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FileSystem.WriteLine(Int32, Object[]) Method

  • Reference

Definition

Namespace:
Microsoft.VisualBasic
Assembly:
Microsoft.VisualBasic.Core.dll
Assembly:
Microsoft.VisualBasic.dll
Source:
FileSystem.vb
Source:
FileSystem.vb
Source:
FileSystem.vb

Writes data to a sequential file. Data written with Write is usually read from a file by using Input.

public:
 static void WriteLine(int FileNumber, ... cli::array <System::Object ^> ^ Output);
public static void WriteLine (int FileNumber, params object[] Output);
static member WriteLine : int * obj[] -> unit
Public Sub WriteLine (FileNumber As Integer, ParamArray Output As Object())

Parameters

FileNumber
Int32

Required. An Integer expression that contains any valid file number.

Output
Object[]

Optional. One or more comma-delimited expressions to write to a file.

Examples

This example uses the Write function to write raw data to a sequential file.

' Open file for output.
FileOpen(1, "TestFile.txt", OpenMode.Output)
' Print text to the file. The quotation marks will be in the display.
Write(1, "This is a test.")
' Go to the next line.
WriteLine(1)
' Skip a line.
WriteLine(1)
' Print in two print zones. You will see commas and quotation marks
' in the output file.
WriteLine(1, "Zone 1", SPC(10), "Zone 2")
' Build a longer string before calling WriteLine.
WriteLine(1, "Hello" & "  " & "World")
' Include five leading spaces.
WriteLine(1, SPC(5), "Leading spaces")
' Print a word starting at column 10.
WriteLine(1, TAB(10), "Hello")

' Assign Boolean and Date values.
Dim aBool As Boolean
Dim aDate As DateTime
aBool = False
aDate = DateTime.Parse("February 12, 1969")

' Dates and Booleans are translated using locale settings of 
' your system.
WriteLine(1, aBool & " is a Boolean value.")
WriteLine(1, aDate & " is a date.")
' Close the file.
FileClose(1)

' Contents of TestFile.txt
'"This is a test.",
'
'"Zone 1",          "Zone 2"
'"Hello  World"
'     "Leading spaces"
'         ,"Hello"
'"False is a Boolean value."
'"2/12/1969 is a date."

Remarks

The Write and WriteLine functions are provided for backward compatibility and may affect performance. For non-legacy applications, the My.Computer.FileSystem object provides better performance. For more information, see File Access with Visual Basic.

If you omit Output, a blank line is printed to the file. Multiple expressions can be separated with a comma.

Unlike the Print function, the Write function inserts commas between items and quotation marks around strings as they are written to the file. You do not have to put explicit delimiters in the list. When Write is used to write data to a file, only numeric, Boolean, date, null, and Error data formats are supported. The following universal assumptions are followed so the data can always be read and correctly interpreted using Input, regardless of locale:

  • Numeric data is always written using the period as the decimal separator.

  • For Boolean data, either #TRUE# or #FALSE# is printed. The True and False keywords are not translated, regardless of locale.

  • Date data is written to the file using the universal date format. When either the date or the time component is missing or zero, only the part provided is written to the file.

  • Nothing is written to the file if Output data is empty. However, for null data, #NULL# is written.

  • For Error data, the output appears as #ERROR errorcode#. The Error keyword is not translated, regardless of locale.

WriteLine inserts a newline character (that is, a carriage return/line feed, or Chr(13) + Chr(10)), after it has written the final character in Output to the file.

You can embed quotation marks in a string by using double quotation marks, or "". For example,

Dim x As String = "Double quotation marks aren't ""difficult"" to handle."

returns a string with the value of Double quotation marks aren't "difficult" to handle.

Writing to a file by using the Write or WriteLine functions requires Append access from the FileIOPermissionAccess enumeration. For more information, see FileIOPermissionAccess .

Applies to

See also