scroll(3NCURSES) Library calls scroll(3NCURSES)
NAME
scroll, scrl, wscrl - scroll a curses window
SYNOPSIS
#include <curses.h>
int scroll(WINDOW * win);
int scrl(int n);
int wscrl(WINDOW * win, int n);
DESCRIPTION
scroll scrolls the given window up one line. That is, every visible
line we might number i becomes line i-1. wscrl and scrl scroll the
specified window or stdscr, respectively, up or down per the sign of n.
• For positive n, line i+n becomes i (scrolling up);
• for negative n, line i-n becomes i (scrolling down).
A line that scrolls beyond the window boundaries disappears; curses pop-
ulates a new one emerging at the opposite boundary with the background
character; see bkgd(3NCURSES) (wide-character API users:
bkgrnd(3NCURSES)). As an optimization, if the scrolling region of the
window is the entire screen, the physical screen may be scrolled at the
same time; see curscr(3NCURSES).
The cursor does not move. These functions perform no operation unless
scrolling is enabled for the window via scrollok(3NCURSES).
RETURN VALUE
These functions return ERR upon failure and OK upon success.
In ncurses, they return ERR if
• the curses screen has not been initialized,
• win is a null pointer, or
• scrolling is not enabled in the window (as by scrollok(3NCURSES)).
NOTES
scroll and scrl may be implemented as macros.
Unusually, there is no wscroll function; scroll behaves as one would ex-
pect wscroll to, accepting a WINDOW pointer argument.
PORTABILITY
X/Open Curses Issue 4 describes these functions. It specifies no error
conditions for them.
SVr4 describes a successful return value only as “an integer value other
than ERR”.
SVr4 indicates that the optimization of physically scrolling immediately
if the scroll region is the entire screen “is” performed, not “may be”
performed. ncurses deliberately does not guarantee that this occurs, to
leave open the possibility of better optimization of multiple scroll ac-
tions on the next update.
Neither SVr4 curses nor X/Open Curses specify whether these functions
zero the attributes or color pair identifier of the background charac-
ter. In ncurses, they do not.
HISTORY
4BSD (1980) introduced scroll, defining it as a function.
SVr3.1 (1987) added scrl and wscrl, redefining scroll as a macro wrap-
ping the latter.
SEE ALSO
ncurses(3NCURSES), outopts(3NCURSES)
ncurses 6.5 2025-02-01 scroll(3NCURSES)
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