Platform SDK: International Features |
The WideCharToMultiByte function maps a wide-character string to a new character string. The new character string is not necessarily from a multibyte character set.
int WideCharToMultiByte( UINT CodePage, // code page DWORD dwFlags, // performance and mapping flags LPCWSTR lpWideCharStr, // wide-character string int cchWideChar, // number of chars in string LPSTR lpMultiByteStr, // buffer for new string int cbMultiByte, // size of buffer LPCSTR lpDefaultChar, // default for unmappable chars LPBOOL lpUsedDefaultChar // set when default char used );
Value | Meaning |
---|---|
CP_ACP | ANSI code page |
CP_MACCP | Macintosh code page |
CP_OEMCP | OEM code page |
CP_SYMBOL | Windows 2000: Symbol code page (42) |
CP_THREAD_ACP | Current thread's ANSI code page |
CP_UTF7 | Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000: Translate using UTF-7 |
CP_UTF8 | Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000: Translate using UTF-8. When this is set, dwFlags must be zero. |
Value | Meaning |
---|---|
WC_NO_BEST_FIT_CHARS | Windows 2000: Any Unicode characters that do not translate directly to multibyte equivalents will be translated to the default character (see lpDefaultChar parameter). In other words, if translating from Unicode to multibyte and back to Unicode again does not yield the exact same Unicode character, the default character is used.
This flag may be used by itself or in combination with the other dwFlag options. |
WC_COMPOSITECHECK | Convert composite characters to precomposed characters. |
WC_DISCARDNS | Discard nonspacing characters during conversion. |
WC_SEPCHARS | Generate separate characters during conversion. This is the default conversion behavior. |
WC_DEFAULTCHAR | Replace exceptions with the default character during conversion. |
When WC_COMPOSITECHECK is specified, the function converts composite characters to precomposed characters. A composite character consists of a base character and a nonspacing character, each having different character values. A precomposed character has a single character value for a base/nonspacing character combination. In the character è, the e is the base character, and the accent grave mark is the nonspacing character.
When an application specifies WC_COMPOSITECHECK, it can use the last three flags in this list (WC_DISCARDNS, WC_SEPCHARS, and WC_DEFAULTCHAR) to customize the conversion to precomposed characters. These flags determine the function's behavior when there is no precomposed mapping for a base/nonspace character combination in a wide-character string. These last three flags can only be used if the WC_COMPOSITECHECK flag is set.
The function's default behavior is to generate separate characters (WC_SEPCHARS) for unmapped composite characters.
If the function succeeds, and cbMultiByte is nonzero, the return value is the number of bytes written to the buffer pointed to by lpMultiByteStr. The number includes the byte for the null terminator.
If the function succeeds, and cbMultiByte is zero, the return value is the required size, in bytes, for a buffer that can receive the translated string.
If the function fails, the return value is zero. To get extended error information, call GetLastError. GetLastError may return one of the following error codes:
ERROR_INSUFFICIENT_BUFFER
ERROR_INVALID_FLAGS
ERROR_INVALID_PARAMETER
The lpMultiByteStr and lpWideCharStr pointers must not be the same. If they are the same, the function fails, and GetLastError returns ERROR_INVALID_PARAMETER.
If CodePage is CP_SYMBOL and cbMultiByte is less than cchWideChar, no characters are written to lpMultiByte. Otherwise, if cbMultiByte is less than cchWideChar, cbMultiByte characters are copied to the buffer pointed to by lpMultiByte.
An application can use the lpDefaultChar parameter to change the default character used for the conversion.
As noted earlier, the WideCharToMultiByte function operates most efficiently when both lpDefaultChar and lpUsedDefaultChar are NULL. The following table shows the behavior of WideCharToMultiByte for the four combinations of lpDefaultChar and lpUsedDefaultChar.
lpDefaultChar | lpUsedDefaultChar | Result |
---|---|---|
NULL | NULL | No default checking. This is the most efficient way to use this function. |
non-NULL | NULL | Uses the specified default character, but does not set lpUsedDefaultChar. |
NULL | non-NULL | Uses the system default character and sets lpUsedDefaultChar if necessary. |
non-NULL | non-NULL | Uses the specified default character and sets lpUsedDefaultChar if necessary. |
MAPI: For more information, see Syntax and Limitations for Win32 Functions Useful in MAPI Development.
Windows NT/2000: Requires Windows NT 3.1 or later.
Windows 95/98: Requires Windows 95 or later.
Header: Declared in Winnls.h; include Windows.h.
Library: Use Kernel32.lib.
Unicode and Character Sets Overview, Unicode and Character Set Functions, MultiByteToWideChar