I opened a file with FILE_FLAG_DELETE_ON_CLOSE, but now I changed my mind

# I opened a file with FILE_FLAG_DELETE_ON_CLOSE, but now I changed my mind - The Old New Thing Source: [https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20260706-00?p=112506](https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20260706-00?p=112506) The`CreateFile`function has a flag called`FILE\_FLAG\_DELETE\_ON\_CLOSE`, which means that the file will be deleted when the last handle to the file is closed\. But what if you pass that flag and then change your mind? Is there a way to call take\-backs? No, there are no take\-backs\. The`FILE\_FLAG\_DELETE\_ON\_CLOSE`flag is permanent\. So what do you do if you want to make a file deleted when the last handle is closed, but only based on some condition determined later? What you can do is open the file normally, and then once you realize that you want to delete it on last close, you can turn the “delete on close” flag on\. ``` BOOL MarkFileAsDeleteOnClose(HANDLE file) { FILE_DISPOSITION_INFO info{}; info.DeleteFile = TRUE; return SetFileInformationByHandle(hfile, FileDispositionInfo, &info, sizeof(info)); ``` Unlike`FILE\_FLAG\_DELETE\_ON\_CLOSE`, you can take back the DeleteFile disposition\. ``` BOOL MarkFileAsNoLongerDeleteOnClose(HANDLE file) { FILE_DISPOSITION_INFO info{}; info.DeleteFile = FALSE; return SetFileInformationByHandle(hfile, FileDispositionInfo, &info, sizeof(info)); ``` ### Category ### Topics ## Author  Raymond has been involved in the evolution of Windows for more than 30 years\. In 2003, he began a Web site known as The Old New Thing which has grown in popularity far beyond his wildest imagination, a development which still gives him the heebie\-jeebies\. The Web site spawned a book, coincidentally also titled The Old New Thing \(Addison Wesley 2007\)\. He occasionally appears on the Windows Dev Docs Twitter account to tell stories which convey no useful information\.