2.2 Creating a Resource-Definition File

After creating individual resource files for your application's icon, cursor, font bitmap, and dialog box resources, you create a resource-definition file. A resource-definition file is an ASCII text file with the file extension .RC.

The .RC file lists every resource in your application and describes some types of resources in great detail. For a resource that exists in a separate file, such as an icon or cursor, the .RC file simply names the resource and the file that contains it. For some resources, such as a menu, the entire definition of the resource exists within the .RC file.

An .RC file can contain either or both of the following types of information:

Statements, which name and describe resources.

Directives, which instruct RC to perform actions on the resource-definition file before compiling it. Directives can also assign values to names.

The following sections describe the statements and directives you can use in a resource-definition file. For detailed descriptions and syntax, see the Microsoft Windows Programmer's Reference, Volume 4.