# Ini_GetPointerToRawString

int Ini_GetPointerToRawString (IniText handle, const char sectionName[], const char tagName[], char **pointerToString);

## Purpose

Obtains a pointer to the string associated with tagName in the section identified by sectionName.

Do NOT modify the string or attempt to free the pointer.

| Note This function is exactly like Ini_GetPointerToString except that backslash characters in the string are not interpreted as denoting escape codes for unprintable characters. One possible use for this function is to read a pathname in PC format. Since PC pathnames contain backslashes and since the escape character used by Ini_GetPointerToString is also the backslash, you must use Ini_GetPointerToRawString if you do not want the back slashes in the pathname to be interpreted as escape codes. This is only an issue if you are using the inifile instrument to read entries that were not created by the Ini_PutString function. The non–raw versions of the Ini_GetString functions automatically recognize and remove the escape codes inserted by Ini_PutString.

## Parameters

Input
Name | Type | Description
handle | IniText | A handle returned from Ini_New. It represents the list of in-memory tag/value pairs.
sectionName | const char [] | The section name under which to find the tag/value pair.
tagName | const char [] | The tag name in the tag/value pair.
Output
Name | Type | Description
pointerToString | char ** | A pointer variable into which the address of the string associated with tagName is placed. Do NOT modify the string or attempt to free the pointer. The address of the string will be valid until the next call to Ini_GetPointerToString, Ini_GetStringCopy, Ini_GetStringIntoBuffer, Ini_GetPointerToRawString, Ini_GetRawStringCopy, or Ini_GetRawStringIntoBuffer. If an error occurs or the Tag Name cannot be found in the section, the pointer is set to NULL.

## Return Value

Name | Type | Description
status | integer | Indicates whether a tag/string pair was found with the specified tagName in the section specified by sectionName. A positive return value indicates that a tag/string pair was found. If the string portion of the tag/string pair was empty, such as in tag 1 = "" the string is considered to have been found, and it is the empty string (""). If the tag's value is empty, such as in tag 1 = no tag/value pair is found. A zero indicates that no tag/string pair was found. A negative value indicates an error. If the value is from –1 to –999, it is one of the error values defined in userint.h. If the value is from –5000 to –5999, it is one of the error values defined in toolbox.h. For this function, the only error you are likely to encounter is:
–12 | Out of memory!