Reading, Writing, and Appending to a Text File

In addition to managing files on the server, you can use cffile to read, create, and modify text files. As a result, you can do the following things:

Create log files. (You can also use cflog to create and write to log files.)
Generate static HTML documents.
Use text files to store information that can be brought into Web pages.

Reading a text file

You can use cffile to read an existing text file. The file is read into a local variable that you can use anywhere in the application page. For example, you could read a text file and then insert its contents into a database. Or you could read a text file and then use one of the string replacement functions to modify the contents.

To read a text file:

Create a new file in ColdFusion Studio.

Modify the file so that it appears as follows:

<html>

<head>

  <title>Read a Text File</title>

</head>



<body>

Ready to read the file:<br>

<cffile action="Read"

  file="C:\inetpub\wwwroot\mine\message.txt"

  variable="Message">



<cfoutput>

  #Message#

</cfoutput>

</body>

</html>

Replace C:\inetpub\wwwroot\mine\message.txt with the location and name of a text file on your server.
Save the file as readtext.cfm and view it in your browser.

Writing a text file

You can use cffile to write a text file based on dynamic content. For example, you could create static HTML files or log actions in a text file.

To create a form in which to enter data for a text file:

Open a new file in ColdFusion Studio.

Modify the file so that it appears as follows:

<html>

<head>

  <title>Put Information into a Text File</title>

</head>



<body>

<h2>Put Information into a Text File</h2>



<form action="writetextfileaction.cfm" method="Post">

  <p>Enter your name: <input type="text" name="Name" size="25">

  <p>Enter the name of the file: <input type="text" name="FileName" size="25">

  <p>Enter your message:</p>

  <textarea name="message"cols=45 rows=6></textarea>

  </p>

  <input type="submit" name="submit" value="Submit"> 

</form>

</body>

</html>

Save the file as writetextfileform.cfm in myapps under the Web root directory.

To write a text file:

Open a new file in ColdFusion Studio.

Modify the file so that it appears as follows:

<html>

<head>

  <title>Untitled</title>

</head>

<body>

<cffile action="Write"

  file="C:\inetpub\wwwroot\mine\#Form.FileName#"

  output="Created By: #Form.Name#

#Form.Message# ">

</body>

</html>

Modify the path C:\inetpub\wwwroot\mine\ to point to a path on your server.
Save the file as writetextfileaction.cfm.
View the file writetextfileform.cfm in your browser, enter values, and submit the form.

The text file is written to the location you specified. If the file already exists, it is replaced.

You can use cffile action="Append" to append additional text to the end of an existing text file, for example, when you create log files.

Developing ColdFusion Applications
Managing Files on the Server