Octave: importing a large matrix in csv format

Question

I'm trying to import a matrix (about 80.000 rows) from a csv file to Octave. The obvious solution seems something like:

load("-ascii","relative_directory/the_file.csv")

or maybe renaming the file and trying:

load("-ascii", "relative_directory/the_file.txt")

Yet I keep getting the error:

load: failed to read matrix from file "relative_directory/the_file.csv"

or .txt without anymore details. Any tips are appreciated.

Answer 1

Deleting all characters like:

,  :  - /

and leaving only numbers solves the importing problem if us use "load" with the "-ascii" option. I also tried using the "-text" option instead of -ascii" but this too results in the error,

load: empty name keyword or no data found in file