[RESOLVED] Saving textbox.text to file as written

[VisualBrian]

I have a routine that saves multiple vars to a file...

    Friend Sub SaveMap()
        Try
            For Each ctrl In Me.Controls.Cast(Of Control)().ToArray()
                If ctrl.Tag = "room" Then
                    FileOpen(3, MapDir & ctrl.Name & ".room", OpenMode.Input)
                    RoomName = LineInput(3)
                    RoomTag = LineInput(3)
                    RoomSize = LineInput(3)
                    RoomLeft = LineInput(3)
                    RoomTop = LineInput(3)
                    RoomWidth = LineInput(3)
                    RoomHeight = LineInput(3)
                    RoomImage = LineInput(3)
                    RoomText = LineInput(3)
                    FileClose(3)
                    FileOpen(3, MapDir & ctrl.Name & ".room", OpenMode.Output)
                    ' name, tag, RoomSize, left, top, width, height, RoomImage, RoomText
                    ' get room size
                    Select Case ctrl.Width
                        Case Is = GridSize
                            If ctrl.Height = GridSize Then
                                RoomSize = "small"
                            Else
                                RoomSize = "tall"
                            End If
                        Case Is = GridSize * 2
                            If ctrl.Height = GridSize Then
                                RoomSize = "wide"
                            Else
                                RoomSize = "large"
                            End If
                    End Select
                    Print(3, RoomName & vbNewLine & RoomTag & vbNewLine & RoomSize & vbNewLine & ctrl.Left & vbNewLine & ctrl.Top & _
                     vbNewLine & ctrl.Width & vbNewLine & ctrl.Height & vbNewLine & RoomImage & vbNewLine & RoomText)
                    FileClose(3)
                End If
            Next
            ' save MapFile
            FileOpen(3, MapFile, OpenMode.Output)
            Print(3, MapTemplate)
            FileClose(3)
        Catch ex As Exception
            MsgBox("While SaveMap()..." & vbNewLine & ex.Message)
        End Try
    End Sub

My thought was to use Do Until EOF(3) to read all the "RoomText" at the end of the file, but RoomText does not get printed to the file as written. Only the first paragraph.

The problem is that with "RoomText", only the first line of text is saved to the file. Anything after a 'return' in the TextBox is ignored, so I can only save one (the first) paragraph. The textbox is set to accept returns. I have tried this with a normal text box and a richtextbox. Other than using File.WriteAllText to a dedicated file for the text alone, I have not found a way to save the text, or read it back, as written to the Mapfile, with the other vars.

What am I missing? How do I save and recover the text as written in the textbox?

[Biper]

One possible reason for this issue could be that the text box is not set up to accept multi-line input.

To enable multi-line input, you can set the Multiline property of the text box to True. This will allow the user to enter multiple lines of text, and the text box will store the entire text as entered.

To save the text as written in the textbox, you can use the TextBox.Text property to retrieve the entire text entered by the user. You can then write this text to a file using the System.IO.File.WriteAllText method.

To read the text back from the file, you can use the System.IO.File.ReadAllText method to read the entire contents of the file into a string. You can then set the TextBox.Text property to this string to display the text in the textbox.

[jdelano]

It would be helpful to see an example of data in the file and the data in the textbox that was supposed to be placed in the file.

This piece of code looks to just open a file, read it into some vars, sets RoomSize value depending on the control width and then writes everything back out to the file. Nothing is done with RoomText here (besides reading it from the room file and then writing it back). The code where RoomText is initially written to the file you're reading would need to be uploaded to assist in figuring out why it is not meeting your expectations.

[VisualBrian]

It would be helpful to see an example of data in the file and the data in the textbox that was supposed to be placed in the file.

This piece of code looks to just open a file, read it into some vars, sets RoomSize value depending on the control width and then writes everything back out to the file. Nothing is done with RoomText here (besides reading it from the room file and then writing it back). The code where RoomText is initially written to the file you're reading would need to be uploaded to assist in figuring out why it is not meeting your expectations.

This is what the file looks like after it is written.

Warren House
room
small
300
300
100
100
house.jpg
Catching a murder case two weeks prior to your retirement wasn't exactly the way you saw it playing out when you got to the office this morning, but as shorthanded as the department is, you count yourself lucky that they're willing to let you go. Mary—worrying about you more and more as your last workday approaches—is really going to lose it when she finds out. You hope this one will go quick and easy but standing outside the crime scene taped yard in front of Warren House looking up at the broken attic window, you have doubts. A uniformed officer is standing by the front door.

What I left out was that before this code, TextBoxRoomText.Text is assigned to the var 'RoomText' before the save code is executed.

RoomText = TextBoxRoomText.Text

RoomText is the last part of the file, the actual story part. So long as there's only one paragraph as above, it works fine. If I write a second paragraph by using the return key in the text box, the return is ignored, and the two paragraphs are written as one without a space. Is it the way RoomText is assigned? I've tried assigning it 'by line' but with no success.

[jdelano]

oh, okay. I see now. (side note: Warren house wouldn't have anything to do with Richard Warren???)

Somehow, the CrLf is stripped out when the file is saved with the information. Thus, when it is read again the paragraphs are no longer separated.
Let me do a quick test as well.

EDIT:
Maybe I'm over simplifying things. I have a multiline textbox, I copied in your text and then I just hit enter 2x in the middle and clicked my save button. I use a StreamWriter to write the info into a text file, I deleted everything in the textbox and then loaded the saved text from the file using a StreamReader.

(pay no attention to the other buttons, I use this project to hold a bunch of things I attempt to help others with)

    Private Sub btnSaveRoomText_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles btnSaveRoomText.Click

        Dim sw As New StreamWriter("F:\TEMP\RoomText.room")
        sw.Write(txtRoomText.Text)
        sw.Close()

    End Sub

    Private Sub btnLoadRoomText_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles btnLoadRoomText.Click

        txtRoomText.Text = ""
        Dim sr As New StreamReader("F:\TEMP\RoomText.room")

        txtRoomText.Text = sr.ReadToEnd()

        sr.Close()

    End Sub

[VisualBrian]

@ jdelano
Thanks for taking the time and doing that. It seems very difficult for me to get all of my thoughts and my entire need into a single post/request. I am aware of the way you did that and have done that before.

The issue here is that I need to get the story text into the same file as the other information, and then get it back out as written. I'm not quite ready to double the number of files per story passage (100 plus) and code the rewrite it would take. I hope it doesn't come to that. Fingers crossed....

On your side note, no I don't know Richard Warren. The name was pulled out of my hat as I grew up in Warren.

[jdelano]

Yeah, my bad. I focused on the wrong portion.

        txtRoomText.Text = ""
        Dim sr As New StreamReader("F:\TEMP\RoomText.room")
        Dim linesRead As Int16 = 0
        Dim fileContents As String
        Dim splitFileOnLF As String()
        Dim temp As String

        ' read the first 8 lines and put them in the listbox
        fileContents = sr.ReadToEnd
        splitFileOnLF = fileContents.Split(vbCrLf)
        sr.Close()

        For Each ln As String In splitFileOnLF
            linesRead += 1
            If linesRead < 9 Then
                temp = ln.Replace(Chr(34), "")
                temp = temp.Replace(vbLf, "")
                temp = temp.Replace("&", "")
                ListBox1.Items.Add(temp)
            Else
                If ln = vbLf Then
                    txtRoomText.Text += vbCrLf
                Else
                    temp = ln.Replace(vbLf, "")
                    temp = temp.Replace("&", "")

                    txtRoomText.Text += temp
                End If

            End If

        Next

[VisualBrian]

@jdelano Thanks again. Let me see if I understand this.

We're using a StreamReader to grab the first 8 values from the file and put them aside (ListBox) for later use.
Then the last lines (RoomText) are grabbed and put back in the TextBox correctly.

Cool. If I can ever get the TextBoxRoomText to save with the needed vbCrLf's intact, this will be useful.

[VisualBrian]

OK, my bad...
The text was saving 'as written' to the file, but when the file is read again only the first line is being read. I need to track that down. Thanks for the help.

[jdelano]

Sorry, the grand kids showed up and the eldest clicked my mouse which replied LMAO. Let me finish.

Given this file (screenshot 1)
I read it into a variable, when I did that this was the result

"Warren House" & vbCrLf & "room" & vbCrLf & "small" & vbCrLf & "300" & vbCrLf & "300" & vbCrLf & "100" & vbCrLf & "100" & vbCrLf & "house.jpg" & vbCrLf & "Catching a murder case two weeks prior to your retirement wasn't exactly the way you saw it playing out when you got to the office this morning, but as shorthanded as the department is, you count yourself lucky that they're willing to let you go. " & vbCrLf & vbCrLf & "Mary—worrying about you more and more as your last workday approaches—is really going to lose it when she finds out. You hope this one will go quick and easy but standing outside the crime scene taped yard in front of Warren House looking up at the broken attic window, you have doubts. A uniformed officer is standing by the front door."

So, I added a little clean up code. I just added a listbox to write the first part to and then added the remaining text to the textbox. Not conventional nor elegant for sure.

[VisualBrian]

Thank you. I got all that and appreciate it. A little explanation on my part...

Attachment 189439

Each of these files is tied to a label (what I refer to as a room or story event/location) on the Map form and can be dragged around to create a relational story map. Each time a label MouseDown event happens, the file has to updated with the label location and then again on the MouseUp event to make sure there is no overlap, so all the vars are being read and wrote again. Again when changes are made to the room/event with the editor, all the vars must be updated again. I finally found where in the process of saving and loading that the lines were not being saved correctly. I thought the TextBox text was not being saved as written, but it was. It was that the next time it was saved, it was not being saved by lines correctly.

All is well and thanks for your attention and time.

[jdelano]

Awesome, very glad you got it.