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# QTVR string atom

An atom that contains a string for QuickTime VR.

## Overview

A string atom contains a string. The structure of a string atom is defined by the `QTVRStringAtom` data type.

```
typedef struct QTVRStringAtom {
    UInt16                              stringUsage;
    UInt16                              stringLength;
    unsigned char                       theString[4];
} QTVRStringAtom, *QTVRStringAtomPtr;
```

Each string atom may also have a sibling leaf atom, called the string encoding atom. The string encoding atom’s atom type is `kQTVRStringEncodingAtomType` (`'vrse'`). Its atom ID is the same as that of the corresponding string atom. The string encoding atom contains a single variable, `TextEncoding`, a `UInt32`, as defined in the header file `TextCommon.h`. The value of `TextEncoding` is handed, along with the string, to the routine `QTTextToNativeText` for conversion for display on the current machine. The routine `QTTextToNativeText` is found in the header file `Movies.h`.

> Note: The header file TextCommon.h contains constants and routines for generating and handling text encodings.

## Topics

### Data fields

[`stringUsage`](/documentation/quicktime-file-format/QTVR_string_atom/stringUsage)

The string usage.

[`stringLength`](/documentation/quicktime-file-format/QTVR_string_atom/stringLength)

The length, in bytes, of the string.

[`theString`](/documentation/quicktime-file-format/QTVR_string_atom/theString)

The string.


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