Seek Statement

Sets the position for the next read/write operation within a file opened using the Open statement.

Syntax

Seek [#]filenumber, position

The Seek statement syntax has the following parts:

Part Description
filenumber Required. Any valid file number.
position Required. Number in the range 1 – 2,147,483,647, that indicates where the next read/write operation should occur.

Remarks

Record numbers specified in Get and Put statements override file positioning performed by Seek.
Performing a file-write operation after a Seek operation beyond the end of a file extends the file. If you attempt a Seek operation to a negative or zero position, an error occurs.

Example

In this example the Seek statement sets a new position in the file for the next read/write operation.

Dim MaxSize, NextChar, MyChar
Open "TESTFILE" For Input As #1 ' Opens file for reading.
MaxSize = LOF(1)                ' Determines file size in bytes.
' Subsequently reads all records starting from the last one.
For NextChar = MaxSize To 1 Step -1 
    Seek #1, NextChar           ' Specifies the byte number.
    MyChar = Input(1, #1)       'Reads symbol.
Next NextChar
Close #1                        ' Closes file.

See Also

Recording Data in a File, Get Statement, Open Statement, Put Statement, Loc Function, Seek Function