# getLineStart(_:end:contentsEnd:for:) Returns by reference the beginning of the first line and the end of the last line touched by the given range. ``` func getLineStart(_ startPtr: UnsafeMutablePointer?, end lineEndPtr: UnsafeMutablePointer?, contentsEnd contentsEndPtr: UnsafeMutablePointer?, for range: NSRange) ``` ## Parameters `startPtr` Upon return, contains the index of the first character of the line containing the beginning of `aRange`. Pass `NULL` if you do not need this value (in which case the work to compute the value isn’t performed). `lineEndPtr` Upon return, contains the index of the first character past the terminator of the line containing the end of `aRange`. Pass `NULL` if you do not need this value (in which case the work to compute the value isn’t performed). `contentsEndPtr` Upon return, contains the index of the first character of the terminator of the line containing the end of `aRange`. Pass `NULL` if you do not need this value (in which case the work to compute the value isn’t performed). `range` A range within the receiver. The value must not exceed the bounds of the receiver. Raises an `NSRangeException` if `aRange` is invalid. ## Discussion A line is delimited by any of these characters, the longest possible sequence being preferred to any shorter: - `U+000A` Unicode Character ‘LINE FEED (LF)’ (`\n`) - `U+000D` Unicode Character ‘CARRIAGE RETURN (CR)’ (`\r`) - `U+0085` Unicode Character ‘NEXT LINE (NEL)’ - `U+2028` Unicode Character ‘LINE SEPARATOR’ - `U+2029` Unicode Character ‘PARAGRAPH SEPARATOR’ - `\r\n`, in that order (also known as `CRLF`) If `aRange` is contained with a single line, of course, the returned indexes all belong to that line. You can use the results of this method to construct ranges for lines by using the start index as the range’s location and the difference between the end index and the start index as the range’s length. ### Special Considerations This method detects all invalid ranges (including those with negative lengths). For applications linked against macOS 10.6 and later, this error causes an exception; for applications linked against earlier releases, this error causes a warning, which is displayed just once per application execution. ## See Also [`- substringWithRange:`](/documentation/Foundation/NSString/substring(with:)) Returns a string object containing the characters of the receiver that lie within a given range. --- Copyright © 2026 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. | [Terms of Use](https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/terms/site.html) | [Privacy Policy](https://www.apple.com/privacy/privacy-policy)