Scripts to manage Text Files

Checking the Size of a File Before Reading It
Creating and Naming a Text File
Creating a Text File
Generating a File Name
Reading a Text File Character by Character
Reading a Text File into an Array
Reading a Text File from the Bottom Up
Writing Data to a Text File

Checking the Size of a File Before Reading It

Demonstration script that uses the FileSystemObject to ensure that a text file is not empty before attempting to read it. Script must be run on the local computer.

Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set objFile = objFSO.GetFile("C:\Windows\Netlogon.log")
If objFile.Size > 0 Then
    Set objReadFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile("C:\Windows\Netlogon.log", 1)
    strContents = objReadFile.ReadAll
    Wscript.Echo strContents
    objReadFile.Close
Else
    Wscript.Echo "The file is empty."
End If

Creating and Naming a Text File

Demonstration script that uses the FileSystemObject's GetTempName method to generate a file name, and then creates a file by that name.

Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
strPath = "C:\FSO"
strFileName = objFSO.GetTempName
strFullName = objFSO.BuildPath(strPath, strFileName)
Set objFile = objFSO.CreateTextFile(strFullName)
objFile.Close
objFSO.DeleteFile(strFullName)

Creating a Text File

Demonstration script that creates a new, empty text file. Script must be run on the local computer.

Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set objFile = objFSO.CreateTextFile("C:\FSO\ScriptLog.txt")

Generating a File Name

Demonstration script that uses the FileSystemObject's GetTempName method to generate random file names. Script must be run on the local computer.

Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
For i = 1 to 10
    strTempFile = objFSO.GetTempName
    Wscript.Echo strTempFile
Next

Reading a Text File Character by Character

Demonstration script that uses the FileSystemObject to read a text file character-by-character, and individually echo those characters to the screen. Script must be run on the local computer.

Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set objFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile("C:\FSO\New Text Document.txt", 1)
Do Until objFile.AtEndOfStream
    strCharacters = objFile.Read(1)
    Wscript.Echo strCharacters
Loop

Reading a Text File into an Array

Demonstration script that uses the VBScript Split command to read a line from a commas-separated values file, and then place the individual items in that line into an array.

Const ForReading = 1
Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set objTextFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile _
    ("c:\scripts\servers and services.txt", ForReading)
Do Until objTextFile.AtEndOfStream
    strNextLine = objTextFile.Readline
    arrServiceList = Split(strNextLine , ",")
    Wscript.Echo "Server name: " & arrServiceList(0)
    For i = 1 to Ubound(arrServiceList)
        Wscript.Echo "Service: " & arrServiceList(i)
    Next
Loop

Reading a Text File from the Bottom Up

Demonstration script that uses the FileSystemObject to read a text file, and then to echo the text file in inverse order (that is, beginning with the last line in the text file and ending with the first line).

Dim arrFileLines()
i = 0
Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set objFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile("C:\FSO\ScriptLog.txt", 1)
Do Until objFile.AtEndOfStream
     Redim Preserve arrFileLines(i)
     arrFileLines(i) = objFile.ReadLine
     i = i + 1
Loop
objFile.Close
For l = Ubound(arrFileLines) to LBound(arrFileLines) Step -1
    Wscript.Echo arrFileLines(l)
Next

Writing Data to a Text File

Demonstration script that retrieves the status for all the services installed on a computer, and then saves the service name and status to a text file.

Const ForAppending = 8
Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set objTextFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile _
    ("c:\scripts\service_status.txt", ForAppending, True)
Set colServices =  GetObject("winmgmts:").ExecQuery _
    ("Select * from Win32_Service")
For Each objService in colServices    
    objTextFile.WriteLine(objService.DisplayName & vbTab & _
        objService.State)
Next
objTextFile.Close