We can read the content of a text file using File System Object methods and properties following are the various methods and properties used to extract data from text file.
Before reading content from a file, we have to create instance of file system object.
Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set objTxtFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile(FilePath,iomode)
IO mode can have following values:
8 - Appending – Opens the file for appending, new content is appended at the end of file.
1 - Reading – Opens the file for reading.
2 - Writing – Opens the file for writing, does overwrite the existing content in file.
Methods
1. ReadAll : It stores all the content of a file in a variable as string.
sContent = objTxtFile.ReadAll
2. ReadLine : It allows a script to read individual lines in a text file.
sContent = objTxtFile.Readline.
Below code snippet shows how to read through each line.
i=0
Do Until objTxtFile.AtEndOfStream
sContent = objTxtFile.ReadLine
sDataArray(i) = objTxtFile.ReadLine
MsgBox sContent
i = i+1
Loop
sContent = objTxtFile.ReadLine
sDataArray(i) = objTxtFile.ReadLine
MsgBox sContent
i = i+1
Loop
3. Read(chr): The Read method allows you to read only a specified number of characters.
Stores number of characters as defined in chr.
sContent = objTxtFile.Read(5)
4. Skip(chr) : This method skips the number of characters defined in chr from the text file
skip(5)
5. SkipLine: This method skips line of data from the text file.
skipline()
6. AtEndOfLine : Returns true if the file pointer is positioned immediately before the end-of-line marker in a TextStream file.
It is useful to find characters in a line or reading characters till end of line.
Do While file.AtEndOfLine <> True
7. Line: It gives the current line number of the textStream.
objTxtFile.line()
8. Column : Read-only property that returns the column number of the current character position in a TextStream file.
objTxtFile.Column()
9. OpenasTextStream : This method is used with getfile method to read from file.
Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set objTxtFile = objFSO.getFile(FilePath)
var objts = objTxtFile.OpenAsTextStream(iomode)
var objts = objTxtFile.OpenAsTextStream(iomode)
10 Close: Closes an open TextStream file
Syntax: objTso.Close
Arguments:
objTso: (Required) The name of a TextStream Object previously instantiated.
Examples
Read : Reads a specified number of characters from a TextStream file and returns the resulting string.
Syntax: strChars = objTso.Read(numCharacters)
Example:
Set fso=CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
'Open the file "qtptest.txt" in writing mode.
Set qfile=fso.OpenTextFile("C:\qtptest.txt",2,True)
'write contents to the file into two newlines
qfile.Writeline "Welcome to the World of QTP"
qfile.Writeline "the file name is qtptest.txt"
'Open the file "qtptest.txt" in reading mode.
Set qfile=fso.OpenTextFile("C:\qtptest.txt",1,True)
'Read characters from the file
Msgbox qfile.Read(10)
'Close the files
qfile.Close
'Release the allocated objects
Set qfile=nothing
Set fso=nothing
'Output --> "Welcome to" will be read
ReadAll : Reads the entire TextStream file and returns the resulting string.
Syntax: strChars = objTso.ReadAll
Example:
Set fso=CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
'Open the file "qtptest.txt" in writing mode.
Set qfile=fso.OpenTextFile("C:\qtptest.txt",2,True)
'write contents to the file into two newlines
qfile.Writeline "Welcome to the World of QTP"
qfile.Writeline "the file name is qtptest.txt"
'Open the file "qtptest.txt" in reading mode.
Set qfile=fso.OpenTextFile("C:\qtptest.txt",1,True)
'Read the entire contents of priously written file
Msgbox qfile.ReadAll
'Close the files
qfile.Close
'Release the allocated objects
Set qfile=nothing
Set fso=nothing
'Output --> Displays the entire file.
ReadLine: Reads an entire line (up to, but not including, the newline character) from a TextStream file and returns the resulting string.
Syntax: strChars = objTso.ReadLine
Example:
Set fso=CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
'Open the file "qtptest.txt" in writing mode.
Set qfile=fso.OpenTextFile("C:\qtptest.txt",2,True)
'write contents to the file into two newlines
qfile.Writeline "Welcome to the World of QTP"
qfile.Writeline "the file name is qtptest.txt"
'Open the file "qtptest.txt" in reading mode.
Set qfile=fso.OpenTextFile("C:\qtptest.txt",1,True)
'Read the entire contents of priously written file
Do while qfile.AtEndOfStream <> true
Msgbox qfile.ReadLine
Loop
'Close the files
qfile.Close
'Release the allocated objects
Set qfile=nothing
Set fso=nothing
'Output --> The file will be read line line by line.
Write: Writes a specified string to a TextStream file.
Syntax: objTso.Write(string)
Example:
Set fso=CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
'Open the file "qtptest.txt" in writing mode.
Set qfile=fso.OpenTextFile("C:\qtptest.txt",2,True)
'write contents to the file into a single line
qfile.Write "Welcome to the World of QTP"
qfile.Write "the file name is qtptest.txt"
'Open the file "qtptest.txt" in reading mode.
Set qfile=fso.OpenTextFile("C:\qtptest.txt",1,True)
'Read the entire contents of priously written file
Do while qfile.AtEndOfStream <> true
Msgbox qfile.ReadLine
Loop
'Close the files
qfile.Close
'Release the allocated objects
Set qfile=nothing
Set fso=nothing
'Output --> The file will contain the above written content in single line.
WriteLine: Writes a specified string and newline character to a TextStream file.
Syntax: objTso.WriteLine([string])
Example:
Set fso=CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
'Open the file "qtptest.txt" in writing mode.
Set qfile=fso.OpenTextFile("C:\qtptest.txt",2,True)
'write contents to the file into two newlines
qfile.Writeline "Welcome to the World of QTP"
qfile.Writeline "the file name is qtptest.txt"
'Open the file "qtptest.txt" in reading mode.
Set qfile=fso.OpenTextFile("C:\qtptest.txt",1,True)
'Read the entire contents of priously written file
Do while qfile.AtEndOfStream <> true
Msgbox qfile.WriteLine
Loop
'Close the files
qfile.Close
'Release the allocated objects
Set qfile=nothing
Set fso=nothing
'Output --> The file will contain the above written content line by line.
WriteBlankLines: Writes a specified number of newline characters to a TextStream file.
Syntax: objTso.WriteBlankLines(numLines)
Example:
Set fso=CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
'Open the file "qtptest.txt" in writing mode.
Set qfile=fso.OpenTextFile("C:\qtptest.txt",2,True)
'write contents to the file into two newlines
qfile.Writeline "Welcome to the World of QTP"
'will insert 4 new blank lines
qfile.WriteBlankLines(4)
qfile.Writeline "the file name is qtptest.txt"
'Open the file "qtptest.txt" in reading mode.
Set qfile=fso.OpenTextFile("C:\qtptest.txt",1,True)
'Read the entire contents of priously written file
Do while qfile.AtEndOfStream <> true
Msgbox qfile.ReadLine
Loop
'Close the files
qfile.Close
'Release the allocated objects
Set qfile=nothing
Set fso=nothing
'Output --> The file will be read file line by line.
Properties:
AtEndOfLine: Indicates whether the file pointer is positioned immediately before the end-of line marker in a TextStream file.
Syntax: objTso.AtEndOfLine
Arguments:
objTso: (Required) The name of a TextStream Object previously instantiated.
Example:
Set fso=CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
'Open the file "qtptest.txt" in writing mode.
Set qfile=fso.OpenTextFile("C:\qtptest.txt",2,True)
'write contents to the file into newline
qfile.Writeline "Welcome to the World of QTP"
'Open the file "qtptest.txt" in reading mode.
Set qfile=fso.OpenTextFile("C:\qtptest.txt",1,True)
Do while qfile.AtEndOfLine <> true
Msgbox qfile.Read(1)
Loop
'Close the files
qfile.Close
'Release the allocated objects
Set qfile=nothing
Set fso=nothing
'Output --> The file will be read word by word.
AtEndOfStream: Indicates whether the file pointer is positioned at the end of a TextStream file.
Syntax: objTso.AtEndOfStream
Arguments:
objTso: (Required) The name of a TextStream Object previously instantiated.
Example:
Set fso=CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
'Open the file "qtptest.txt" in writing mode.
Set qfile=fso.OpenTextFile("C:\qtptest.txt",2,True)
'write contents to the file into two newlines
qfile.Writeline "Welcome to the World of QTP"
qfile.Writeline "the file name is qtptest.txt"
'Open the file "qtptest.txt" in reading mode.
Set qfile=fso.OpenTextFile("C:\qtptest.txt",1,True)
'Read the entire contents of previously written file
Do while qfile.AtEndOfStream <> true
Msgbox qfile.ReadLine
Loop
'Close the files
qfile.Close
'Release the allocated objects
Set qfile=nothing
Set fso=nothing
'Output --> The file will be read line line by line.
Difference between AtEndOfStream and AtEndOfLine....?
AtEndOfStream- Returns true if the file pointer is at the end of a TextStream file, false it it is not.
AtEndOfLine- Returns true if the file pinter is at the end of a line in a file, false if it is not.
