How do I save a String to a text file using Java?

Question

In Java, I have text from a text field in a String variable called \"text\".

How can I save the contents of the \"text\" variable to a file?

Answer 1

Using org.apache.commons.io.FileUtils:

FileUtils.writeStringToFile(new File("log.txt"), "my string", Charset.defaultCharset());

Answer 2

I prefer to rely on libraries whenever possible for this sort of operation. This makes me less likely to accidentally omit an important step (like mistake wolfsnipes made above). Some libraries are suggested above, but my favorite for this kind of thing is Google Guava. Guava has a class called Files which works nicely for this task:

// This is where the file goes.
File destination = new File("file.txt");
// This line isn't needed, but is really useful 
// if you're a beginner and don't know where your file is going to end up.
System.out.println(destination.getAbsolutePath());
try {
    Files.write(text, destination, Charset.forName("UTF-8"));
} catch (IOException e) {
    // Useful error handling here
}

Answer 3

private static void generateFile(String stringToWrite, String outputFile) {
    try {       
        FileWriter writer = new FileWriter(outputFile);
        writer.append(stringToWrite);
        writer.flush();
        writer.close();
        log.debug("New File is generated ==>"+outputFile);
    } catch (Exception exp) {
        log.error("Exception in generateFile ", exp);
    }
}

Answer 4

Using Java 7:

public static void writeToFile(String text, String targetFilePath) throws IOException
{
    Path targetPath = Paths.get(targetFilePath);
    byte[] bytes = text.getBytes(StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
    Files.write(targetPath, bytes, StandardOpenOption.CREATE);
}

Answer 5

If you're simply outputting text, rather than any binary data, the following will work:

PrintWriter out = new PrintWriter("filename.txt");

Then, write your String to it, just like you would to any output stream:

out.println(text);

You'll need exception handling, as ever. Be sure to call out.close() when you've finished writing.

If you are using Java 7 or later, you can use the "try-with-resources statement" which will automatically close your PrintStream when you are done with it (ie exit the block) like so:

try (PrintWriter out = new PrintWriter("filename.txt")) {
    out.println(text);
}

You will still need to explicitly throw the java.io.FileNotFoundException as before.

Answer 6

If you wish to keep the carriage return characters from the string into a file here is an code example:

    jLabel1 = new JLabel("Enter SQL Statements or SQL Commands:");
    orderButton = new JButton("Execute");
    textArea = new JTextArea();
    ...


    // String captured from JTextArea()
    orderButton.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
        public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent ae) {
            // When Execute button is pressed
            String tempQuery = textArea.getText();
            tempQuery = tempQuery.replaceAll("\n", "\r\n");
            try (PrintStream out = new PrintStream(new FileOutputStream("C:/Temp/tempQuery.sql"))) {
                out.print(tempQuery);
            } catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
                // TODO Auto-generated catch block
                e.printStackTrace();
            }
            System.out.println(tempQuery);
        }

    });