RegDeleteTree function

Deletes the subkeys and values of the specified key recursively.

Syntax

LONG WINAPI RegDeleteTree(
  _In_     HKEY    hKey,
  _In_opt_ LPCTSTR lpSubKey
);

Parameters

hKey [in]

A handle to an open registry key. The key must have been opened with the following access rights: DELETE, KEY_ENUMERATE_SUB_KEYS, and KEY_QUERY_VALUE. For more information, see Registry Key Security and Access Rights.

This handle is returned by the RegCreateKeyEx or RegOpenKeyEx function, or it can be one of the following Predefined Keys:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT

HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG

HKEY_CURRENT_USER

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

HKEY_USERS

lpSubKey [in, optional]

The name of the key. This key must be a subkey of the key identified by the hKey parameter. If this parameter is NULL, the subkeys and values of hKey are deleted.

Return value

If the function succeeds, the return value is ERROR_SUCCESS.

If the function fails, the return value is a nonzero error code defined in Winerror.h. You can use the FormatMessage function with the FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_SYSTEM flag to get a generic description of the error.

Remarks

If the key has values, it must be opened with KEY_SET_VALUE or this function will fail with ERROR_ACCESS_DENIED.

To compile an application that uses this function, define _WIN32_WINNT as 0x0600 or later. For more information, see Using the Windows Headers.

Requirements

See also

RegDeleteKey

RegDeleteKeyEx

Registry Functions