Multi-Resolution Bitmap Compiler

To compensate for differences in the resolutions of authored and displayed bitmaps, you can use the Multi-Resolution Bitmap Compiler (MRBC). MRBC provides a way to prevent Help from stretching bitmaps inappropriately when displaying them on different resolutions.

MRBC is a utility program that lets you create bitmaps or metafiles with different resolutions (CGA, EGA, VGA, or 8514) and combine them into a single graphic that you can compile into a Help file. When Windows Help version 3.1 encounters a multiresolution bitmap or an .MRB file created by MRBC, it cycles through the stored resolutions and selects the bitmap that most closely matches your display.

If you want the pictures in your Help file to display correctly on various monitors, you must create multiple copies of the same bitmap—a different bitmap for each monitor or which the Help file will be displayed. You cannot create just the VGA version, for example, and expect it to convert properly to lower resolution monitors. There may be tools that automate bitmap-stretching, but often the results are visually inferior.

Note:

You cannot edit or view the .MRB output file using any existing graphics program, and, therefore, it has no value outside the Windows Help environment.