Q237870: HOWTO: Increment Version Information After Each Build in VC++
Article: Q237870
Product(s): Microsoft C Compiler
Version(s): 5.0,6.0
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s): _IK920 kbAutomation kbide kbScript kbVC500 kbVC600 kbVCObj kbDevStudio kbDSupport kbGrp
Last Modified: 10-JUN-2002
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The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Enterprise Edition, versions 5.0, 6.0
- Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Professional Edition, versions 5.0, 6.0
- Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Learning Edition, version 6.0
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SUMMARY
=======
Visual C++ doesn't have a feature to automatically increment the version
resource information of your project after each build. This article describes
one way to provide such a feature.
MORE INFORMATION
================
You can write a program to modify the resource compiler (.rc) file instead of
using the steps described here. However, the RC file is under the control of
Visual C++. Visual C++ modifies the RC file while saving, and this may affect
the version resource. The approach described in this section can be applied to
any Visual C++ project. This example uses a Microsoft Foundation Classes
project.
Create a new project using the MFC (EXE) Appwizard and call it "MyProject"
(without the quotation marks). MyProject will have a MyProject.rc file, which
includes MyProject.rc2. The .rc2 file is meant for user-defined resources.
Follow these steps to increment MyProject's version information after each
build:
1. Remove the version resource from the .rc file and place it in the .rc2 file:
a. Open both MyProject.rc and MyProject.rc2 (found in the Res folder), in a
text editor. To use the Visual C++ editor, click Open on the File menu and
select Text in the Open As list for the MyProject.rc file.
b. Find the version resource statements in MyProject.rc. It should look
something like:
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//
// Version
//
VS_VERSION_INFO VERSIONINFO
FILEVERSION 1,0,0,1
PRODUCTVERSION 1,0,0,1
FILEFLAGSMASK 0x3fL
#ifdef _DEBUG
FILEFLAGS 0x1L
#else
FILEFLAGS 0x0L
#endif
FILEOS 0x4L
FILETYPE 0x1L
FILESUBTYPE 0x0L
BEGIN
BLOCK "StringFileInfo"
BEGIN
BLOCK "040904b0"
BEGIN
VALUE "Comments", "Sample Application\0"
VALUE "CompanyName", "Microsoft Corp.\0"
VALUE "FileDescription", "MyProject MFC Application\0"
VALUE "FileVersion", "1, 0, 0, 1\0"
VALUE "InternalName", "MyProject\0"
VALUE "LegalCopyright", "Copyright (C) 1999\0"
VALUE "OriginalFilename", "MyProject.EXE\0"
VALUE "ProductName", "MyProject Application\0"
VALUE "ProductVersion", "1, 0, 0, 1\0"
END
END
BLOCK "VarFileInfo"
BEGIN
VALUE "Translation", 0x409, 1200
END
END
c. Cut the version resource from the MyProject.rc file and paste it into the
MyProject.rc2 file below the comment "Add manually edited resources here."
For information about what each one of the fields in the resource means,
see the VERSIONINFO resource statement in Help.
2. Replace the FILEVERSION and PRODUCTVERSION data with macros FILEVER and
PRODUCTVER. Similarly, replace the FileVersion and ProductVersion string data
with the macros STRFILEVER and STRPRODUCTVER.
3. Add a #include "VersionNo.h" (without the quotation marks) immediately before
the VS_VERSION_INFO resource statement. Now the version resource will look
like:
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//
// Version
//
#include "VersionNo.h"
VS_VERSION_INFO VERSIONINFO
FILEVERSION FILEVER
PRODUCTVERSION PRODUCTVER
FILEFLAGSMASK 0x3fL
#ifdef _DEBUG
FILEFLAGS 0x1L
#else
FILEFLAGS 0x0L
#endif
FILEOS 0x4L
FILETYPE 0x1L
FILESUBTYPE 0x0L
BEGIN
BLOCK "StringFileInfo"
BEGIN
BLOCK "040904b0"
BEGIN
VALUE "Comments", "Sample Application\0"
VALUE "CompanyName", "Microsoft Corp.\0"
VALUE "FileDescription", "MyProject MFC Application\0"
VALUE "FileVersion", STRFILEVER
VALUE "InternalName", "MyProject\0"
VALUE "LegalCopyright", "Copyright (C) 1997\0"
VALUE "OriginalFilename", "MyProject.EXE\0"
VALUE "ProductName", "MyProject Application\0"
VALUE "ProductVersion", STRPRODUCTVER
END
END
BLOCK "VarFileInfo"
BEGIN
VALUE "Translation", 0x409, 1200
END
END
4. Create a header file called VersionNo.h in the same directory as your
project. This file will contain the following statements, which are the
definitions for macros used in step 2:
#define FILEVER 1,0,0,1
#define PRODUCTVER 1,0,0,1
#define STRFILEVER "1, 0, 0, 1\0"
#define STRPRODUCTVER "1, 0, 0, 1\0"
NOTE: Add linefeed and carriage return characters on the last line.
Now, MyProject.rc file includes MyProject.rc2, and MyProject.rc2 file includes
VersionNo.h.
5. The VersionNo.h file contents will be modified using a Visual Basic Script
macro. The macro described below handles the Visual C++ BuildFinish event, so
it will not be fired until a build completes. Whenever this VB Script code is
called, it first increments the version numbers inside the header file by a
fixed amount, then it saves the file and closes it. During a subsequent
build, the new version number is included in the executable.
To install and use the VB Script code, do the following:
a. Open an existing DSM (macro) file or create a new DSM file in Visual C++.
To create a new file, click New on the File menu, select Macro File on the
Files tab, give it a name, and click OK.
b. Paste the following VB Script code below (an empty DSM file cannot be
installed in Visual C++; the next step explains installing):
Function GetProjectDir(FullName)
'VC++ doesn't provide any method for getting the path of the active project
'See the VB Script reference for more information on the VB Script functions
'used in this function
Dim proj_path
proj_path = Split(StrReverse(FullName),"\",-1,1)
Dim count
count = UBound(proj_path)
Dim full_path
full_path = ""
Dim i
for i = 1 to count
full_path = full_path & "\" & proj_path(i)
next
GetProjectDir = StrReverse(full_path)
End Function
Sub ReplaceText(selection, count, incrementby)
'selection represents the TextSelection object
'count represents the position of the version number to be incremented
'incrementby represents a number that will be added to the existing version number
selection.WordRight dsMove, count
selection.WordRight dsExtend, 1
Dim str
str = selection.Text
str = str + incrementby
selection.Text = str
End Sub
Sub Application_BuildFinish(numError, numWarning)
'This event will be triggered after every build of a project
'You can check numError and/or numWarning to determine if you want to continue
'If numError <> 0 Then
'exit sub
'Obtain the full path of the active project
Dim full_path
full_path = GetProjectDir(ActiveProject.FullName)
full_path = full_path & "versionno.h"
'Open the VersionNo.h file
Documents.Open full_path
'Obtain the TextSelection object
Dim selection
set selection = ActiveDocument.Selection
selection.StartOfDocument
'Increment the version information
ReplaceText selection, 9, 1
selection.LineDown
selection.StartOfLine
ReplaceText selection, 9, 1
selection.LineDown
selection.StartOfLine
ReplaceText selection, 10, 1
selection.LineDown
selection.StartOfLine
ReplaceText selection, 10, 1
ActiveDocument.Save
ActiveDocument.Close
End Sub
NOTE: This code is an unsupported sample. You may modify it for your build
scenario.
c. Install the DSM file if it is not already installed. To install, click
Customize on the Tools menu, click the Add-in and Macro Files tab, browse
to select the DSM file, and click Close.
6. Select Build MyProject.exe from the Build menu. After the build finishes,
open the VersionNo.h file. It will contain the following statements:
#define FILEVER 1,0,0,2
#define PRODUCTVER 1,0,0,2
#define STRFILEVER "1, 0, 0, 2\0"
#define STRPRODUCTVER "1, 0, 0, 2\0"
If you build the code again, this version information in included in the
executable, and the version information is incremented. You can introduce
some code in the macro described earlier to prevent incrementing version
numbers if the build produced errors.
REFERENCES
==========
For more information on the Visual C++ object model see the following topic in
the MSDN library:
MSDN library; Visual C++ Documentation; Using Visual C++; Visual C++ User's
Guide; Automating Tasks in Visual C++; Developer Studio Objects
For more information on VB Script macros, see the following topic in the MSDN
library:
MSDN library; Visual C++ Documentation; Using Visual C++; Visual C++ User's
Guide; Automating Tasks in Visual C++; Macros
For more information on VB Script language, see the following topic in the MSDN
library:
MSDN Library: Platform SDK; Internet/Intranet/Extranet Services; Scripting;
VBScript Language Reference
For more information on the Visual C++ VERSIONINFO resource statement, see the
following topic in the MSDN library:
MSDN Library: Platform SDK; User Interface Services; Windows User Interface;
Resource Compiler; About Resource Files; Resource-Definition Statements;
VERSIONINFO resource
Additional query words:
======================================================================
Keywords : _IK920 kbAutomation kbide kbScript kbVC500 kbVC600 kbVCObj kbDevStudio kbDSupport kbGrpDSTools
Technology : kbVCsearch kbAudDeveloper kbVC500 kbVC600 kbVC32bitSearch kbVC500Search
Version : :5.0,6.0
Issue type : kbhowto
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