Table.Prop​erties.Var​iableNames will add ... to long Variable Names

I want to read out the Variable names of a table i imported from excel with readtable.

Table.Properties.VariableNames will add 3 dots "..." to long Variable Names, thereby shortening the actual name in the cell array, and making them useless to index into said table column.

This might have to do with the way Tables are displayed when viewing them in the workspace.

Gave something along the lines of:

 1×13 cell array

  Columns 1 through 10

    {'components_pos_'}    {'name'}    {'thickness__s__i…'}    {'thermal_conduc_…'}    {'heat_capac_c_in…'}    {'density_in_kg_m_'}  {'V_ignoreThisOne'}    {'solar_absorp'}    {'ir_emissivity'}    {'g_value'}

  Columns 11 through 13

    {'shading_g_total'}    {'shading_max_irr'}    {'a_conv'}

Now for me personally i just need to fix this once or twice and thats no Problem, but it feels unintended. Is it a Bug?

There is also Table.Properties.VariableDESCRIPTIONs which puts out the same cell Array, now for Description it makes sense that it might put in the dots ...

Answer 1

[Steven Lord]

Is that an artifact of how the cell array is displayed in the Workspace (which I suspect is the case) or how the data is stored in the cell array?

name = repmat('a':'z', 1, 2);
t = table(1, 2, VariableNames = {[name, '1'], [name , '2']})

t = 1x2 table
    abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1    abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz2
    _____________________________________________________    _____________________________________________________

                              1                                                        2                          

N = t.Properties.VariableNames

N = 1x2 cell array
    {'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1'}    {'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz2'}

nameOfVariable1 = N{1}

nameOfVariable1 = 'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1'

If it is just an artifact of the display, I don't consider that to be a bug.

[Alexander Szambor]

It is an Artifact of how the cell array is displayed in the workspace, it results in three dots being displayed in the command window when not suppressing the output.

You are correct, if i pull out a certain cell value from the array the char is displayed correctly.

Answer 2

[Fangjun Jiang]

I think the OP was referring to the three dots in the image in the header row.

It is a display, @Alexander Szambor. If you drag and increase the width of the column in the matrix grid in the workspace view, the full variable name will be shown.

[Alexander Szambor]

No, i was referring to the values in the cell array. Thank you anyways.