Microsoft KB Archive/11997

= How To Modify the Environment for a Spawned Process =

Article ID: 11997

Article Last Modified on 7/2/2004

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APPLIES TO

 The C Run-Time (CRT), when used with:  Microsoft C/C++ Professional Development System 7.0

 Microsoft Visual C++ 1.0 Professional Edition

 Microsoft Visual C++ 1.5 Professional Edition

 Microsoft Visual C++ 1.0 Professional Edition</li></ul>

 Microsoft Visual C++ 2.0 Professional Edition</li></ul>

 Microsoft Visual C++ 4.0 Standard Edition</li></ul>

 Microsoft Visual C++ 5.0 Standard Edition</li></ul>

 Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 Service Pack 5</li></ul> </li></ul>

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This article was previously published under Q11997

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SUMMARY
The text below discusses the process through which an application can modify the PROMPT environment variable in a spawned process. Use the same procedure to modify any environment variable in a spawned process.

PROMPT is an environment variable used by MS-DOS, OS/2, and Windows NT. To change the value for the PROMPT environment variable, use one of the following two methods to specify the environment in which a child process runs.
 * Use one of the spawn*e functions. See the run-time library reference manual or the online help file provided with your compiler for specific information about the spawn family of functions.
 * Use the putenv function to modify the environment in which your application executes, then start the child process with one of the spawn functions. See the run-time library reference manual or the online help file provided with your compiler for specific information about the putenv function.

In general, a process can alter only the environment in which a child process will run. The C run-time library functions simulate the ability to alter the environment space in which the current process runs by making a copy of the environment when the process starts up and allowing the process to modify the copy of the environment.

Keywords: kbhowto kbcrt KB11997

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