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

# curs\_insch(3x)

insert a character before cursor in a curses window

## NAME

**insch**, **winsch**, **mvinsch**, **mvwinsch** - insert a character before cursor in a **curses** window

## SYNOPSIS

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

**int insch(chtype ch);**\
 **int winsch(WINDOW \*win, chtype ch);**\
 **int mvinsch(int y, int x, chtype ch);**\
 **int mvwinsch(WINDOW \*win, int y, int x, chtype ch);**\

## DESCRIPTION

These routines insert the character *ch* before the character under the cursor.  All characters to the right of the cursor are moved one space to the right, with the possibility of the rightmost character on the line being lost. The insertion operation does not change the cursor position.

## RETURN VALUE

All routines that return an integer return **ERR** upon failure and OK (SVr4 specifies only "an integer value other than **ERR**") upon successful completion, unless otherwise noted in the preceding routine descriptions.

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

These routines do not necessarily imply use of a hardware insert character feature.

Note that **insch**, **mvinsch**, and **mvwinsch** may be macros.

## PORTABILITY

These functions are described in the XSI Curses standard, Issue 4.

## SEE ALSO

**curses**(3X).

Comparable functions in the wide-character (ncursesw) library are described in **curs\_ins\_wch**(3X).