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.NET Framework 3.5
Marshal Class
Marshal Methods
 StringToHGlobalAnsi Method
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This page is specific to
Microsoft Visual Studio 2008/.NET Framework 3.5

Other versions are also available for the following:
.NET Framework Class Library
Marshal..::.StringToHGlobalAnsi Method

Copies the contents of a managed String into unmanaged memory, converting into ANSI format as it copies.

Namespace:  System.Runtime.InteropServices
Assembly:  mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)
Visual Basic (Declaration)
<SecurityPermissionAttribute(SecurityAction.LinkDemand, Flags := SecurityPermissionFlag.UnmanagedCode)> _
Public Shared Function StringToHGlobalAnsi ( _
    s As String _
) As IntPtr
Visual Basic (Usage)
Dim s As String
Dim returnValue As IntPtr

returnValue = Marshal.StringToHGlobalAnsi(s)
C#
[SecurityPermissionAttribute(SecurityAction.LinkDemand, Flags = SecurityPermissionFlag.UnmanagedCode)]
public static IntPtr StringToHGlobalAnsi(
    string s
)
Visual C++
[SecurityPermissionAttribute(SecurityAction::LinkDemand, Flags = SecurityPermissionFlag::UnmanagedCode)]
public:
static IntPtr StringToHGlobalAnsi(
    String^ s
)
JScript
public static function StringToHGlobalAnsi(
    s : String
) : IntPtr

Parameters

s
Type: System..::.String
A managed string to be copied.

Return Value

Type: System..::.IntPtr
The address, in unmanaged memory, to where s was copied, or 0 if a null string was supplied.
ExceptionCondition
OutOfMemoryException

There is insufficient memory available.

ArgumentOutOfRangeException

The s parameter exceeds the maximum length allowed by the operating system.

StringToHGlobalAnsi is useful for custom marshaling or when mixing managed and unmanaged code. Since this method allocates the unmanaged memory required for a string, always free the memory by calling FreeHGlobal. StringToHGlobalAnsi provides the opposite functionality of Marshal..::.PtrToStringAnsi.

NoteNote:

This method uses SecurityAction..::.LinkDemand to prevent it from being called from untrusted code; only the immediate caller is required to have SecurityPermissionAttribute..::.UnmanagedCode permission. If your code can be called from partially trusted code, do not pass user input to Marshal class methods without validation. For important limitations on using the LinkDemand member, see Demand vs. LinkDemand.

The following code example demonstrates how to convert the contents of a managed String class to unmanaged memory and then dispose of the unmanaged memory when done.

Visual C++
using namespace System;
using namespace System::Runtime::InteropServices;

int main()
{
    // Create a managed string.
    String^ managedString = "Hello unmanaged world (from the managed world).";

    // Marshal the managed string to unmanaged memory.
    char* stringPointer = (char*) Marshal::StringToHGlobalAnsi(managedString ).ToPointer();

    // Always free the unmanaged string.
    Marshal::FreeHGlobal(IntPtr(stringPointer));

    return 0;
}

Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98

The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

.NET Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0
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