I want to declare an array like this:
panel = ['A0', 'A1', 'A2', 'A3', 'A4', 'A5'];
so that panel(1) = A0.
The problem is that it takes the complete thing as one element, like this: A0A1A2A3A4A5
with panel(1) = A, panel(2) = 0, and so on.
How can such an array be created?
Using a cell array will generate the behavior you're expecting. You define a cell array using {} brackets, rather than [], and access the elements using {} instead of ().
panel = {'A0', 'A1', 'A2', 'A3', 'A4', 'A5'};
disp(panel{1});
Either you can use cell arrays as explained in DMR's answer or the following approaches:
Use multiple rows instead of a single row like this:
panel = ['A0'; 'A1'; 'A2'; 'A3'; 'A4'; 'A5'];
then A0 can be accessed using: panel(1,:), A1 using panel(2,:), ...
If you have MATLAB 2017a, you can create string arrays like this:
panel = ["A0", "A1", "A2", "A3", "A4", "A5"];
and then A0 can be accessed using: panel(1), A1 using panel(2), ...
