Your test variable is a pointer to a SINGLE char value. If you want to store an array of chars i.e. a string, you will have to declare an array: char* pArray = new char[NumChars + 1]; where NumChars is the number of characters you want to store. If you don't know in advance how many you want to store, pick a large constant value. Note the extra one added to accommodate the null-terminator at the end of the string. This is a style issue, you may wish to include the null-terminator in the NumChars count. Now when you use your pointer arithmetic: StringData++; you will be using valid allocated memory. Remember that when you come to deallocate an array, the syntax is as follows: delete []pArray; // Note the square brackets On a related note, you might want to look at the standard library's basic_string<> template (STL). use MSDN - it can simpify string handling a great deal and is a good way to learn about templates. Hope that helps.
