A resource is binary data that the resource compiler or developer adds to an application's executable file. A resource can either be standard or user-defined. The data in a standard resource describes an icon, cursor, menu, dialog box, bitmap, font, keyboard accelerator table, message-table entry, string-table entry, or version data. A user-defined resource, also called a custom resource, contains any data required by a specific application.
This chapter describes the Win32 resource functions. These functions enable applications to find a resource in a module; load a resource into memory; add, delete or replace a resource in an executable file; and generate a list of the resources contained in a module.
For information about how to create standard resources, refer to the following chapters:
| Resource | Chapter |
| bitmap | Chapter 63 “Bitmaps” |
| cursor | Chapter 52 “Mouse Cursors” |
| dialog box | Chapter 49 “Dialog Boxes” |
| font | Chapter 69 “Fonts and Text” |
| keyboard accelerator table | Chapter 48 “Keyboard Accelerators” |
| icon | Chapter 54 “Icons” |
| menu | Chapter 47 “Menus” |
| message-table entry | Chapter 33 “Messages and Message Queues” |
| string-table entry | Chapter 13 “String Manipulation” |
| version information | Chapter 89 “File Installation Library” |
For information about how to include resource data in executable files, refer to the documentation for your resource compiler.