Format control string.
argumentOptional arguments.
localeThe locale to use.
Returns the number of fields successfully converted and assigned; the return value does not include fields that were read but not assigned. A return value of 0 indicates that no fields were assigned. The return value is EOF for an error or if the end-of-file character or the end-of-string character is encountered in the first attempt to read a character. If format is a NULL pointer, the invalid parameter handler is invoked, as described in Parameter Validation. If execution is allowed to continue, scanf_s and wscanf_s return EOF and set errno to EINVAL.
For information on these and other error codes, see _doserrno, errno, _sys_errlist, and _sys_nerr.
The scanf_s function reads data from the standard input stream stdin and writes the data into the location given by argument. Each argument must be a pointer to a variable of a type that corresponds to a type specifier in format. If copying takes place between strings that overlap, the behavior is undefined.
wscanf_s is a wide-character version of scanf_s; the format argument to wscanf_s is a wide-character string. wscanf_s and scanf_s behave identically identically if the stream is opened in ANSI mode. scanf_s doesn't currently support input from a UNICODE stream.
The versions of these functions with the _l suffix are identical except that they use the locale parameter passed in instead of the current thread locale.
Unlike scanf and wscanf, scanf_s and wscanf_s require the buffer size to be specified for all input parameters of type c, C, s, S, or [. The buffer size is passed as an additional parameter immediately following the pointer to the buffer or variable. For example, if reading a string, the buffer size for that string is passed as follows:
char s[10];
scanf("%9s", s, 10);
The buffer size includes the terminating null. A width specification field may be used to ensure that the token read in will fit into the buffer. If no width specification field is used, and the token read is too big to fit in the buffer, nothing will be written to that buffer.
 Note |
|---|
| The size parameter is of type unsigned, not size_t. |
In the case of characters, one may read a single character as follows:
char c;
scanf("%c", &c, 1);
When reading multiple characters for non-null terminated strings, integers are used as the width specification and the buffer size.
char c[4];
scanf("%4c", &c, 4); // not null terminated
For more information, see scanf Width Specification.
| TCHAR.H routine | _UNICODE & _MBCS not defined | _MBCS defined | _UNICODE defined |
|---|---|---|---|
| _tscanf_s | scanf_s | scanf_s | wscanf_s |
| _tscanf_s_l | _scanf_s_l | _scanf_s_l | _wscanf_s_l |
For more information, see Format Specification Fields — scanf functions and wscanf Functions.
| Routine | Required header | Compatibility |
|---|---|---|
| scanf_s, _scanf_s_l | <stdio.h> | Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Professional, Windows Server 2003 |
| wscanf_s, _wscanf_s_l | <stdio.h> or <wchar.h> | Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Professional, Windows Server 2003 |
For additional compatibility information, see Compatibility in the Introduction.
// This program uses the scanf_s and wscanf_s functions
// to read formatted input.
#include <stdio.h>
int main( void )
{
int i,
result;
float fp;
char c,
s[81];
wchar_t wc,
ws[81];
result = scanf_s( "%d %f %c %C %s %S", &i, &fp, &c, 1,
&wc, 1, s, 80, ws, 80 );
printf( "The number of fields input is %dn", result );
printf( "The contents are: %d %f %c %C %s %Sn", i, fp, c,
wc, s, ws);
result = wscanf_s( L"%d %f %hc %lc %S %ls", &i, &fp, &c, 2,
&wc, 1, s, 80, ws, 80 );
wprintf( L"The number of fields input is %dn", result );
wprintf( L"The contents are: %d %f %C %c %hs %sn", i, fp,
c, wc, s, ws);
}