YouTipPython3 File Seek
# Python3.x Python3 File seek() Method
[ Python3 File Methods](#)
* * *
### Overview
The **seek()** method is used to move the file read pointer to a specified position.
### Syntax
The syntax for the seek() method is as follows:
fileObject.seek(offset[, whence])
### Parameters
* **offset** -- The starting offset, which represents the number of bytes to move. If it is a negative number, it indicates starting from the nth byte from the end.
* **whence:** Optional, default value is 0. Defines a parameter for offset, indicating from which position to start the offset; 0 means starting from the beginning of the file, 1 means starting from the current position, and 2 means starting from the end of the file.
### Return Value
If the operation is successful, it returns the new file position. If the operation fails, the function returns -1.
### Example
The following example demonstrates the use of the seek() method:
## Example
>>> f =open('workfile','rb+')
>>> f.write(b'0123456789abcdef')
16
>>> f.seek(5)# Move to the sixth byte of the file
5
>>> f.read(1)
b'5'
>>> f.seek(-3,2)# Move to the third byte from the end of the file
13
>>> f.read(1)
b'd'
The content of the file tutorial.txt is as follows:
1:www. 2:www. 3:www. 4:www. 5:www.
Loop through the content of the file:
## Example
#!/usr/bin/python3# Open the file fo = open("tutorial.txt", "r+")print("File name: ", fo.name)line = fo.readline()print("Data read: %s" % (line))# Reset the file read pointer to the beginning fo.seek(0, 0)line = fo.readline()print("Data read: %s" % (line))# Close the file fo.close()
The output of the above example is:
File name: tutorial.txt Data read: 1:www. Data read: 1:www.
* * Python3 File Methods](#)