PRB: DIALOG.EXE Reads Compiled .RES Files, Not .DLG Files

• Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) for Windows versions 3.1 and 3.0
• Microsoft Win32 SDK, versions 3.1 and 3.5

SYMPTOMS

Create a dialog box using DIALOG.EXE, the Dialog Editor. From MS-DOS, change an attribute (for example, position of control) of the dialog box by modifying the .DLG file produced by DIALOG.EXE. Invoke DIALOG.EXE again, the changes that were made are not evident.

CAUSE

The Dialog Editor produces .DLG and .RES files for the dialog box created. When using the Dialog Editor to modify an existing dialog box, the Dialog Editor will look at the .RES file for information about the makeup of the dialog box. The .DLG file is completely ignored at this point. This is why the Dialog Editor does not recognize any .DLG changes.

RESOLUTION

For the modifications to be recognized, the Resource Compiler (RC) must be used with the -r switch to compile the .DLG file. The new .RES file can then be loaded into the Dialog Editor and the changes will be recognized.