IniRead requires blank line

[Alfonso S Michaelis]

I appear to have run into a problem where IniRead will not read a section if the section header is the first line of the ini file.

In my ahk file I have:

Code: Select all

configPath := "config.ini"

IniRead, exitScript, %configPath%, Bindings, exitScript, ERROR
IniRead, button, %configPath%, Bindings, button, ERROR
IniRead, loopCount, %configPath%, Settings, loopCount, ERROR

MsgBox, % "exitScript = " . exitScript . "`n"
    . "button = " . button . "`n"
    . "loopCount = " . loopCount

In my ini file I have:

Code: Select all

[Bindings]
exitScript=Esc
button=!+b

[Settings]
loopCount=5

And the msgBox produces the following output:

Code: Select all

exitScript = ERROR
button = ERROR
loopCount = 5

However, if I change my ini file to:

Code: Select all

[Bindings]
exitScript=Esc
button=!+b

[Settings]
loopCount=5

The output of the msgBox becomes:

Code: Select all

exitScript = Esc
button = !+b
loopCount = 5

This does not seem like something that should be happening, and I have used a similar setup in other scripts without encountering this problem. Does anyone know what might be happening?

[aifritz]

I can't understand that. Your script produces always an error.
Please try to define the full path for your ini-file. Then for me it is working.

[jeeswg]

- Your ini file is probably a UTF-8 file with a BOM. The Windows API functions (e.g. GetPrivateProfileString / WritePrivateProfileString) are only designed to handle ANSI and UTF-16 files. However, there are workarounds to use UTF-8 files.

- If the ini file is a UTF-8 file, Windows views it as an ANSI file, and sees this:

Code: Select all

[MySection]

- A fix is to add a blank line:

Code: Select all


[MySection]

- Or a comment:

Code: Select all

;my comment
[MySection]

- You will not see the BOM () (bytes: EF BB BF) when editing the file.

- More info on UTF-8 and ini files:
UTF-8 ini files - AutoHotkey Community
https://autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=38511

[Alfonso S Michaelis]

I can't understand that. Your script produces always an error.
Please try to define the full path for your ini-file. Then for me it is working.

I had tried with full path as well, same result.

- If the ini file is a UTF-8 file, Windows views it as an ANSI file, and sees this:

Code: Select all

[MySection]

- A fix is to add a blank line:

Code: Select all


[MySection]

- Or a comment:

Code: Select all

;my comment
[MySection]

- You will not see the BOM () when editing the file.
- More info on UTF-8 and ini files:
UTF-8 ini files - AutoHotkey Community
https://autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=38511

Interesting. That would certainly explain the problem. Thanks.

After some more testing I found out why it was a new problem. Visual Studio Code does not add the BOM, but Windows Explorer does. So depending on how you create the file, the issue may or may not appear.