How Can I Embed a Text File as a Resource in My Native Windows Application?

Embed Text File as Resource in Native Windows Application

Problem: You seek a method to embed a text file's contents into an executable binary as a resource, accessible at runtime.

Solution: Utilize a custom resource in your native Windows application to achieve this.

User-Defined Resource Format

The structure of a user-defined resource, defined in MSDN, is:

nameID typeID filename

Where:

• nameID: Unique 16-bit unsigned integer identifying the resource.
• typeID: Unique 16-bit unsigned integer greater than 255 identifying the resource type.
• filename: Path to the file whose binary contents will be embedded.

Embedding a Text File

Embed the text file by adding an entry to your resource file:

IDR_MYTEXTFILE TEXTFILE "mytextfile.txt"

Ensure that the resource IDs (nameID and typeID) and resource.h file are consistent.

Loading the Embedded File

Include the necessary Windows headers and define a function to load the resource:

#include <windows.h>
#include <cstdio>
#include "resource.h"

void LoadFileInResource(int name, int type, DWORD& size, const char*& data)
{
    // ... (Error checking omitted for clarity)
    HRSRC rc = ::FindResource(handle, MAKEINTRESOURCE(name),
        MAKEINTRESOURCE(type));
    HGLOBAL rcData = ::LoadResource(handle, rc);
    size = ::SizeofResource(handle, rc);
    data = static_cast<const char*>(::LockResource(rcData));
}

Usage Example:

int main()
{
    DWORD size = 0;
    const char* data = NULL;
    LoadFileInResource(IDR_MYTEXTFILE, TEXTFILE, size, data);
    // ... (Use the data pointer to access the resource contents)
    return 0;
}

Note:

• Modifying the resource data requires using BeginUpdateResource(), UpdateResource(), and EndUpdateResource().
• The resource is automatically deleted when the program exits.

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