DeleteKeyEx

Recursively deletes a registry key and all of its subkeys and values.

Syntax: object.DeleteKeyEx ( RootKey, KeyPath )

RootKey

required A RegKeyspace value identifying the root hive, such as HKEY_CURRENT_USER or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.

KeyPath

required A String specifying the path of the key to delete, relative to RootKey. For example, "Software\MyApp".

Returns True if the key was deleted, False if the operation failed.

Remarks

DeleteKeyEx opens the target key with KEY_ENUMERATE_SUB_KEYS, KEY_QUERY_VALUE, and KEY_ALL_ACCESS rights, then iterates through all subkeys using RegEnumKeyEx, calling itself recursively on each one. After all subkeys are deleted, it removes every value under the current key with RegDeleteValue, closes the handle, and removes the now-empty key with RegDeleteKey.

This function is necessary because the Win32 RegDeleteKey API fails if the target key has subkeys. Use DeleteKey instead when the key is known to have no subkeys.

Both enumeration loops always request index 0 and rely on each deletion to expose the next entry. A subkey or value that cannot be deleted (for example, for lack of permission) therefore leaves the loop repeating on the same entry.

Important

Deleting a registry key is irreversible. Verify that RootKey and KeyPath are correct before calling this function, as all subkeys and values under the specified path will be permanently removed.

Example

This example removes the Software\MyApp key and all of its contents from HKEY_CURRENT_USER.

Dim reg As New RegCls
Dim success As Boolean

success = reg.DeleteKeyEx(HKEY_CURRENT_USER, "Software\MyApp")
If success Then
    MsgBox "Key deleted successfully."
Else
    MsgBox "Failed to delete key."
End If

See Also

• DeleteKey function – deletes a registry key that has no subkeys
• DeleteValue function – deletes a single named value from a key
• KeyExists function – checks whether a key exists before attempting to delete it