Resource Compiler (RC)

Resource Compiler (RC.EXE)

The Resource Compiler (RC) is a command-line tool that reads resource script files (.rc) and converts them into binary resource files (.res). These binary files can then be linked into an executable program or dynamic-link library (DLL) by the linker.

Purpose

RC is used to compile resources such as:

• Icons (.ico)
• Bitmaps (.bmp)
• Dialog boxes (DLG directives)
• Menus (MENU directives)
• String tables (STRINGTABLE directives)
• Version information (VERSIONINFO directives)
• Custom resources

Syntax

The basic syntax for RC is:

rc [options] /fo output_file resource_file(s)

Common Options

Here are some of the most commonly used options for the RC tool:

• /f[e|o|p]: Specifies the file format for the output resource file.
  • /fe: Produces a .res file suitable for linking with 32-bit Microsoft Win32 compilers.
  • /fo: Produces a .res file suitable for linking with 16-bit Microsoft compilers. (Less common now)
  • /fp: Produces a portable executable (PE) .res file. This is the default behavior for modern SDKs.
• /fo <output_file>: Specifies the name of the output resource file. If omitted, the output file will have the same base name as the first input resource file but with a .res extension.
• /i <path>: Adds a directory to the search path for include files specified in the resource script. Can be specified multiple times.
• /d <macro[=value]>: Defines a preprocessor macro. Useful for conditional compilation within resource scripts.
• /v: Enables verbose output, showing more details about the compilation process.
• /w[0-4]: Sets the warning level. /w0 suppresses all warnings.
• /x: Ignores the default system include paths.

Example Usage

Compiling a simple resource script:

rc /fo MyResources.res /i "c:\myproject\resources" MyProject.rc

This command compiles MyProject.rc, looks for include files in c:\myproject\resources, and outputs the compiled resources to MyResources.res.

Defining a macro during compilation:

rc /d DEBUG_MODE=1 /fo App.res App.rc

Resource Script (.rc) Files

Resource scripts are text files that describe the resources to be included in an application. They use a C-like syntax and can include directives to embed or reference resource files and define resource types.

Common Resource Types in .rc files:

• ACCELERATOR: Defines keyboard accelerators.
• BITMAP: Embeds a bitmap file.
• CURSOR: Embeds a cursor file.
• DIALOG: Defines a dialog box template.
• FONT: Specifies font information.
• GROUP_CURSOR: Embeds a cursor group file.
• GROUP_ICON: Embeds an icon group file.
• ICON: Embeds an icon file.
• MENU: Defines a menu template.
• RCDATA: Embeds custom binary data.
• STRINGTABLE: Defines string resources.
• VERSIONINFO: Specifies version information for the application.

Example of a simple .rc file snippet:

#include <windows.h>

// Icon resource
MAINICON ICON "appicon.ico"

// String table
STRINGTABLE
BEGIN
    IDS_APPNAME "My Wonderful Application"
    IDS_ABOUTBOX "About My Wonderful Application"
END

// Dialog box definition
ABOUT_DIALOG DIALOGEX 0, 0, 200, 100
STYLE DS_MODALFRAME | WS_POPUP | WS_CAPTION | WS_SYSMENU
CAPTION "About"
FONT 8, "MS Sans Serif"
{
    DEFPUSHBUTTON "OK", IDOK, 140, 80, 50, 14
    LTEXT "My Wonderful Application v1.0", IDC_STATIC_VERSION, 5, 5, 190, 20
}