Win32 Resource File Formats
This section describes the format of the
binary resource file that the resource compiler creates based on the contents of the
resource-definition file. This file usually has an .RES extension. The linker reformats the
.RES file into a resource object file and then links it to the executable file
of a Win32-based application.
A binary resource file consists of a number of concatenated resource file
entries. Each entry consists of a resource header
and the data for that resource. A resource header is
DWORD-aligned in the file and consists of the following:
- A DWORD that contains the size of the resource header
- A DWORD that contains the size of the resource data
- The resource type
- The resource name
- Additional resource information
The
RESOURCEHEADER structure describes the format of this header. The data for the resource
follows the resource header and is specific to each type of resource. Some
resources also employ a resource-specific group header structure to provide information
about a group of resources.
An accelerator table is one resource entry in a resource file. It does not
have a group header. An
AccelTableEntry structure describes each entry in the accelerator table. Multiple accelerator
tables are permitted.
A dialog box is also one resource entry in the resource file. It consists of
one
DLGTEMPLATE dialog box header structure plus one
DLGITEMTEMPLATE structure for each control in the dialog box. The
DLGTEMPLATEEX and the
DLGITEMTEMPLATEEX structures describe the format of extended dialog box resources.
Fonts are stored in the resource file as a group of resources. Individual
fonts make up a font group. A
FONT Statement resource definition statement in the .RC file defines each font. Each
individual font in the resource consists of the complete contents of the related .FNT
file. A
FontGroupHdr structure follows all the individual font components in the .RES file.
Font resources are not added to the resources of a specific application.
Instead, they are normally added to .EXE files that have a .FON extension. These
files are usually resource-only dynamic-link libraries (DLLs) rather than
applications.
Windows handles each icon and cursor as a single file. However, these are
stored in .RES files and in .EXE files as a group of icon resources or a group of
cursor resources. The file formats of icon and cursor resources are similar. In
the .RES file a resource group header follows all of the individual icon or
cursor group components.
The format of each icon component closely resembles the format of the .ICO
file. Each icon image is stored in a
BITMAPINFO structure followed by the color device-independent bitmap (DIB) bits of the
icon's XOR mask. The monochrome DIB bits of the icon's AND mask follow the color
DIB bits.
The format of each cursor component resembles the format of the .CUR file.
Each cursor image is stored in a
BITMAPINFO structure followed by the monochrome device-independent bitmap (DIB) bits of
the cursor's XOR mask, and then by the monochrome DIB bits of the cursor's AND
mask. Note that there is a difference in the bitmaps of the two resources:
Unlike icons, cursor XOR masks do not have color DIB bits. Although the bitmaps of
the cursor masks are monochrome and do not have DIB headers or color tables,
the bits are still in DIB format with respect to alignment and direction. Another
significant difference between cursors and icons is that cursors have a
hotspot and icons do not.
The group header for both icon and cursor resources consists of a
NEWHEADER structure plus one or more
RESDIR structures. There is one
RESDIR structure for each icon or cursor. The group header contains the information
a Windows application needs to select the correct icon or cursor to display.
Both the group header and the data that repeats for each icon or cursor in the
group have a fixed length. This allows the application to randomly access the
information.
A menu resource consists of a
MenuHeader structure followed by one or more
NormalMenuItem or
PopupMenuItem structures, one for each menu item in the menu template. The
MENUEX_TEMPLATE_HEADER and the
MENUEX_TEMPLATE_ITEM structures describe the format of extended menu resources.
A message table is a resource that contains formatted text for display as an
error message or in a message box. The main structure in a message table
resource is the
MESSAGE_RESOURCE_DATA structure. The organization of a message table resource is similar to that of
a string table resource.
The main structure in a version resource is the
VS_FIXEDFILEINFO structure. Additional structures include the
VarFileInfo structure to store language information data, and
StringFileInfo for user-defined string information. All strings in a version resource are in
Unicode format for Win32-based applications. Each block of information is
aligned on a
DWORD boundary.
For a group list of the structures that describe the format of resources, see
Resource Structures.
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