Associated with each console input buffer are a set of input modes that affects input operations. Similarly, each console screen buffer has a set of output modes that affects output operations. The input modes can be divided into two groups: those that affect the high-level input functions and those that affect the low-level input functions. The output modes only affect applications that use the high-level output functions.
The GetConsoleMode function reports the current input mode of a console's input buffer or the current output mode of a screen buffer. The SetConsoleMode function sets the current mode of either a console input buffer or a screen buffer. If a console has multiple screen buffers, the output modes of each can be different. An application can change I/O modes at any time. For more information about the console modes that affect high-level and low-level I/O operations, see High-Level Console Modes and Low-Level Console Modes.