Command for server authentification in script with invisible password

I save my data on our server and have to log in with my login data. When I start my matlab script on our server, windows asks me for authentication every time matlab whats to access data (importdata and readtable). Can I store my login data on matlab so that matlab can login itself to our server when the script is running and also make my password invisible?

I want to have the script on our server so that I can access the files that are created from homeoffice and share the files with coworkers.

I use powerfolder via webdav, if this info is also important for you.

run=1;
while true
    tic
    data=importdata('C:\Users\Hüs\Documents\MATLAB\Datalogger\KlimaLoggProAuto.dat1');
    alle=[data(8,1);data(11,1);data(21,1);data(24,1);data(34,1);data(37,1);data(47,1);data(50,1);data(60,1);data(63,1);data(73,1);data(76,1);data(86,1);data(89,1);data(99,1);data(102,1)];
    string(alle);
    a=split(alle,'"');
    Werte=a(:,2)';
    Zeit=datetime('now');
    Zeit=string(Zeit);
    WerteZeit_str=cellstr([Zeit,Werte]);
    [succes,message]=xlsappend('Datalogger.xlsx',WerteZeit_str,1);
    
    if run>=144
        table=readtable('C:\Users\Hüs\Documents\MATLAB\Datalogger\Datalogger.xlsx');
        warning('off','all');
        x=table.DatumUndUhrzeit;      %Datum und Uhrzeit auslesen
        x=x(end-770:end);
        time=datetime(datestr((x)));

        %Raum 210
        temp210=table.Temp_R_210__C;  %Temperatur Raum210 auslesen
        temp210=temp210(end-770:end);
        temp210=str2double(temp210);
        hum210=table.Hum___;          %Luftfeuchtigkeit Raum210 auslesen
        hum210=hum210(end-770:end);
        hum210=str2double(hum210);
        f210=figure('Name','Room210','visible','off');
        hold on;
        yyaxis left;
        plot(time,temp210);
        yyaxis right;
        plot(time,hum210);
        yyaxis left;
        title('Temperature and Humidity Room 210');
        ylabel('Temperature in °C');
        yyaxis right;
        ylabel('Humidity in %');
        xtickangle(45),
        ax = gca(); 
        ax.XTick = linspace(ax.XTick(1),ax.XTick(end),23);
        saveas(f210,'Room210.jpg');
        hold off;
        
        run=0;
    end
    
    run=run+1;
    pause(600-toc) 
end

Answer 1

[Chetan]

Hi @Hüseyin Uzun,

I understand you're looking for a secure method to manage and use login credentials for server access in MATLAB, with the goal of automating data access and sharing with coworkers remotely, specifically through PowerFolder via WebDAV.

A viable strategy involves utilizing system environment variables to securely store credentials and access them within your scripts using `getenv()`.

This can be accomplished by:

1. Using System Environment Variables with `getenv`:

getenv('USERNAME')

ans =

  0x0 empty char array

2. Using a Third-Party dotenv package:

1. Create a `.env` file Save your credentials:

USERNAME=yourUsername
PASSWORD=yourPassword

2. Load Environment Variables in MATLAB: Employ a custom or third-party `dotenv` package to import these credentials into MATLAB's workspace at the start of your script.

3. Use Credentials: The `dotenv` package provides a structure of the variables inside the `.env` file:

env = dotenv.read('.env');

env = struct with fields:
    USERNAME: 'yourUsername'
    PASSWORD: 'yourPassword'

env.USERNAME

ans = 'yourUsername'

env.PASSWORD

ans = 'yourPassword'

Refer to the following MathWorks Documentation for more details:

• https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/108029-dotenv-matlab
• https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/ref/getenv.html
• https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/ref/setenv.html

Hope it helps