WriteProfileString
The WriteProfileString
function copies a string into the specified section of the WIN.INI file.
This function
is provided for compatibility with 16-bit Windows-based applications.
Win32-based applications should store initialization information in the
registry.
BOOL WriteProfileString(
|
LPCTSTR lpAppName, |
// pointer to
section name |
|
LPCTSTR lpKeyName, |
// pointer to key
name |
|
LPCTSTR lpString |
// pointer to
string to write |
|
); |
|
Parameters
lpAppName
Points to a
null-terminated string that specifies the section to which the string is to be
copied. If the section does not exist, it is created. The name of the section
is not case-sensitive; the string can be any combination of uppercase and
lowercase letters.
lpKeyName
Points to a
null-terminated string containing the key to be associated with the string. If
the key does not exist in the specified section, it is created. If this
parameter is NULL, the entire section, including all entries in the section, is
deleted.
lpString
Points to a
null-terminated string to be written to the file. If this parameter is NULL,
the key pointed to by the lpKeyName parameter is deleted.
Windows
95: This platform does not support
the use of the TAB (\t) character as part of this parameter.
Return Values
If the
function successfully copies the string to the WIN.INI file, the return value
is nonzero.
If the function
fails, or if it flushes the cached version of WIN.INI, the return value is
zero. To get extended error information, call GetLastError.
Remarks
Windows
95:
Windows 95
keeps a cached version of WIN.INI to improve performance. If all three parameters
are NULL, the function flushes the cache. The function always returns FALSE
after flushing the cache, regardless of whether the flush succeeds or fails.
A section in
the WIN.INI file must have the following form:
[section]
key=string
.
.
.
Windows
NT:
Windows NT
maps most .INI file references to the registry, using the mapping defined under
the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\
Windows NT\CurrentVersion\IniFileMapping
When the operation has been mapped, the WriteProfileString
function writes information to the registry, not to the initialization file;
the change in the storage location has no effect on the function s behavior.
The Win32 Profile functions (Get/WriteProfile*, Get/WritePrivateProfile*)
use the following steps to locate initialization information:
1. Look in the registry for the name of the initialization file, say
myfile.ini, under IniFileMapping:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\
Windows NT\CurrentVersion\IniFileMapping\myfile.ini
2. Look for the section name specified by lpAppName. This will
be a named value under myfile.ini, or a subkey of myfile.ini, or will not
exist.
3. If the section name specified by lpAppName is a named value
under myfile.ini, then that value specifies where in the registry you will find
the keys for the section.
4. If the section name specified by lpAppName is a subkey of
myfile.ini, then named values under that subkey specify where in the registry
you will find the keys for the section. If the key you are looking for does not
exist as a named value, then there will be an unnamed value (shown as
"<No Name>") that specifies the default location in the
registry where you will find the key.
5. If the section name specified by lpAppName does not exist as
a named value or as a subkey under myfile.ini, then there will be an unnamed
value (shown as "<No Name>") under myfile.ini that specifies
the default location in the registry where you will find the keys for the
section.
6. If there is no subkey for myfile.ini, or if there is no entry for
the section name, then look for the actual myfile.ini on the disk and read its
contents.
When looking at values in the registry that specify other registry
locations, there are several prefixes that change the behavior of the ini file
mapping:
! - this character forces all writes to go both to the registry and to
the .INI file on disk.
# - this character causes the registry value to be set to the value in
the Windows 3.1 .INI file when a new user logs in for the first time after
setup.
@ - this character prevents any reads from going to the .INI file on
disk if the requested data is not found in the registry.
USR: - this prefix stands for HKEY_CURRENT_USER, and the text after the
prefix is relative to that key.
SYS: - this prefix stands for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE, and the text
after the prefix is relative to that key.
See Also