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Q139030: HOWTO: Edit Resources in Executables with Visual C++

Article: Q139030
Product(s): Microsoft C Compiler
Version(s): 4.0,5.0,6.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): _IK920 kbVC kbVC400 kbVC500 kbVC600 kbGrpDSTools
Last Modified: 03-AUG-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- The Resource Editor, included with:
   - Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Editions, version 4.0 
   - Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Enterprise Edition, version 5.0 
   - Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Professional Edition, version 5.0 
   - Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Enterprise Edition, version 6.0 
   - Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Professional Edition, version 6.0 
   - Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Learning Edition, version 6.0 
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SUMMARY
=======

Windows NT and Windows 2000 provide APIs that allow you to modify resources in
an executable or DLL. When the resource is opened, Developer Studio checks to
ensure that it can write to the file. If not, you will be warned.

Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Millennium Edition (Me) do not support the
APIs necessary to do this. When the resource is loaded, the following warning
appears:

  Microsoft Developer Studio cannot save the modified resources back to this
  executable. The executable may be in use, or this version of Windows may not
  support updating resources in executables.

In Visual C++, version 4.0, the executable can not be modified. Beginning with
Visual C++, version 5.0, the resources within the executable can be modified and
saved. To modify resources within Visual C++, version 5.0 or later, use the
following steps:

1. On the File menu, click Open.

2. Locate an executable or Dll containing resources.

3. In the Open dialog, select Resources in the Open As list.

4. Click OK.

5. The resources for the selected binary file should appear.

At this point, the resources can be modified as they would from the ResourceView
in a Visual C++ project. Saving the binary file makes those changes permanent.


Additional query words:

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Keywords          : _IK920 kbVC kbVC400 kbVC500 kbVC600 kbGrpDSTools 
Technology        : kbVCsearch kbAudDeveloper kbVC32bitSearch kbResourceEd
Version           : :4.0,5.0,6.0
Issue type        : kbhowto

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