ESP8266 SPIFFS file not found I have a simple HTML file that I have uploaded as sketch data using the ESP8266 sketch data upload tool in arduino IDE. The file is 7k in size.

In the set up, I refer to the following function to read the file:

String readTemplatefile(){
  String retval ="";
  File fr = SPIFFS.open("/templatecfg.htm", "r"); 

  if(!SPIFFS.exists("/templatecfg.htm")){

    Serial.println("Template file not available ");  
    }
    while (fr.available()){
        retval += char(fr.read());
      }

fr.close();
Serial.println("Template file = ");    
Serial.println(retval);
return retval;
}


I always get 'Template file not found'. I have   

SPIFFS.begin(); 


at the beginning of the setup function

My board is an ESP8266EX. I have wondered if it the flash size settings in the IDE that could cause this not to be found. Can anyone offer any advice on this issue. I have tried lots of different combinations of Flash size and SPIFF sizes without any luck.

Thanks in advance to any help.
SPIFFS will always claim to successfully open a file that begins with a slash even if that file does not exist.  Remove the leading slash.