How do you clear the console screen in C?

Question

Is there a "proper" way to clear the console window in C, besides using system("cls")?

Answer 1

just type clrscr(); function in void main().

as example:

void main()
{
clrscr();
printf("Hello m fresher in programming c.");
getch();
}

clrscr();

function easy to clear screen.

Answer 2

Using macros you can check if you're on Windows, Linux, Mac or Unix, and call the respective function depending on the current platform. Something as follows:

void clear(){
    #if defined(__linux__) || defined(__unix__) || defined(__APPLE__)
        system("clear");
    #endif

    #if defined(_WIN32) || defined(_WIN64)
        system("cls");
    #endif
}

Answer 3

Since you mention cls, it sounds like you are referring to windows. If so, then this KB item has the code that will do it. I just tried it, and it worked when I called it with the following code:

cls( GetStdHandle( STD_OUTPUT_HANDLE ));

Answer 4

A workaround tested on Windows(cmd.exe), Linux(Bash and zsh) and OS X(zsh):

#include <stdlib.h>

void clrscr()
{
    system("@cls||clear");
}

Answer 5

The proper way to do it is by using tput or terminfo functions to obtain terminal properties and then insert newlines according to the dimensions..

Answer 6

For portability, try this:

#ifdef _WIN32
#include <conio.h>
#else
#include <stdio.h>
#define clrscr() printf("\e[1;1H\e[2J")
#endif

Then simply call clrscr(). On Windows, it will use conio.h's clrscr(), and on Linux, it will use ANSI escape codes.

If you really want to do it "properly", you can eliminate the middlemen (conio, printf, etc.) and do it with just the low-level system tools (prepare for a massive code-dump):

#ifdef _WIN32
#define WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN
#include <windows.h>

void ClearScreen()
{
  HANDLE                     hStdOut;
  CONSOLE_SCREEN_BUFFER_INFO csbi;
  DWORD                      count;
  DWORD                      cellCount;
  COORD                      homeCoords = { 0, 0 };

  hStdOut = GetStdHandle( STD_OUTPUT_HANDLE );
  if (hStdOut == INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE) return;

  /* Get the number of cells in the current buffer */
  if (!GetConsoleScreenBufferInfo( hStdOut, &csbi )) return;
  cellCount = csbi.dwSize.X *csbi.dwSize.Y;

  /* Fill the entire buffer with spaces */
  if (!FillConsoleOutputCharacter(
    hStdOut,
    (TCHAR) ' ',
    cellCount,
    homeCoords,
    &count
    )) return;

  /* Fill the entire buffer with the current colors and attributes */
  if (!FillConsoleOutputAttribute(
    hStdOut,
    csbi.wAttributes,
    cellCount,
    homeCoords,
    &count
    )) return;

  /* Move the cursor home */
  SetConsoleCursorPosition( hStdOut, homeCoords );
}

#else // !_WIN32
#include <unistd.h>
#include <term.h>

void ClearScreen()
{
  if (!cur_term)
  {
     int result;
     setupterm( NULL, STDOUT_FILENO, &result );
     if (result <= 0) return;
  }

   putp( tigetstr( "clear" ) );
}
#endif