Beginning Resource Files

Consider this, you have written a wonderful application with multiple forms. Each of which have two or more command buttons, a picture control or two, image controls, etc. Let your imagination run with this. You decide that instead of a green button to represent START on all of your forms, you want to use the little car icon and you want to use a stop sign icon to represent STOP. You also found a better icon to represent exiting. You also want to change those message boxes to say something different.

How do you make these changes?

Do we open ALL the forms, highlight each command button and change the picture? Or do we change the icon in the resource file and recompile? Tough decision? I dont think so. I prefer the second alternative.

The commands to remember are:

LoadResData - For loading AVI and WAV files.

LoadResPicture For loading the icons, bitmaps, and cursors

LoadResString For loading those unique message box texts that are so meaningful.

How about a change of languages? After all, everything in the resource fileis indexed.

Another thing to remember is, you are not limited to one resource file per project. Read your online help for each of these commands. I have kept this as simple as possible. Only you and your imagination can limit your abilities.

Please write if you have any questions.

Kenneth Ives

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This article was originally published on November 20, 2002