fmtflags setf ( fmtflags fmtfl );
fmtflags setf ( fmtflags fmtfl, fmtflags mask );

Set specific format flags

The first syntax sets the stream's format flags whose bits are set in fmtfl leaving unchanged the rest, as if a call to flags (fmtfl | flags())

The second syntax sets the stream's format flags whose bits are set in both fmtfl and mask, and clears the format flags whose bits are set in fmtfl but not in mask, as if a call to flags ( (fmtfl & mask) | (flags() & ~mask) )

Both member functions return the value of the stream's format flags existing before the call.

The format flags of a stream affect the way data is interpreted in certain input functions and how it is written by certain output functions. See ios_base::fmtflags for the possible values of this function's arguments.

The first syntax of setf is generally used to set unary format flags: boolalpha, showbase, showpoint, showpos, skipws, unitbuf and uppercase, which can also be unset directly with unsetf.

On the other hand, the second syntax is generally used to set a value for one of the selective flags, using one of the field bitmasks as the mask argument:

The parameterized manipulator setiosflags behaves in a similar manner as the single-parameter version of this member function.

Parameters

fmtfl

Format flags to be set. If the second syntax is used, only the bits set in both fmtfl and mask are set in the stream's format flags; the flags set in mask but not in fmtfl are cleared.

mask

Mask containing the flags to be modified.

Return Value

Example

// modify flags
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main () {
  cout.setf ( ios::hex, ios::basefield );       // set hex as the basefield
  cout.setf ( ios::showbase );                  // activate showbase
  cout << 100 << endl;
  cout.setf ( 0, ios::showbase );               // deactivate showbase
  cout << 100 << endl;
  return 0;
}

The execution of this example displays something similar to:

0x64
64

See also