WriteConsole function
Writes a character string to a console screen buffer beginning at the current cursor location.
Syntax
BOOL WINAPI WriteConsole(
_In_ HANDLE hConsoleOutput,
_In_ const VOID *lpBuffer,
_In_ DWORD nNumberOfCharsToWrite,
_Out_opt_ LPDWORD lpNumberOfCharsWritten,
_Reserved_ LPVOID lpReserved
);
Parameters
hConsoleOutput [in]
A handle to the console screen buffer. The handle must have the GENERIC_WRITE access right. For more information, see Console Buffer Security and Access Rights.
lpBuffer [in]
A pointer to a buffer that contains characters to be written to the console screen buffer. This is expected to be an array of either char for WriteConsoleA or wchar_t for WriteConsoleW.
nNumberOfCharsToWrite [in]
The number of characters to be written. If the total size of the specified number of characters exceeds the available heap, the function fails with ERROR_NOT_ENOUGH_MEMORY.
lpNumberOfCharsWritten [out, optional]
A pointer to a variable that receives the number of characters actually written.
lpReserved Reserved; must be NULL.
Return value
If the function succeeds, the return value is nonzero.
If the function fails, the return value is zero. To get extended error information, call GetLastError.
Remarks
The WriteConsole function writes characters to the console screen buffer at the current cursor position. The cursor position advances as characters are written. The SetConsoleCursorPosition function sets the current cursor position.
Characters are written using the foreground and background color attributes associated with the console screen buffer. The SetConsoleTextAttribute function changes these colors. To determine the current color attributes and the current cursor position, use GetConsoleScreenBufferInfo.
All of the input modes that affect the behavior of the WriteFile function have the same effect on WriteConsole. To retrieve and set the output modes of a console screen buffer, use the GetConsoleMode and SetConsoleMode functions.
This function uses either Unicode characters or 8-bit characters from the console's current code page. The console's code page defaults initially to the system's OEM code page. To change the console's code page, use the SetConsoleCP or SetConsoleOutputCP functions. Legacy consumers may also use the chcp or mode con cp select= commands, but it is not recommended for new development.
WriteConsole fails if it is used with a standard handle that is redirected to a file. If an application processes multilingual output that can be redirected, determine whether the output handle is a console handle (one method is to call the GetConsoleMode function and check whether it succeeds). If the handle is a console handle, call WriteConsole. If the handle is not a console handle, the output is redirected and you should call WriteFile to perform the I/O. Be sure to prefix a Unicode plain text file with a byte order mark. For more information, see Using Byte Order Marks.
Although an application can use WriteConsole in ANSI mode to write ANSI characters, consoles do not support "ANSI escape" or "virtual terminal" sequences unless enabled. See Console Virtual Terminal Sequences for more information and for operating system version applicability.
When virtual terminal escape sequences are not enabled, console functions can provide equivalent functionality. For more information, see SetCursorPos, SetConsoleTextAttribute, and GetConsoleCursorInfo.
Requirements
| Minimum supported client | Windows 2000 Professional [desktop apps only] |
| Minimum supported server | Windows 2000 Server [desktop apps only] |
| Header | ConsoleApi.h (via WinCon.h, include Windows.h) |
| Library | Kernel32.lib |
| DLL | Kernel32.dll |
| Unicode and ANSI names | WriteConsoleW (Unicode) and WriteConsoleA (ANSI) |