jQuery.get() Read Text File Example

JQuery code snippet to read a text file via the built in AJAX jQuery.get() call and then process the txt file line by line. The example adds the lines to a html element for display on page.

Important: The jQuery code will only replace the first occurrence of the word (jQuery4u) and not every occurrence like PHP’s str_replace() would. To replace every occurrence of a string in JavaScript, you must provide the replace() method a regular expression with a global modifier as the first parameter as such:


.replace(/jQuery4u/g,'jQuery4u FTW!');

jQuery Code to read text file line by line


jQuery.get('file.txt', function(data) {
   alert(data);
   //process text file line by line
   $('#div').html(data.replace('n',''));
});

Note: Browsers restrict access to local drives (and to server drives) for security reasons. However, you can use the standard jQuery ajax call $.ajax().

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Reading Text Files with jQuery

How can I read a local text file using jQuery?

To read a local text file using jQuery, you can use the jQuery.get() method. This method loads data from the server using an HTTP GET request. Here’s a simple example:

$.get("file.txt", function(data) {
alert("Data Loaded: " + data);
});
In this example, “file.txt” is the local text file you want to read. The function(data) is a callback function that is executed if the request succeeds. The data parameter contains the data returned from the server – in this case, the contents of the text file.

Can I read a text file from a different domain using jQuery?

Due to security restrictions known as the same-origin policy, you cannot read a text file from a different domain using jQuery’s AJAX methods. The same-origin policy restricts how a document or script loaded from one origin can interact with a resource from another origin. However, there are ways to circumvent this, such as using a server-side proxy or JSONP, but these methods have their own limitations and security concerns.

How can I handle errors when reading a text file with jQuery?

You can handle errors when reading a text file with jQuery by using the .fail() method. This method is called when the request fails. Here’s an example:

$.get("file.txt")
.done(function(data) {
alert("Data Loaded: " + data);
})
.fail(function() {
alert("Error occurred");
});
In this example, if the request to load “file.txt” fails, the .fail() method is called, and an error message is displayed.

Can I read a text file line by line using jQuery?

jQuery does not provide a built-in method to read a text file line by line. However, you can achieve this by splitting the file content by newline characters. Here’s an example:

$.get("file.txt", function(data) {
var lines = data.split("\n");
$.each(lines, function(n, elem) {
console.log("Line " + (n+1) + ": " + elem);
});
});
In this example, the file content is split by newline characters (“\n”) into an array of lines. Then, each line is logged to the console.

How can I read a CSV file using jQuery?

You can read a CSV file using jQuery in a similar way to reading a text file. However, you need to parse the file content into a usable format. Here’s an example:

$.get("file.csv", function(data) {
var lines = data.split("\n");
$.each(lines, function(n, elem) {
var fields = elem.split(",");
console.log("Fields: " + fields);
});
});
In this example, each line of the file is split by comma characters (“,”) into an array of fields. Then, each array of fields is logged to the console.