Here’s an example using FileReader:

function readSingleFile(e) {
  var file = e.target.files[0];
  if (!file) {
    return;
  }
  var reader = new FileReader();
  reader.onload = function(e) {
    var contents = e.target.result;
    displayContents(contents);
  };
  reader.readAsText(file);
}

function displayContents(contents) {
  var element = document.getElementById('file-content');
  element.textContent = contents;
}

document.getElementById('file-input')
  .addEventListener('change', readSingleFile, false);

<input type="file" id="file-input" />
<h3>Contents of the file:</h3>
<pre id="file-content"></pre>

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Specs

http://dev.w3.org/2006/webapi/FileAPI/

Browser compatibility

• IE 10+
• Firefox 3.6+
• Chrome 13+
• Safari 6.1+

http://caniuse.com/#feat=fileapi