how to use filename string for HTML5 readAsText instead of input button

Question

I want to read a textfile on my local machine and put the contents into a variable. All the examples I've found use an input button (type = "file") that passes an argument that gets scooped up as "evt" by the function. I simply would pass a filename, like "mydata.txt".

I can do it with ajax, but I would like to use it without XAMPP.

function readSingleFile(evt)
{
    var f = evt.target.files[0];

    if (f)
    {
        var r = new FileReader();
        r.onload = function(e)
        { 
            var contents = e.target.result;
            document.getElementById('div1').innerHTML = contents;
        }
        r.readAsText(f);
    }
    else
    {            
        alert("Failed to load file");
    }
}

SLaks · Accepted Answer · 2013-03-05 19:35:26Z

1

AJAX allows you to read a file that resides on the server.

For security reasons, it will never be possible to read an arbitrary path on the client filesystem.
The <input type="file" /> allows the user to select the file, which is why it's safe.

answered Mar 5, 2013 at 19:35

SLaks

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4 Comments

wubbewubbewubbe Over a year ago

I'm a bit confused. I can load a script from my local machine <script type = "text/javascript" src = "jquery-1.9.0.min.js"></script>. I can put all kinds of things in there, like the contents of the textfile. Except it's a chore to format that text the way I want too.

SLaks Over a year ago

@wubbewubbewubbe: Wrong. That loads a script from the server. It sends an HTTP request to the server in the same path as the file.

wubbewubbewubbe Over a year ago

Still confused, because it works on my local machine without XAMPP running.

SLaks Over a year ago

@wubbewubbewubbe: If you open it from disk (as opposed to navigating to it on a local web server), the server and the client will both use the same filesystem. However, the SOP will get in your way if you want to use AJAX.

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