---
title: "system.file.readFileAsString"
description: "Opens the file found at path filename, and reads the entire file. Returns the file as a string."
---

# system.file.readFileAsString

> Opens the file found at path filename, and reads the entire file. Returns the file as a string.

This function is used in **Python Scripting**.

## Description
Opens the file found at path filename, and reads the entire file. Returns the file as a string. Common things to do with this string would be to load it into the text property of a component, upload it to a database table, or save it to another file using system.file.writeFile function.

## Client Permission Restrictions
This scripting function has no [Client Permission](projects\project-properties\project-properties.md#client---permissions) restrictions.

## Syntax
`system.file.readFileAsString(filepath, encoding)`

### Parameters

| Type | Parameter | Description |
|---|---|---|
| String | `filepath` | The path of the file to read. |
| String | `encoding` | The character encoding of the file to be read. Will throw an exception if the string does not represent a supported - encoding. Common encodings are "UTF-8", "ISO-8859-1" and "US-ASCII". [Optional] |
 
### Returns
**String** - The contents of the file as a string.

### Scope
All

## Code Examples
```python title="Example #1"
# This code would prompt the user to choose a text file. If the user chooses a file, it would then set a text area on the screen to display the file.
  
path = system.file.openFile("txt")
if path != None:
   contents = system.file.readFileAsString(path)
   event.source.parent.getComponent("Text Area").text = contents
```