Read text file from FTP

Question

How could I read a text file that is stored on an FTP server?

I would like the program to use this line within the program as this file on the FTP server will change. Thanks for the help

Answer 1

The easiest way to read a contents of a text file from FTP server is using WebClient.DownloadString:

Dim client As WebClient = New WebClient()
client.Credentials = New NetworkCredential("test", "test")
Dim text As String = client.DownloadString("ftp://localhost:2121/3264/uninstall.log")
Console.WriteLine(text)

---

If you want to download the file to a local disk, see
Visual Basic FtpWebRequest downloading files?

Answer 2

Take a look at my FTP class, it might be exactly what you need.

Check out the function ftp.GetDirectory

Public Class FTP
        '-------------------------[BroCode]--------------------------
        '----------------------------FTP-----------------------------
        Private _credentials As System.Net.NetworkCredential
        Sub New(ByVal _FTPUser As String, ByVal _FTPPass As String)
            setCredentials(_FTPUser, _FTPPass)
        End Sub
        Public Sub UploadFile(ByVal _FileName As String, ByVal _UploadPath As String)
            Dim _FileInfo As New System.IO.FileInfo(_FileName)
            Dim _FtpWebRequest As System.Net.FtpWebRequest = CType(System.Net.FtpWebRequest.Create(New Uri(_UploadPath)), System.Net.FtpWebRequest)
            _FtpWebRequest.Credentials = _credentials
            _FtpWebRequest.KeepAlive = False
            _FtpWebRequest.Timeout = 20000
            _FtpWebRequest.Method = System.Net.WebRequestMethods.Ftp.UploadFile
            _FtpWebRequest.UseBinary = True
            _FtpWebRequest.ContentLength = _FileInfo.Length
            Dim buffLength As Integer = 2048
            Dim buff(buffLength - 1) As Byte
            Dim _FileStream As System.IO.FileStream = _FileInfo.OpenRead()
            Try
                Dim _Stream As System.IO.Stream = _FtpWebRequest.GetRequestStream()
                Dim contentLen As Integer = _FileStream.Read(buff, 0, buffLength)
                Do While contentLen <> 0
                    _Stream.Write(buff, 0, contentLen)
                    contentLen = _FileStream.Read(buff, 0, buffLength)
                Loop
                _Stream.Close()
                _Stream.Dispose()
                _FileStream.Close()
                _FileStream.Dispose()
            Catch ex As Exception
                MessageBox.Show(ex.Message, "Upload Error: ", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)
            End Try
        End Sub
        Public Sub DownloadFile(ByVal _FileName As String, ByVal _ftpDownloadPath As String)
            Try
                Dim _request As System.Net.FtpWebRequest = System.Net.WebRequest.Create(_ftpDownloadPath)
                _request.KeepAlive = False
                _request.Method = System.Net.WebRequestMethods.Ftp.DownloadFile
                _request.Credentials = _credentials
                Dim _response As System.Net.FtpWebResponse = _request.GetResponse()
                Dim responseStream As System.IO.Stream = _response.GetResponseStream()
                Dim fs As New System.IO.FileStream(_FileName, System.IO.FileMode.Create)
                responseStream.CopyTo(fs)
                responseStream.Close()
                _response.Close()
            Catch ex As Exception
                MessageBox.Show(ex.Message, "Download Error: ", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)
            End Try
        End Sub
        Public Function GetDirectory(ByVal _ftpPath As String) As List(Of String)
            Dim ret As New List(Of String)
            Try
                Dim _request As System.Net.FtpWebRequest = System.Net.WebRequest.Create(_ftpPath)
                _request.KeepAlive = False
                _request.Method = System.Net.WebRequestMethods.Ftp.ListDirectoryDetails
                _request.Credentials = _credentials
                Dim _response As System.Net.FtpWebResponse = _request.GetResponse()
                Dim responseStream As System.IO.Stream = _response.GetResponseStream()
                Dim _reader As System.IO.StreamReader = New System.IO.StreamReader(responseStream)
                Dim FileData As String = _reader.ReadToEnd
                Dim Lines() As String = FileData.Split(New String() {Environment.NewLine}, StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries)
                For Each l As String In Lines
                    ret.Add(l)
                Next
                _reader.Close()
                _response.Close()
            Catch ex As Exception
                MessageBox.Show(ex.Message, "Directory Fetch Error: ", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)
            End Try
            Return ret
        End Function

        Private Sub setCredentials(ByVal _FTPUser As String, ByVal _FTPPass As String)
            _credentials = New System.Net.NetworkCredential(_FTPUser, _FTPPass)
        End Sub
    End Class

To initialize:

Dim ftp As New FORM.FTP("username", "password")

ftp.UploadFile("c:\file.jpeg", "ftp://domain/file.jpeg")

ftp.DownloadFile("c:\file.jpeg", "ftp://ftp://domain/file.jpeg")

Dim directory As List(Of String) = ftp.GetDirectory("ftp://ftp.domain.net/")
        ListBox1.Items.Clear()
        For Each item As String In directory
            ListBox1.Items.Add(item)
        Next

https://stackoverflow.com/a/28669746/2701974