29    Var30    Var31    Var32    Var33    Var34    Var35    Var36    Var37       Var38   
    _________    _________________    ____    ____    ____    ____    ____    ____    ____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    ___________

    PHIPS-SCT    20210621144520818    829     1860     1       1       1       1       1        2        1        2        1        1        2        2        1        2        1        2        1        2        1        2        2        2        2        1        1        2        1        2        1        2        1        1      2047     <undefined>

[Elysi Cochin]

@Walter Roberson, what change should I make to the above code to display 2 rows with row name and column names

row1 = {'0.9984±0.0164'	'0.9802±0.0198'	'0.9762±0.0238'	'0.9962±0.0238'}
row2 = {'0.8746±0.0198'	'0.8538±0.0289'	'0.8596±0.0886'	'0.8596±0.0086'}

varnames = {'Col1' 'Col2' 'Col3' 'Col4'};
rownames =  {'Row1' 'Row2'};
T = table( ..... 

What is the remaining code I need to write

what change should I make in the below lines

nC = length(C);
T = table('Size', [0 nC], 'VariableTypes', repmat("categorical", 1, nC));
T = [T; num2cell(categorical(C))]

[dpb]

row1 = {'0.9984±0.0164'	'0.9802±0.0198'	'0.9762±0.0238'	'0.9962±0.0238'};
row2 = {'0.8746±0.0198'	'0.8538±0.0289'	'0.8596±0.0886'	'0.8596±0.0086'};

varnames = {'Col1' 'Col2' 'Col3' 'Col4'};
rownames =  {'Row1' 'Row2'};

Start by 'splaining what want to do with the ± notation above; it won't be of much use for anything except visualization as string data whether cell or string or even categorical; it would seem separating out as the value and error value for each variable would make more sense???

But,

T=cell2table([row1;row2],'VariableNames',varnames,'RowNames',rownames)

T = 2×4 table
                  Col1                 Col2                 Col3                 Col4       
            _________________    _________________    _________________    _________________

    Row1    {'0.9984±0.0164'}    {'0.9802±0.0198'}    {'0.9762±0.0238'}    {'0.9962±0.0238'}
    Row2    {'0.8746±0.0198'}    {'0.8538±0.0289'}    {'0.8596±0.0886'}    {'0.8596±0.0086'}

produces it in cellstr form presuming it is more or less rhetorical Q?

NOTA BENE however -- to do anything efficiently with the Row data; do NOT create multiple sequentially-number variables; use an array or table or almost any other storage mechanism instead; using the multiple names as above means a very difficult time in using the resulting data unless there are only one or two index variables like a start/stop subscript or somesuch. As a general convention, it is a practice to be avoided.

[Elysi Cochin]

I wanted to display the rows in a table with column names and row names, but I want to remove the single quotes and curly brackets, as displayed by @Walter Roberson with a single row data.

I have more rows and I also wanted to specify the row name and column name.

I have attached 2 datas to be displayed without the curly brackets and quotes in a table.

Please help me to solve it.

[dpb]

It'll be useless for anything else, much, but what Walter did above was to turn everything to a categorical variable...

row1 = {'0.9984±0.0164'	'0.9802±0.0198'	'0.9762±0.0238'	'0.9962±0.0238'};
row2 = {'0.8746±0.0198'	'0.8538±0.0289'	'0.8596±0.0886'	'0.8596±0.0086'};

varnames = {'Col1' 'Col2' 'Col3' 'Col4'};
rownames =  {'Row1' 'Row2'};
T=cell2table([row1;row2],'VariableNames',varnames,'RowNames',rownames);
T=convertvars(T,T.Properties.VariableNames,'categorical')

T = 2×4 table
                Col1             Col2             Col3             Col4     
            _____________    _____________    _____________    _____________

    Row1    0.9984±0.0164    0.9802±0.0198    0.9762±0.0238    0.9962±0.0238
    Row2    0.8746±0.0198    0.8538±0.0289    0.8596±0.0886    0.8596±0.0086

But, as the Answer says, the table is NOT a presentation object and there's going to be nothing you can do useful with the result after having done other than look at it in the command window/on the screen.

[Elysi Cochin]

Thank you so much Sir. Its just for display purpose. Thanks for the help.

Answer 2

[Walter Roberson]

I gave step by step method in https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/388602-remove-and-clear-things-in-a-table-for-presentation#answer_310244

[Mike Raymond]

Thank you so much!