How to access file upload selected file without changing page using javascript?

Question

I need to create a file upload field which I have below:

<div class="col-xs-4 col-md-4 form-group">
 <label for="file-upload" >File Upload</label>
 <input type="file" id="file-upload"/>
</div>

How do I access the contents of the selected file without going to another page or adding anything to the URL in Javascript?

Answer 1

Use this simple code

var inputFile = document.getElementById("file-upload");
inputFile.addEventListener("change", function(){
 var files = inputFile.files;
 console.log(files[0]);
 alert(files[0].name);
});

<input type="file" id="file-upload"/>

• Andrew O Neill: Yeahthat is what I have but how do I get the contents of the file I choose other than its name
• Mohammad: All content of file is in object that named files. see your console after selecting file.
• Andrew O Neill: where in the console will I see the text that is in the file? for instance am I able call files[0].text?
• Mohammad: After selecting file, content of selected file writed in console. To see browser console press F12 key then click on console tab on top of opened panel.
• Andrew O Neill: Yes I see the file in the console, how do I get the text from the file I have selected?