Dear Duncan, thank you for your reply, I tried to read the file using skip and nrows but it did not work. Here i am pasting the code I wrote and the head of the file i need to read. Probably the error is due to the fact that the column "well" has duplication, but how can i add a row column with unique row names? How can I overcome this error? Best regards Luigi
CODE raw.data<-read.table( mydata, header=TRUE, row.names=31, dec=".", sep="\t", skip = 30, nrows = 17281, row.names = 1:17281 ) HEAD OF MYDATA * Block Type = Array Card Block * Calibration Background is expired = No * Calibration Background performed on = 2014-12-02 11:27:49 AM PST * Calibration FAM is expired = No * Calibration FAM performed on = 2014-12-02 12:00:20 PM PST * Calibration ROI is expired = No * Calibration ROI performed on = 2014-12-02 11:20:40 AM PST * Calibration ROX is expired = No * Calibration ROX performed on = 2014-12-02 12:11:21 PM PST * Calibration Uniformity is expired = No * Calibration Uniformity performed on = 2014-12-02 11:43:43 AM PST * Calibration VIC is expired = No * Calibration VIC performed on = 2014-12-02 11:51:59 AM PST * Chemistry = TAQMAN * Experiment Barcode = * Experiment Comments = * Experiment File Name = F:\2015-04-13 Gastro array 59 Luigi - plate 3.eds * Experiment Name = 2015-04-13 171216 * Experiment Run End Time = 2015-04-13 18:07:57 PM PDT * Experiment Type = Comparative Cт (ΔΔCт) * Experiment User Name = * Instrument Name = 278882033 * Instrument Serial Number = 278882033 * Instrument Type = ViiA 7 * Passive Reference = ROX * Quantification Cycle Method = Ct * Signal Smoothing On = false * Stage/ Cycle where Analysis is performed = Stage 3, Step 2 [Amplification Data] Well \tCycle \tTarget \tName \tRn \t1 \t1 \tAdeno 1 \t0.82 \t1 \t2 \tAdeno 1\ \t0.93 ... \t2 \t1 \tAdeno 2 \t0.78 ... On Mon, Apr 20, 2015 at 12:17 PM, Duncan Murdoch <murdoch.dun...@gmail.com> wrote: > On 20/04/2015 3:28 AM, Luigi Marongiu wrote: >> Dear all, >> I have a flat file (tab delimited) derived from an excel file which is >> subdivided in different parts: a first part is reporting metadata, >> then there is a first spreadsheet indicated by [ ], then the actual >> data and the second spreadsheet with the same format [ ] and then the >> data. >> How can I import such file using for instance read.table()? > > read.table() by itself can't recognize where the data starts, but it has > arguments "skip" and "nrows" to control how much gets read. If you > don't know the values for those arguments, you can use readLines() to > read the entire file, then use grep() to recognize your table data, and > either re-read the file, or just extract those lines and read from them > as a textConnection. > > Duncan Murdoch > >> Many thanks >> regards >> Luigi >> >> Here is a sample of the file: >> * Experiment Barcode = >> * Experiment Comments = >> * Experiment File Name = F:\array 59 >> * Experiment Name = 2015-04-13 171216 >> * Experiment Run End Time = 2015-04-13 18:07:57 PM PDT >> ... >> [Amplification Data] >> Well Cycle Target Name Rn Delta Rn >> 1 1 Adeno 1-Adeno 1 0.820 -0.051 >> 1 2 Adeno 1-Adeno 1 0.827 -0.042 >> 1 3 Adeno 1-Adeno 1 0.843 -0.025 >> 1 4 Adeno 1-Adeno 1 0.852 -0.015 >> 1 5 Adeno 1-Adeno 1 0.858 -0.008 >> 1 6 Adeno 1-Adeno 1 0.862 -0.002 >> ... >> [Results] >> Well Well Position Omit Sample Name Target Name Task >> Reporter Quencher RQ RQ Min RQ Max CT Ct Mean Ct >> SD Quantity Delta Ct Mean Delta Ct SD Delta Delta Ct >> Automatic Ct Threshold Ct Threshold Automatic Baseline >> Baseline Start Baseline End Efficiency Comments Custom1 >> Custom2 Custom3 Custom4 Custom5 Custom6 NOAMP >> EXPFAIL >> 1 A1 false P17 Adeno 1-Adeno 1 UNKNOWN FAM >> NFQ-MGB Undetermined false >> 0.200 true 3 44 1.000 N/A N >> Y >> 2 A2 false P17 Adeno 40/41 EH-AIQJCT3 UNKNOWN FAM >> NFQ-MGB Undetermined >> >> ______________________________________________ >> R-help@r-project.org mailing list -- To UNSUBSCRIBE and more, see >> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help >> PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html >> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code. >> > ______________________________________________ R-help@r-project.org mailing list -- To UNSUBSCRIBE and more, see https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.