MatLab list files (excluding directories) in a folder

Question

So I know I can list all the files and directories in my current folder using functions like dir() or ls(), and I know once listed, I can tell them from each other with the field isdir.

But is there a way to exclude the directories from the very beggining and list the files alone?

Even better, is there a way to exclude the current . and parent .. directories -that will (of course) show everytime- and list every other file and directory? Seriously, who uses ls() wondering if . is there?

Answer 1

The output of dir is whatever the operating system is feeding it. So it might be different depending on what system you're running. Here is my approach to that:

list=dir();
CleanList=setdiff({list.name},{'.','..'})'; 

Answer 2

I'm not sure if there is a built in method for this, but why not write a custom function to do what you want?

Such as:

function list = files_dir(varargin)
% Similar functionality to 'dir', but only returns files (no folders)

list = dir(varargin{:});

list([list.isdir]) = [];

You can then customise this to perform other functionality, such as excluding hidden files.

And for your second request, where directories '.' and '..' are excluded:

function list = dir_exclude_self(varargin)
% same as 'dir', but doesn't return '.' or '..'

list = dir(varargin{:});

self_indices = ismember({list.name}, {'.', '..'});
list(self_indices) = [];

If you put functions like this in a specific place on your computer you can ensure they are always available to use by adding them to the MATLAB path in your startup.m file.