How to save file in Python

At some point, you may need to write the contents of a flat-text file from one location to another. This can be done in various ways, as shown below in our examples.

For this article, a flat-text file about Albert Einstein is saved to the current working folder. This file is called albert.txt. Contents of same below.

Albert Einstein (4 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist widely known as one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory of relativity, but he also contributed significantly to developing the theory of quantum mechanics. Relativity and quantum mechanics are together the two pillars of modern physics. His mass-energy equivalence formula E = mc2, which arises from relativity theory, is called “the world’s most famous equation.”

💬 Question: How would we write code to save a flat-text file to another folder?

We can accomplish this task by one of the following options:

• Method 1: Use absolute path
• Method 2: Use os.path()
• Method 3: Use shutil.copy()
• Method 4: Use Path

Method 1: Use Absolute Path

This example uses an absolute path to save a flat-text file located in the current working folder to a different folder.

with open('albert.txt', 'r') as fp1, \
    open('c:\\mr_smith\\essays\\albert.txt', 'w') as fp2:
        results = fp1.read()
        fp2.write(results)

This code starts by using a with open() statement to open two (2) flat-text files. One file is opened in read mode (

try:
    with open('albert.txt', 'r') as fp1, \
        open('c:\\mr_smith\\essays\\albert.txt', 'w') as fp2:
        results = fp1.read()
        fp2.write(results)
except Exception as e:
    print('Error: ' + str(e))

try:
    with open('albert.txt', 'r') as fp1, \
        open('c:\\mr_smith\\essays\\albert.txt', 'w') as fp2:
        results = fp1.read()
        fp2.write(results)
except Exception as e:
    print('Error: ' + str(e))

try:
    with open('albert.txt', 'r') as fp1, \
        open('c:\\mr_smith\\essays\\albert.txt', 'w') as fp2:
        results = fp1.read()
        fp2.write(results)
except Exception as e:
    print('Error: ' + str(e))

try:
    with open('albert.txt', 'r') as fp1, \
        open('c:\\mr_smith\\essays\\albert.txt', 'w') as fp2:
        results = fp1.read()
        fp2.write(results)
except Exception as e:
    print('Error: ' + str(e))

If output to the terminal, the contents of

try:
    with open('albert.txt', 'r') as fp1, \
        open('c:\\mr_smith\\essays\\albert.txt', 'w') as fp2:
        results = fp1.read()
        fp2.write(results)
except Exception as e:
    print('Error: ' + str(e))

try:
    with open('albert.txt', 'r') as fp1, \
        open('c:\\mr_smith\\essays\\albert.txt', 'w') as fp2:
        results = fp1.read()
        fp2.write(results)
except Exception as e:
    print('Error: ' + str(e))

try:
    with open('albert.txt', 'r') as fp1, \
        open('c:\\mr_smith\\essays\\albert.txt', 'w') as fp2:
        results = fp1.read()
        fp2.write(results)
except Exception as e:
    print('Error: ' + str(e))

Next, the file object

try:
    with open('albert.txt', 'r') as fp1, \
        open('c:\\mr_smith\\essays\\albert.txt', 'w') as fp2:
        results = fp1.read()
        fp2.write(results)
except Exception as e:
    print('Error: ' + str(e))

try:
    with open('albert.txt', 'r') as fp1, \
        open('c:\\mr_smith\\essays\\albert.txt', 'w') as fp2:
        results = fp1.read()
        fp2.write(results)
except Exception as e:
    print('Error: ' + str(e))

try:
    with open('albert.txt', 'r') as fp1, \
        open('c:\\mr_smith\\essays\\albert.txt', 'w') as fp2:
        results = fp1.read()
        fp2.write(results)
except Exception as e:
    print('Error: ' + str(e))

Python open() Function -- An 80/20 Guide by Example

What happens if the referenced folder or file does not exist?

Add a

import os.path

folder = 'c:\\mr_smith\\essays'
file_name = 'albert.txt'
file_path = os.path.join(folder, file_name)

if not os.path.isdir(folder):
    os.mkdir(folder)

with open(file_name, 'r') as fp1, \
    open(file_path, 'w') as fp2:
    results = fp1.read()
    fp2.write(results)

import os.path

folder = 'c:\\mr_smith\\essays'
file_name = 'albert.txt'
file_path = os.path.join(folder, file_name)

if not os.path.isdir(folder):
    os.mkdir(folder)

with open(file_name, 'r') as fp1, \
    open(file_path, 'w') as fp2:
    results = fp1.read()
    fp2.write(results)

try:
    with open('albert.txt', 'r') as fp1, \
        open('c:\\mr_smith\\essays\\albert.txt', 'w') as fp2:
        results = fp1.read()
        fp2.write(results)
except Exception as e:
    print('Error: ' + str(e))

If successful, the above file should reside in the file path shown above.

Python Try Except: An Illustrated Guide

Method 2: Use os.path

This example uses

import os.path

folder = 'c:\\mr_smith\\essays'
file_name = 'albert.txt'
file_path = os.path.join(folder, file_name)

if not os.path.isdir(folder):
    os.mkdir(folder)

with open(file_name, 'r') as fp1, \
    open(file_path, 'w') as fp2:
    results = fp1.read()
    fp2.write(results)

import os.path

folder = 'c:\\mr_smith\\essays'
file_name = 'albert.txt'
file_path = os.path.join(folder, file_name)

if not os.path.isdir(folder):
    os.mkdir(folder)

with open(file_name, 'r') as fp1, \
    open(file_path, 'w') as fp2:
    results = fp1.read()
    fp2.write(results)

The first line in the above code imports Python’s built-in os library. This library allows users to interact with and manipulate files and folders.

The following two (2) lines declare the folder location and the filename. These save to the variables

import os.path

folder = 'c:\\mr_smith\\essays'
file_name = 'albert.txt'
file_path = os.path.join(folder, file_name)

if not os.path.isdir(folder):
    os.mkdir(folder)

with open(file_name, 'r') as fp1, \
    open(file_path, 'w') as fp2:
    results = fp1.read()
    fp2.write(results)

import os.path

folder = 'c:\\mr_smith\\essays'
file_name = 'albert.txt'
file_path = os.path.join(folder, file_name)

if not os.path.isdir(folder):
    os.mkdir(folder)

with open(file_name, 'r') as fp1, \
    open(file_path, 'w') as fp2:
    results = fp1.read()
    fp2.write(results)

Next,

import os.path

folder = 'c:\\mr_smith\\essays'
file_name = 'albert.txt'
file_path = os.path.join(folder, file_name)

if not os.path.isdir(folder):
    os.mkdir(folder)

with open(file_name, 'r') as fp1, \
    open(file_path, 'w') as fp2:
    results = fp1.read()
    fp2.write(results)

import os.path

folder = 'c:\\mr_smith\\essays'
file_name = 'albert.txt'
file_path = os.path.join(folder, file_name)

if not os.path.isdir(folder):
    os.mkdir(folder)

with open(file_name, 'r') as fp1, \
    open(file_path, 'w') as fp2:
    results = fp1.read()
    fp2.write(results)

import os.path

folder = 'c:\\mr_smith\\essays'
file_name = 'albert.txt'
file_path = os.path.join(folder, file_name)

if not os.path.isdir(folder):
    os.mkdir(folder)

with open(file_name, 'r') as fp1, \
    open(file_path, 'w') as fp2:
    results = fp1.read()
    fp2.write(results)

import os.path

folder = 'c:\\mr_smith\\essays'
file_name = 'albert.txt'
file_path = os.path.join(folder, file_name)

if not os.path.isdir(folder):
    os.mkdir(folder)

with open(file_name, 'r') as fp1, \
    open(file_path, 'w') as fp2:
    results = fp1.read()
    fp2.write(results)

Then, the

import os.path

folder = 'c:\\mr_smith\\essays'
file_name = 'albert.txt'
file_path = os.path.join(folder, file_name)

if not os.path.isdir(folder):
    os.mkdir(folder)

with open(file_name, 'r') as fp1, \
    open(file_path, 'w') as fp2:
    results = fp1.read()
    fp2.write(results)

import shutil

current_loc = 'albert.txt'
new_loc = 'c:\\mr_smith\\essays\\' + current_loc
shutil.copy(current_loc, new_loc)

The following section opens the two (2) files as indicated above in Method 1 and writes the contents of file 1 (

try:
    with open('albert.txt', 'r') as fp1, \
        open('c:\\mr_smith\\essays\\albert.txt', 'w') as fp2:
        results = fp1.read()
        fp2.write(results)
except Exception as e:
    print('Error: ' + str(e))

try:
    with open('albert.txt', 'r') as fp1, \
        open('c:\\mr_smith\\essays\\albert.txt', 'w') as fp2:
        results = fp1.read()
        fp2.write(results)
except Exception as e:
    print('Error: ' + str(e))

If successful, the above file should reside in the file path indicated above.

💡Note: Click here to read more about opening multiple files simultaneously.

Method 3: Use shutil.copy()

This example uses shutil.copy() from the shutil library to copy a flat-text file located in the current working folder to a different folder.

import shutil

current_loc = 'albert.txt'
new_loc = 'c:\\mr_smith\\essays\\' + current_loc
shutil.copy(current_loc, new_loc)

The above code imports the shutil library, which offers several functions. One, in particular, allows us to copy a file from one location to another.

This code first declares the variable

import shutil

current_loc = 'albert.txt'
new_loc = 'c:\\mr_smith\\essays\\' + current_loc
shutil.copy(current_loc, new_loc)

Next, a variable

import shutil

current_loc = 'albert.txt'
new_loc = 'c:\\mr_smith\\essays\\' + current_loc
shutil.copy(current_loc, new_loc)

The final line copies the current file from the current working folder to the new location indicated above.

Method 4: Use Path

This example uses Path from the

import shutil

current_loc = 'albert.txt'
new_loc = 'c:\\mr_smith\\essays\\' + current_loc
shutil.copy(current_loc, new_loc)

from pathlib import Path

with open('albert.txt', 'r') as fp1:
    results = fp1.read()

p = Path('c:\\mr_smith\\essays\\')
p.mkdir(exist_ok=True)

with (p / 'albert.txt').open('w') as fp2:
    fp2.write(results)

The above code imports Path from the

import shutil

current_loc = 'albert.txt'
new_loc = 'c:\\mr_smith\\essays\\' + current_loc
shutil.copy(current_loc, new_loc)

The following two (2) lines open and read (

try:
    with open('albert.txt', 'r') as fp1, \
        open('c:\\mr_smith\\essays\\albert.txt', 'w') as fp2:
        results = fp1.read()
        fp2.write(results)
except Exception as e:
    print('Error: ' + str(e))

try:
    with open('albert.txt', 'r') as fp1, \
        open('c:\\mr_smith\\essays\\albert.txt', 'w') as fp2:
        results = fp1.read()
        fp2.write(results)
except Exception as e:
    print('Error: ' + str(e))

Next, the path (or folder name) is declared where the contents of results will be written to. If this folder does not exist, it is created.

Finally, the above flat-text file is opened in write (w) mode and the contents of results is written to this file.

Summary

This article has provided four (4) ways to save a flat-text file to another folder to select the best fit for your coding requirements.

How do you create and save a file in Python?

How can I save my code in Python?

How do I save a file path in Python?

What is save () in Python?