Run .txt file using java

Question

I want to open a txt file using java

For running .exe I use this:

try {
    Runtime.getRuntime().exec("c:\\windows\\notepad.exe");
} catch (Exception e) {
    e.printStackTrace();
}

I have tried to run .txt file and it doesn't work. I get IOException with this message:

CreateProcess error=193, %1 is not a valid Win32 application

How I can run a .txt using java?

Can you clarify what you mean - start a (default) text editor and open designated file in it or read the contents of a text file in your Java application? — nstosic, Jun 19 '18 at 13:08
Start a (default) text editor and open designated file in it — KunLun, Jun 19 '18 at 13:10
I would like to know why you try to `execute` a textfile. You can't, but you can pass it as an argument to other executables within exec command, in example to open it with text editors. See javadoc for `Runtime.getRuntime.exec` ... — ChristophS, Jun 19 '18 at 13:22

Martin C. · Accepted Answer · 2018-06-19T20:25:27.150

1

You cannot "run" a .txt file. Because a text file simply respresents a set of characters with a certain encoding. Whereas on the other hand an exe is a file containing compiled code. That is information specifically for the machine to understand.

If, like in your example above, you want to open a textfile in Notepad, you have a few options. One goes as follows

try {
    Runtime.getRuntime().exec(new String[] { "c:\\windows\\notepad.exe", "C:\\path\\to\\the.txt" });
} catch (Exception e) {
    e.printStackTrace();
}

edited Jun 19 '18 at 20:25

answered Jun 19 '18 at 13:19

Martin C.

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I'm on windows and with "start" don't work. But I don't want to open in default program. Thanks. – KunLun Jun 19 '18 at 18:41

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 19 '18 at 13:20

Notepad is already set in your PATH environment variable, you miss only the paremeter: the file to be opened:

 Runtime.getRuntime().exec("start notepad 'PATH/TO/file.txt'");

FYI notepad argument list:

/A <filename> open file as ansi
/W <filename> open file as unicode
/P <filename> print filename
/PT <filename> <printername> <driverdll> <port> print filename to designated printer

Run .txt file using java

2 Answers2