I can not read file from specified directory

Question

I tried to read the file from directory but i m unable to read. every time i get the same error. hello.txt is the file name and it contains the content as well. I want to read the file first and then its content line by line.

import cv2
f = open("C:\\Users\\Kazmi-PC\\OneDrive\\Desktop\\hello.txt", "r")
print(f.readline())
f.close()

.

Traceback (most recent call last):

  File "<ipython-input-9-b53fed7bb3dd>", line 3, in <module>
    f = open("C:\\Users\\Kazmi-PC\\OneDrive\\Desktop\\hello.txt", "r")

FileNotFoundError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: 'C:\\Users\\Kazmi-PC\\OneDrive\\Desktop\\hello.txt'

I have this file. it is present on the desktop (location specified) — Sigmoid Function, Jul 21 '19 at 08:21
then get path from code and use it in any text editor to check if you can open it. Maybe on desktop you have only shortcut to file which exists in different folder. — furas, Jul 21 '19 at 08:22
syntax is OK but Windows can use files with extension .shortcut to display link to file which is in different folder and other programs may not respect this shortcut. — furas, Jul 21 '19 at 08:24
you can start with `print(list(os.listdir("C:\\Users\\Kazmi-PC\\OneDrive\\Desktop")))` to check what files Python can see. — furas, Jul 21 '19 at 08:26
Even though i have changed the location of file. but still im getting the same error — Sigmoid Function, Jul 21 '19 at 08:27
Possible duplicate of [Error with double backslash in Windows path in Python](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/22567785/error-with-double-backslash-in-windows-path-in-python) — M_S_N, Jul 21 '19 at 08:28
print(list(os.listdir("C:\\Users\\Kazmi-PC\\OneDrive\\Desktop"))) through this python reads all the files including hello.text. but when i specify the file it donot read — Sigmoid Function, Jul 21 '19 at 08:30
do you have `hello.txt` or `hello.text` ? You use two different names. — furas, Jul 21 '19 at 08:32
it can be other situation - you may have space in filename - ie. at the end - which you can't see on screen but it makes diffference for Python. — furas, Jul 21 '19 at 08:34
i did it too :(((( but it showing me another error: [WinError 267] The directory name is invalid: 'C:\\Users\\Kazmi-PC\\OneDrive\\Desktop\\hi.txt' — Sigmoid Function, Jul 21 '19 at 08:39
you can also use `listdir()` and display names with `print(">{}<".format(name))` to see if there is no space. — furas, Jul 21 '19 at 08:39
from the same location images can be read but not the files. i m not getting whats wrong with it. :((((( — Sigmoid Function, Jul 21 '19 at 08:42
do i have to save the text file with "hi" or "hi.txt" , in order to read that file ? may be i m getting error because of it — Sigmoid Function, Jul 21 '19 at 08:43

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 21 '19 at 08:27

0

Have you tried using forward slash instead of backslash? Please try changing the directory string to:

"C:/Users/Kazmi-PC/OneDrive/Desktop/hello.txt"

It seems like this issue is similar to the one described here

answered Jul 21 '19 at 08:27

Davide

109
2
10

PySaad · Accepted Answer · 2019-07-21T09:02:14.233

0

Try out with this code -

with open(r"C:\\Users\\Kazmi-PC\\OneDrive\\Desktop\\hello.txt", "r") as file:
    <some code>

This will tell that it is raw string.

More Information

What exactly do "u" and "r" string flags do, and what are raw string literals?

EDIT:

Python was not able to find file hello.txt which in real was getting passed as hello.txt.txt

Simple step on windows to view the extension:

Press window
Search "File Explorer Options"
In view tab, uncheck "Hide extensions for known file types".

edited Jul 21 '19 at 09:02

answered Jul 21 '19 at 08:31

PySaad

1,052
16
26

Bring that file at some other location. Are you trying it from onedrive? – PySaad Jul 21 '19 at 08:32
even though i have changed the location but still getting error – Sigmoid Function Jul 21 '19 at 08:34
Write code: if os.path.exists(path_of_file): print ('file found') else ('not found') Check in which condition it is falling! – PySaad Jul 21 '19 at 08:39
it returns me result not found – Sigmoid Function Jul 21 '19 at 08:47
Which means the file not exists! – PySaad Jul 21 '19 at 08:48
file is actually there on that location :( – Sigmoid Function Jul 21 '19 at 08:49
1. Press window 2. Search "File Explorer Options" 3. In view tab, uncheck "Hide extensions for known file types". Now, check you original file name and let me know what is the name? Is it hello.txt or hello.txt.txt ? – PySaad Jul 21 '19 at 08:50
i have renamed the file and it is hi.txt.txt – Sigmoid Function Jul 21 '19 at 08:56
I hope now you got the solution. This was the reason why it was not able to recognize your file. Hope it will solve this – PySaad Jul 21 '19 at 08:57
The double backslashes are wrong (but harmless). Inside a raw string, backslashes do not need escaping. It just so happens that Windows apparently ignores the second one in this context. – tripleee Jul 21 '19 at 09:15

I can not read file from specified directory

2 Answers2