Errno 2 No such file or directory in Python

Question

I'm trying to run the following code but I keep getting this error every time I run it:

[Errno 2] No such file or directory: 'words_sorted.txt'

This is the code I'm trying to run but can't figure out how to not get this error. I have also attached the txt. file

#function definition
def words_with_letters(words, letters):
    #if letters is empty string then return words list
    if letters == "":
        return words
    
    #new list for storing all the subsequences
    subseq = []
    
    #iteration over the words list
    for word in words:
        
        index = 0
    
        #iteration over the word string
        for char in word:
            #letter which is initialized to the first letter of letters string
            letter = letters[index]
    
            #if letter is found in the word string
            if char == letter:
                #updating the letter to next letter of the letters string
                index += 1
      
            #if end of letters is reached, adding the word to subsequences
            if index == len(letters):
                subseq.append(word)
                break
    
    return subseq
    
#creating empty list for storing the words in text file
words = []
#opening the text file in the read mode
with open("words_sorted.txt") as file:
    #iterating over the file object
    for line in file:
        #removing the newline character from the line and adding word to the words list
        word = line.strip()
        words.append(word)

Where is `words_sorted.txt` located on your filesystem, relative to the script? If it's not in the same directory, why do you expect that file to be found if you're not explicitly defining its path? — Random Davis, Feb 15 '22 at 16:59
it's located on my desktop. I think I need to have the open file code inside the def function but I don't how to do this without errors — RaphC, Feb 15 '22 at 17:03
You didn't answer my question. Where is it, *relative to your script*? Are you saying that `words_sorted.txt`, and your script, are both located on the desktop? Putting the `open` inside your function won't make a difference if you're not providing the right file path. Also there's no such thing as a "def function", it's just called a "function" - "def" just means "define", as in "define function". — Random Davis, Feb 15 '22 at 17:04
This is the file path: "C:\\Users\Owner\OneDrive\Desktop\CCPS 109\words_sorted.txt" — RaphC, Feb 15 '22 at 17:08
You still didn't answer my question. Where is your script? As in, the `.py` file? Unless it's also in the `CCPS 109` folder, then it's no wonder you're getting this error. If you tell us where the script is we can tell you what you need to do to stop the error. — Random Davis, Feb 15 '22 at 17:24
The path is: C:\Users\Owner\PycharmProjects\CCPS109\labs109.py. They are not in the same directory — RaphC, Feb 15 '22 at 17:35
You just answered your own question. Now that we know what the issue this, this post is just a duplicate of [Open File in Another Directory (Python)](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/32470543/open-file-in-another-directory-python) — Random Davis, Feb 15 '22 at 17:44

score 0 · Answer 1 · edited Feb 15 '22 at 17:44

The error is saying that the file cannot be found, you probably knew that. That usually happens when you are running the code from a different folder than the one holding the file. It doesn't seem to be related to the code at all and therefore I won't be able to replicate the error unless you can show us where is your Python file and where is "words_sorted.txt". If both of the files are in the same directory it should work fine. If the txt file is in another folder, you can just use the full path to open the file:

path = 'C:/path/to/file.txt'
with open(path) as file:
    ...

In any case, I recommend you to learn about how directories work in Python and how you can manage them, for example, appending directories to your path (using sys.path.append) or using relative paths. This can give you some insight:

https://www.programiz.com/python-programming/directory

Python: Best way to add to sys.path relative to the current running script

Also, I don't understand why you included the words_with_letters function in the post, it seems completely unrelated to the topic unless what you pasted is your file, in which case you should try to be cleaner with your code, maybe start using the main function and stuff like that.

Errno 2 No such file or directory in Python

1 Answers1