---
name: "curs_delch"
section: "3x"
platform: "macos"
package: "ncurses"
version: "79"
release: "macOS 26.5"
platforms: ["linux", "macos"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/curs_delch/3x"
---

# curs\_delch(3x)

delete character under the cursor in a curses window

## NAME

**delch**, **wdelch**, **mvdelch**, **mvwdelch** - delete character under the cursor in a **curses** window

## SYNOPSIS

**#include \<curses.h\>**

**int delch(void);**\
 **int wdelch(WINDOW \*win);**\
 **int mvdelch(int y, int x);**\
 **int mvwdelch(WINDOW \*win, int y, int x);**\

## DESCRIPTION

These routines delete the character under the cursor; all characters to the right of the cursor on the same line are moved to the left one position and the last character on the line is filled with a blank.  The cursor position does not change (after moving to *y*, *x*, if specified).  (This does not imply use of the hardware delete character feature.)

## RETURN VALUE

All routines return the integer **ERR** upon failure and an **OK** (SVr4 specifies only "an integer value other than **ERR**") upon successful completion.

Functions with a "mv" prefix first perform a cursor movement using **wmove**, and return an error if the position is outside the window, or if the window pointer is null.

## NOTES

Note that **delch**, **mvdelch**, and **mvwdelch** may be macros.

## PORTABILITY

These functions are described in the XSI Curses standard, Issue 4.  The standard specifies that they return **ERR** on failure, but specifies no error conditions.

## SEE ALSO

**curses**(3X)