Searches for an existing mutex with the given name and returns its handle.

HANDLE OpenMutex(
    DWORD dwDesiredAccess,
    BOOLEAN bInheritHandle,
    LPCTSTR lpName
);

HANDLE RtOpenMutex(
    DWORD dwDesiredAccess,
    BOOLEAN bInheritHandle,
    LPCTSTR lpName
);

Parameters

dwDesiredAccess

Ignored.

bInheritHandle

Ignored.

lpName

Pointer to a null-terminated string that names the mutex to open. Name comparisons are case-sensitive.

Remarks

RtOpenMutex can also be used from a Windows application to obtain the handle of an iWin32 mutex.

Return Values

A handle to the mutex object

Success.

NULL

Failure. For extended error information, see GetLastError.

Requirements

Notes

• In the iwin32 API, OpenMutex and RtOpenMutex are synonyms.
• This function operates in the real-time portion of your application.
• The iwin32x API also includes an RtOpenMutex function that operates in the Windows portion of your application.

See Also

CloseHandle, CreateEvent, CreateMutex, ReleaseMutex, iwin32 API, iwin32 Overview