Deletes an existing empty directory.

To perform this operation as a transacted operation, use theRemoveDirectoryTransacted function.

Syntax

BOOL RemoveDirectoryW(  [in] LPCWSTR lpPathName);

Parameters

[in] lpPathName

The path of the directory to be removed. This path must specify an empty directory, and the calling process must have delete access to the directory.

By default, the name is limited to MAX_PATH characters. To extend this limit to 32,767 wide characters, prepend "\\?\" to the path. For more information, seeNaming Files, Paths, and Namespaces.

Return value

If the function succeeds, the return value is nonzero.

If the function fails, the return value is zero. To get extended error information, callGetLastError.

Remarks

TheRemoveDirectory function marks a directory for deletion on close. Therefore, the directory is not removed until the last handle to the directory is closed.

To recursively delete the files in a directory, use theSHFileOperation function.

RemoveDirectory can be used to remove a directory junction. Since the target directory and its contents will remain accessible through its canonical path, the target directory itself is not affected by removing a junction which targets it. For this reason, whenlpPathName refers to a directory junction,RemoveDirectory will remove the specified link regardless of whether the target directory is empty or not. For more information on junctions, seeHard Links and Junctions.

The use of POSIX delete causes the directory to be deleted while handles remain open. Subsequent calls toCreateDirectory to open the directory fail withERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND.

In Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012, this function is supported by the following technologies.

Requirements

See also

CreateDirectory

Creating and Deleting Directories

Directory Management Functions

RemoveDirectoryTransacted