SAMPLE: WinRes.exe Extracts an Icon from a Windows .EXE File
ID: Q70073
|
The information in this article applies to:
-
Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) versions 3.0, 3.1
-
Microsoft Windows 2000
SUMMARY
WinRes.exe is a sample file that provides the necessary structures to
extract an icon from a Windows .exe file.
NOTE: In Windows version 3.1 and higher versionsthere is a new function named ExtractIcon() in SHELL.DLL/SHELL32.DLL that performs this type of functionality. However, this article and sample still provide a useful example of extracting .EXE file information.
MORE INFORMATIONThe following file is available for download from the Microsoft
Download Center. Click the file name below to download the file:
WinRes.exe For more information about how to download files from the Microsoft
Download Center, please visit the Download Center at the following Web
address
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.asp
and then click How to use the Microsoft Download Center.
The following is a list of the files in the WINRES archive and how
each is used:
Filename Description
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WINRES.C Application to extract .ICO and .EXE resource
information
WINOPEN.C Used to display FileOpen dialog box and retrieve the
filename
DUMPRES.H .EXE header information derived from the "MS-DOS
Encyclopedia" (Microsoft Press)
Program Theory of Operation
To retrieve the icons from an .ICO or .EXE file, the program must retrieve
the device independent bitmaps (DIBs) that make up the icon. Although this
is a difficult process, the necessary information is documented in the "MS-
DOS Encyclopedia." A comment with each structure in the DUMPRES.H file
provides a cross-reference to the relevant information in the "MS-DOS
Encyclopedia." The .ICO file format is documented in Chapter 9, "File
Formats," in version 3.0 of the "Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit
Reference Volume 2."
Potential Enhancements to the Code
- Choosing the Display Info menu item provides a listing of resource
information about all resources in the file. This information
should be placed into a list box, therefore the user will be able
to scroll through the list. Currently, the information sometimes
scrolls off the screen.
- Pressing the I key on the keyboard will display the TEST.ICO file.
Currently, this filename cannot be changed.
- This version of the program does not support Windows 2.x .EXE
files.
Differences Between .ICO Files and .EXE Resources
There are only three differences between an icon in an .ICO file and
one in an .EXE file:
- Offset to the DIB
In an .ICO file, the offset to the DIB is the last item in the
icoResourceCount structure, icoDIBOffset. In an .EXE file, the
offset is found in the offset for each individual icon, the
rc_desc.wOffset field.
- The two reserved WORD fields before the icoDIBSize field in the .ICO
file are filled in:
icoPlanes -- Filled from the BITMAPINFOHEADER.biPlanes
icoBitCount -- Filled from the BITMAPINFOHEADER.biBitCount
This allows an application to determine which icon is best suited
for the display without having to read the DIB.
- The icoDIBOffset is changed from a DWORD in the .ICO file to a WORD
in the .EXE file. The offset value in the .ICO file is changed to
represent an ordinal number that ranges between 1 (one) and n (the
total number of icons in the .EXE file). Note that one ICON group
(value RT_GROUP_ICON), which is one icon rendered at two different
resolutions, is counted as two separate icons (value RT_ICON).
Additional query words:
Keywords : kbfile kbsample kbIcon kbWinOS2000 kbResource kbGrpUser kbWinOS310 kbWinOS300
Version : WINDOWS:3.0,3.1
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type :
|