FSCTL_MARK_HANDLE

The FSCTL_MARK_HANDLE operation marks a specified file or directory and its change journal record with information about changes to that file or directory.

To perform this operation, call the DeviceIoControl function using the following parameters.

BOOL DeviceIoControl(
  (HANDLE) hDevice,            // handle to file or directory
  FSCTL_MARK_HANDLE,           // dwIoControlCode operation
  (LPVOID)lpInBuffer,          // input buffer
  (DWORD)nInBufferSize,        // size of input buffer
  NULL,                        // lpOutBuffer; must be NULL
  0,                           // nOutBufferSize; must be zero
  (LPDWORD) lpBytesReturned,   // number of bytes returned
  (LPOVERLAPPED) lpOverlapped  // OVERLAPPED structure
);

Parameters

hDevice

[in] Handle to the file or directory whose handle is to be marked. To obtain a file or directory handle, call the CreateFile function. FSCTL_MARK_HANDLE only operates on files or directories.

dwIoControlCode

[in] Control code for the operation. This value identifies the specific operation to be performed and the type of device on which to perform it. Use FSCTL_MARK_HANDLE for this operation.

lpInBuffer

[in] Pointer to the input buffer, a MARK_HANDLE_INFO structure.

nInBufferSize

[in] Size, in bytes, of the input buffer.

lpOutBuffer

[out] Pointer to the output buffer. Not used; must be NULL.

nOutBufferSize

[in] Size, in bytes, of the output buffer. Not used; must be zero.

lpBytesReturned

[out] Pointer to a variable that receives the actual count of bytes returned by the function in the output buffer. The lpBytesReturned value is meaningless until the operation is complete or if there is no output buffer. With an asynchronous call, the programmer must provide a non-NULL pointer to a valid value.

If lpOverlapped is NULL (nonoverlapped I/O), lpBytesReturned is used internally and cannot be NULL.

If lpOverlapped is not NULL (overlapped I/O), lpBytesReturned can be NULL.

lpOverlapped

[in] Pointer to an OVERLAPPED structure.

If hDevice was opened with the FILE_FLAG_OVERLAPPED flag, lpOverlapped must point to a valid OVERLAPPED structure. In this case, DeviceIoControl is performed as an overlapped (asynchronous) operation. If the device was opened with the FILE_FLAG_OVERLAPPED flag and lpOverlapped is NULL, the function fails in unpredictable ways.

If hDevice was opened without specifying the FILE_FLAG_OVERLAPPED flag, lpOverlapped is ignored and the DeviceIoControl function does not return until the operation has been completed, or until an error occurs.

Return Values

If the operation succeeds, DeviceIoControl returns a nonzero value.

If the operation fails, DeviceIoControl returns zero. To get extended error information, call GetLastError.

Possible return values include the following.

Remarks

For the implications of overlapped I/O on this operation, see the Remarks section of the DeviceIoControl topic.

FSCTL_MARK_HANDLE is the only change journal operation that operates on an individual file or directory. It does not affect anything the user can do with the item. Instead, it adds information to the file or directory, either providing information on how the operating system changed the item or adding a private data stream to the item.

If there are any changes to the file or directory, then the information added with FSCTL_MARK_HANDLE is also copied into the USN record created for the file or directory. For details on the information with which FSCTL_MARK_HANDLE can mark an item, see MARK_HANDLE_INFO.

It is not an error to use FSCTL_MARK_HANDLE while the volume's change journal is being deleted or is inactive. The appropriate information is applied to the file or directory regardless of the state of the change journal, as long as the change journal exists.

Requirements

  Windows NT/2000: Requires Windows 2000.
  Windows 95/98: Unsupported.
  Header: Declared in Winioctl.h.

See Also

Device Input and Output Overview, Device Input and Output Control Codes, CreateFile, DeviceIoControl, MARK_HANDLE_INFO, OVERLAPPED