How can I check the contents of a MAT-file in MATLAB without loading it?

Question

I have a large structure in a MAT-file. I want to check if a specific field is present in the structure without loading the MAT-file since the contents are very large a

Answer 1

As far as I know, you have to load the file in order to be able to check if a saved structure contains a specific field.

However, if you save the .mat file with the '-struct'-option, it splits the fields into separate variables in the .mat file. You can recreate the structure by calling

myStructure = load('test.mat');

Saving this way also allows you to test for whether a field (variable) exists by using @Amro's approach (which is a lot cleaner than what I suggested before).

Answer 2

To check the contents of a MAT file without loading it, use:

vars = whos('-file','test.mat')
ismember('fieldname', {vars.name})