LoadResource function (libloaderapi.h)

Article
02/22/2024

Retrieves a handle that can be used to obtain a pointer to the first byte of the specified resource in memory.

Syntax

HGLOBAL LoadResource(
  [in, optional] HMODULE hModule,
  [in]           HRSRC   hResInfo
);

Parameters

[in, optional] hModule

Type: HMODULE

A handle to the module whose executable file contains the resource. If hModule is NULL, the system loads the resource from the module that was used to create the current process.

[in] hResInfo

Type: HRSRC

A handle to the resource to be loaded. This handle is returned by the FindResource or FindResourceEx function.

Return value

Type: HGLOBAL

If the function succeeds, the return value is a handle to the data associated with the resource.

If the function fails, the return value is NULL. To get extended error information, call GetLastError.

Remarks

The return type of LoadResource is HGLOBAL for backward compatibility, not because the function returns a handle to a global memory block. Do not pass this handle to the GlobalLock or GlobalFree function. To obtain a pointer to the first byte of the resource data, call the LockResource function; to obtain the size of the resource, call SizeofResource.

GlobalSize returns 0 for a resource HGLOBAL. As a result, any APIs that depend on GlobalSize to determine the size of the HGLOBAL will not function correctly. For example, use SHCreateMemStream instead of CreateStreamOnHGlobal.

To use a resource immediately, an application should use the following resource-specific functions to find and load the resource in one call.

Function	Action	To remove resource
FormatMessage	Loads and formats a message-table entry	No action needed
LoadAccelerators	Loads an accelerator table	DestroyAcceleratorTable
LoadBitmap	Loads a bitmap resource	DeleteObject
LoadCursor	Loads a cursor resource	DestroyCursor
LoadIcon	Loads an icon resource	DestroyIcon
LoadMenu	Loads a menu resource	DestroyMenu
LoadString	Loads a string resource	No action needed

For example, an application can use the LoadIcon function to load an icon for display on the screen, followed by DestroyIcon when done.

Examples

For an example see Updating Resources.

Requirements

Requirement	Value
Minimum supported client	Windows 2000 Professional [desktop apps only]
Minimum supported server	Windows 2000 Server [desktop apps only]
Target Platform	Windows
Header	libloaderapi.h (include Windows.h)
Library	Kernel32.lib
DLL	Kernel32.dll

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