python - pandas.read_csv FileNotFoundError: File b'xe2x80xaa<etc>' despite correct path

Question

I'm trying to load a .csv file using the pd.read_csv() function when I get an error despite the file path being correct and using raw strings.

import pandas as pd
df = pd.read_csv('?C:\Users\user\Desktop\datafile.csv')
df = pd.read_csv(r'?C:UsersuserDesktopdatafile.csv')
df = pd.read_csv('C:/Users/user/Desktop/datafile.csv')

all gives the error below:

FileNotFoundError: File b'xe2x80xaaC:/Users/user/Desktop/tutorial.csv' (or the relevant path) does not exist.

Only when i copy the file into the working directory will it load correct.

Is anyone aware of what might be causing the error?

I had previously loaded other datasets with full filepaths without any problems and I'm currently only encountering issues since I've re-installed my python (via Anaconda package installer).

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Edit:
I've found the issue that was causing the problem.
When I was copying the filepath over from the file properties window, I unwittingly copied another character that seems invisible.
Assigning that copied string also gives an unicode error.

Deleting that invisible character made any of above code work.

Answer 1

Try this and see if it works. This is independent of the path you provide.

pd.read_csv(r'C:UsersaiLabDesktopexample.csv')

Here r is a special character and means raw string. So prefix it to your string literal.

https://www.journaldev.com/23598/python-raw-string:

Python raw string is created by prefixing a string literal with ‘r’ or ‘R’. Python raw string treats backslash () as a literal character. This is useful when we want to have a string that contains backslash and don’t want it to be treated as an escape character.