Hi Trevor, I couldn't work out how to do it with just fread, but perhaps this will help:
# create a test file sink("test_fread.dat") cat("This is the header of a file\n") cat("that ends with the word *end*\n") cat("Col1 Col2\n1 2\n3 4\n5 6\n") sink() # try to read it test_con<-file("test_fread.dat","rt") header_lines<-1 while(header_lines) { nextline<-readLines(test_con,1) header_lines<-length(grep("*end",nextline,fixed=TRUE))==0 } fread_dat<-read.table(test_con,header=TRUE) Jim On Sat, Jun 27, 2015 at 2:16 AM, Trevor Davies <davies.tre...@gmail.com> wrote: > I'm trying to read in a file using the function fread. > > The file that I'm trying to read in has about 100 lines of information I > don't want prior to getting to my matrix of data that I do want. On the > line prior to the data I want there is always a string identifier "*end*" > > The following fread call: > > impcoord <- fread('H:/SBE19plus_01907535_2015_06_17_0093.cnv',skip="*END*") > > almost gets me there but it starts reading AT *END* and I'd like to have it > start the line after. I can't figure out how to make this work. > > I know I could have a two step function where I have a function scan the > file to Identify the line that has *END* but I thought I could just do it > with one fread() call. > > thanks for the help. > Trevor > > [[alternative HTML version deleted]] > > ______________________________________________ > R-help@r-project.org mailing list -- To UNSUBSCRIBE and more, see > https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help > PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html > and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code. ______________________________________________ R-help@r-project.org mailing list -- To UNSUBSCRIBE and more, see https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.