def parse_list_file(file):
    """
    parses a text file with a list, one string per row
    :param file: list file to be parsed (strings, one per row)
    :return: a list of strings
    """

    # get rows of file
    rows = [row.strip() for row in file.splitlines()]

    # remove any empty rows
    rows = [_f for _f in rows if _f]

    # return only unique rows
    rows = list(set(rows))

    return rows