SHDeleteEmptyKey function

Deletes an empty key.

Syntax

LSTATUS SHDeleteEmptyKey(
  _In_     HKEY    hkey,
  _In_opt_ LPCTSTR pszSubKey
);

Parameters

hkey [in]

Type: HKEY

A handle to an open registry key, or one of the following predefined keys:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT

HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG

HKEY_CURRENT_USER

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

HKEY_PERFORMANCE_DATA

HKEY_USERS

pszSubKey [in, optional]

Type: LPCTSTR

The address of a null-terminated string specifying the name of the key to delete.

Return value

Type: LSTATUS

Returns ERROR_SUCCESS if successful, or a nonzero error code defined in Winerror.h otherwise. You can use the FormatMessage function with the FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_SYSTEM flag to retrieve a generic description of the error.

Remarks

SHDeleteEmptyKey does not delete a key if it contains any subkeys or values. Use SHDeleteKey instead.

Alternatively, use the RegDeleteKey or RegDeleteTree function.

Requirements