Import datasheet iteration matlab - name to exist outside of function - matlab

Question

So have some simple collumated data in text files named like:
Hm_slit_01.txt...Hm_slit_21.txt; Hs_slit_01.txt...Hs_slit_23.txt; Sm_slit_01.txt...Sm_slit_27.txt; Ss_slit_01.txt...Ss_slit_32.txt etc...
and I need to import it as datasheets into matlab, idealy with the same name but no .txt.
So I have created a function that takes a prefix Hm, Hs ... and a final number to iterate the file naming up to. BUT it doesn't save the datasheet externally in the workplace.
Here is the code.
function [datasheet] = imp_vrad(prefix,numslits)
%[data] = imp_vrad(prefix,numslits)
% imports data with filename <prefix>_slit_<##>.txt
% to be a matlab datasheet data = <prefix>_slit_<##>
% here ## starts from '01' and goes to 'numslits'
% FILES MUST BE IN WORKING DIRECTORY!
for currslit=1:numslits
if currslit < 10
filename = [prefix '_slit_0' num2str(currslit) '.txt']; %names file
data = [prefix '_slit_0' num2str(currslit)]; %names datasheet
else
filename = [prefix '_slit_' num2str(currslit) '.txt']; %names file
data = [prefix '_slit_' num2str(currslit)]; %names datasheet
end
disp(['importing ' filename ' as ' data])
importdata(filename); %imports the data
end
end
The line in question is the last line. I have also tried data=importdata(filename); to no avail.
Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

I'm not sure if there's a way to change the scope of a variable in matlab. You can define them dynamically using eval, but that still won't get us past the scope problem.
You have two options: if the names mater to you, you could put the imported tables in a struct, akin to what import does; or, if you only care about the index, you could import them into an array (perhaps multidimensional).
For the former you could do something like
function [datasheet] = imp_vrad(prefix,numslits)
%[data] = imp_vrad(prefix,numslits)
% imports data with filenames <prefix>_slit_<##>.txt
% into a struct with labels <prefix>_slit_<##>
% here ## starts from '01' and goes to 'numslits'
% FILES MUST BE IN WORKING DIRECTORY!
%
datasheet = struct();
for currslit=1:numslits
dataname = sprintf('%s_slit_%02d',prefix,currslit);
filename = [dataname,'.txt'];
disp(['importing ' filename ' as ' data])
data = importdata(filename); %imports the data
datasheet.(dataname) = data;
end
end