delete command

The delete command deletes a data segment from a file. Digital-video and waveform-audio devices recognize this command.

To send this command, call the mciSendString function with the lpszCommand parameter set as follows.

_stprintf_s(
  lpszCommand, 
  TEXT("delete %s %s %s"), 
  lpszDeviceID, 
  lpszPosition, 
  lpszFlags
); 

Parameters

lpszDeviceID

Identifier of an MCI device. This identifier or alias is assigned when the device is opened.

lpszPosition

Flag that identifies a data segment to delete. The following table lists device types that recognize the delete command and the flags used by each type.

Value Meaning Meaning
digitalvideo
  • at rectangle
  • audio stream stream
  • from position
  • to position
  • video stream stream
waveaudio from position to position

The following table lists the flags that can be specified in the lpszPosition parameter and their meanings.

Value Meaning
at rectangle Specifies the portion of each frame deleted. If omitted, it defaults to the entire frame. When this item is specified, frames are not deleted. Instead the area inside the rectangle becomes black.
audio stream stream Specifies the audio stream in the workspace affected by the command. If you use this flag and also want to delete video, you must also use the "video stream" flag. (If neither flag is specified, all audio and video streams are deleted.)
from position Specifies the position at which deletion begins. If this flag is omitted, the deletion begins at the current position.
to position Specifies the position at which deletion ends. If this flag is omitted, the deletion continues to the end of the content or workspace.
video stream stream Specifies the video stream in the workspace affected by the command. If you use this flag and also want to delete audio, you must also use "audio stream" flag. (If neither flag is specified, all audio and video streams are deleted.)

lpszFlags

Can be "wait", "notify", or both. For digital-video and VCR devices, "test" can also be specified. For more information about these flags, see The Wait, Notify, and Test Flags.

Return Value

Returns zero if successful or an error otherwise.

Remarks

Before issuing any commands that use position values, you should set the desired time format by using the set command.

Examples

The following command deletes the waveform-audio data from 1 millisecond through 900 milliseconds (assuming the time format is set to milliseconds).

delete mysound from 1 to 900

Requirements

Requirement Value
Minimum supported client
Windows 2000 Professional [desktop apps only]
Minimum supported server
Windows 2000 Server [desktop apps only]

See also

MCI

MCI Command Strings

set