[javascript] How to read text file in JavaScript

I am trying to load a text file into my JavaScript file and then read the lines from that file in order to get information, and I tried the FileReader but it does not seem to be working. Can anyone help?

function analyze(){
   var f = new FileReader();

   f.onloadend = function(){
       console.log("success");
   }
   f.readAsText("cities.txt");
}

This question is related to javascript html text

The answer is


Javascript doesn't have access to the user's filesystem for security reasons. FileReader is only for files manually selected by the user.


(fiddle: https://jsfiddle.net/ya3ya6/7hfkdnrg/2/ )

  1. Usage

Html:

<textarea id='tbMain' ></textarea>
<a id='btnOpen' href='#' >Open</a>

Js:

document.getElementById('btnOpen').onclick = function(){
    openFile(function(txt){
        document.getElementById('tbMain').value = txt; 
    });
}
  1. Js Helper functions
function openFile(callBack){
  var element = document.createElement('input');
  element.setAttribute('type', "file");
  element.setAttribute('id', "btnOpenFile");
  element.onchange = function(){
      readText(this,callBack);
      document.body.removeChild(this);
      }

  element.style.display = 'none';
  document.body.appendChild(element);

  element.click();
}

function readText(filePath,callBack) {
    var reader;
    if (window.File && window.FileReader && window.FileList && window.Blob) {
        reader = new FileReader();
    } else {
        alert('The File APIs are not fully supported by your browser. Fallback required.');
        return false;
    }
    var output = ""; //placeholder for text output
    if(filePath.files && filePath.files[0]) {           
        reader.onload = function (e) {
            output = e.target.result;
            callBack(output);
        };//end onload()
        reader.readAsText(filePath.files[0]);
    }//end if html5 filelist support
    else { //this is where you could fallback to Java Applet, Flash or similar
        return false;
    }       
    return true;
}

This can be done quite easily using javascript XMLHttpRequest() class (AJAX):

function FileHelper()

{
    FileHelper.readStringFromFileAtPath = function(pathOfFileToReadFrom)
    {
        var request = new XMLHttpRequest();
        request.open("GET", pathOfFileToReadFrom, false);
        request.send(null);
        var returnValue = request.responseText;

        return returnValue;
    }
}

...

var text = FileHelper.readStringFromFileAtPath ( "mytext.txt" );

my example

<html>

<head>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="http://code.jquery.com/ui/1.11.3/themes/smoothness/jquery-ui.css">
  <script src="http://code.jquery.com/jquery-1.10.2.js"></script>
  <script src="http://code.jquery.com/ui/1.11.3/jquery-ui.js"></script>
</head>

<body>
  <script>
    function PreviewText() {
      var oFReader = new FileReader();
      oFReader.readAsDataURL(document.getElementById("uploadText").files[0]);
      oFReader.onload = function(oFREvent) {
        document.getElementById("uploadTextValue").value = oFREvent.target.result;
        document.getElementById("obj").data = oFREvent.target.result;
      };
    };
    jQuery(document).ready(function() {
      $('#viewSource').click(function() {
        var text = $('#uploadTextValue').val();
        alert(text);
        //here ajax
      });
    });
  </script>
  <object width="100%" height="400" data="" id="obj"></object>
  <div>
    <input type="hidden" id="uploadTextValue" name="uploadTextValue" value="" />
    <input id="uploadText" style="width:120px" type="file" size="10" onchange="PreviewText();" />
  </div>
  <a href="#" id="viewSource">Source file</a>
</body>

</html>

Examples related to javascript

need to add a class to an element How to make a variable accessible outside a function? Hide Signs that Meteor.js was Used How to create a showdown.js markdown extension Please help me convert this script to a simple image slider Highlight Anchor Links when user manually scrolls? Summing radio input values How to execute an action before close metro app WinJS javascript, for loop defines a dynamic variable name Getting all files in directory with ajax

Examples related to html

Embed ruby within URL : Middleman Blog Please help me convert this script to a simple image slider Generating a list of pages (not posts) without the index file Why there is this "clear" class before footer? Is it possible to change the content HTML5 alert messages? Getting all files in directory with ajax DevTools failed to load SourceMap: Could not load content for chrome-extension How to set width of mat-table column in angular? How to open a link in new tab using angular? ERROR Error: Uncaught (in promise), Cannot match any routes. URL Segment

Examples related to text

Difference between opening a file in binary vs text How do I center text vertically and horizontally in Flutter? How to `wget` a list of URLs in a text file? Convert txt to csv python script Reading local text file into a JavaScript array Python: How to increase/reduce the fontsize of x and y tick labels? How can I insert a line break into a <Text> component in React Native? How to split large text file in windows? Copy text from nano editor to shell Atom menu is missing. How do I re-enable