C# Signature:

[DllImport("kernel32.dll")]
static extern uint GetPrivateProfileString(
   string lpAppName,
   string lpKeyName,
   string lpDefault,
   StringBuilder lpReturnedString,
   uint nSize,
   string lpFileName);

VB.NET Signature:

     <DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError:=True)> _
    Private Shared Function GetPrivateProfileString(ByVal lpAppName As String, _
                            ByVal lpKeyName As String, _
                            ByVal lpDefault As String, _
                            ByVal lpReturnedString As StringBuilder, _
                            ByVal nSize As Integer, _
                            ByVal lpFileName As String) As Integer
    End Function

User-Defined Types:

None.

Notes:

To avoid casting of the StringBuilder.Capacity to uint you can also declare the nSize parameter as int.

Tips & Tricks:

Please add some!

Sample Code:

using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Text;
namespace GPPS
{
   class Class1
   {
     static void Main(string[] args)
     {
       StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder(500);
       uint res = GetPrivateProfileString("AppName", "KeyName", "", sb, sb.Capacity, @"c:\test.ini");
       Console.WriteLine(sb.ToString());
     }
       [DllImport("kernel32.dll")]
       static extern uint GetPrivateProfileString(
     string lpAppName, string lpKeyName, string lpDefault, StringBuilder lpReturnedString, int nSize, string lpFileName);
   }
}

Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices

Imports System.Text

Module Module1

    Private Declare Auto Function GetPrivateProfileString Lib "kernel32" (ByVal lpAppName As String, _
                ByVal lpKeyName As String, _
                ByVal lpDefault As String, _
                ByVal lpReturnedString As StringBuilder, _
                ByVal nSize As Integer, _
                ByVal lpFileName As String) As Integer

    Sub Main()

    Dim res As Integer
    Dim sb As StringBuilder

    sb = New StringBuilder(500)
    res = GetPrivateProfileString("AppName", "KeyName", "", sb, sb.Capacity, "c:\test.ini")
    Console.WriteLine("GetPrivateProfileStirng returned : " + res.ToString())
    Console.WriteLine("KeyName is : " + sb.ToString())

    End Sub

End Module

Alternative Managed API:

Do you know one? Please contribute it!

Please edit this page!

Do you have...

• helpful tips or sample code to share for using this API in managed code?
• corrections to the existing content?
• variations of the signature you want to share?
• additional languages you want to include?

Select "Edit This Page" on the right hand toolbar and edit it! Or add new pages containing supporting types needed for this API (structures, delegates, and more).