### 10.4 Discarding diverted text ¶

Often it is not known, when output is diverted, whether the diverted text is actually needed. Since all non-empty diversion are brought back on the main output stream when the end of input is seen, a method of discarding a diversion is needed. If all diversions should be discarded, the easiest is to end the input to `m4` with ‘`divert(`-1')`’ followed by an explicit ‘`undivert`’:

    divert(`1')
    Diversion one: divnum
    divert(`2')
    Diversion two: divnum
    divert(`-1')
    undivert
    ^D

No output is produced at all.

Clearing selected diversions can be done with the following macro:

Composite: cleardivert([diversions…]) ¶

  Discard the contents of each of the listed numeric diversions.

    define(`cleardivert',
    `pushdef(`_n', divnum)divert(`-1')undivert($@)divert(_n)popdef(`_n')')
    ⇒

It is called just like `undivert`, but the effect is to clear the diversions, given by the arguments. (This macro has a nasty bug! You should try to see if you can find it and correct it; or see Answers).