% step 1: define matrix u u = [ [32, 84, 108]', [33, 104, 115]', [39, 97, 116]' ]; % step 2: extract from matrix: v = [ u(2,:), u(3,3), u(1,3), u(3,2), u(1,1), u(2,3), u(3,1), u(3,1), u(1,2) ]; % pass vector v to function char() char(v) % Output: "That's all!"