function CharArray=readCharArray(filename,N,p)
     % reads lines from a text file, creates an array with N lines length p
CharArray=[];
fid=fopen(filename); 
for i=1:N
    li=fgetl(fid); n=length(li); 
    if n>=p
       li=li(1:p);
    else
       li=[li,repmat(' ',1,p-n)];
    end;
    CharArray=[CharArray;li];
end; 
fclose(fid)