winapi c - any simple method for adding an image? - c

Question

I am new to plain winapi c and was wondering if there is any simple method for adding an image to my GUI, if possible I would like this image to essentially part of the code so that I only have to send the single executable file when sending others the GUI.
EDIT:
#include <windows.h>
LRESULT CALLBACK WndProc(HWND, UINT, WPARAM, LPARAM);
HBITMAP g_hbmBall = NULL;
int WINAPI wWinMain(HINSTANCE hInstance, HINSTANCE hPrevInstance,
PWSTR pCmdLine, int nCmdShow)
{
MSG msg;
HWND hwnd;
WNDCLASSW wc;
wc.style = CS_HREDRAW | CS_VREDRAW;
wc.cbClsExtra = 0;
wc.cbWndExtra = 0;
wc.lpszClassName = L"Window";
wc.hInstance = hInstance;
wc.hbrBackground = GetSysColorBrush(COLOR_3DFACE);
wc.lpszMenuName = NULL;
wc.lpfnWndProc = WndProc;
wc.hCursor = LoadCursor(NULL, IDC_ARROW);
wc.hIcon = LoadIcon(NULL, IDI_APPLICATION);
RegisterClassW(&wc);
hwnd = CreateWindowW( wc.lpszClassName, L"Window",
WS_OVERLAPPEDWINDOW | WS_VISIBLE,
100, 100, 350, 250, NULL, NULL, hInstance, NULL);
ShowWindow(hwnd, nCmdShow);
UpdateWindow(hwnd);
while( GetMessage(&msg, NULL, 0, 0)) {
DispatchMessage(&msg);
}
return (int) msg.wParam;
}
LRESULT CALLBACK WndProc(HWND hwnd, UINT msg,
WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam)
{
switch(msg)
{
case WM_CREATE:
g_hbmBall = LoadBitmap(GetModuleHandle(NULL), MAKEINTRESOURCE(IDB_BALL));
if(g_hbmBall == NULL)
MessageBox(hwnd, "Could not load IDB_BALL!", "Error", MB_OK | MB_ICONEXCLAMATION);
break;
case WM_PAINT:
{
BITMAP bm;
PAINTSTRUCT ps;
HDC hdc = BeginPaint(hwnd, &ps);
HDC hdcMem = CreateCompatibleDC(hdc);
HBITMAP hbmOld = (HBITMAP)SelectObject(hdcMem, g_hbmBall);
GetObject(g_hbmBall, sizeof(bm), &bm);
BitBlt(hdc, 0, 0, bm.bmWidth, bm.bmHeight, hdcMem, 0, 0, SRCCOPY);
SelectObject(hdcMem, hbmOld);
DeleteDC(hdcMem);
EndPaint(hwnd, &ps);
}
break;
case WM_DESTROY:
PostQuitMessage(0);
DeleteObject(g_hbmBall);
return 0;
}
return DefWindowProcW(hwnd, msg, wParam, lParam);
}

Answer 1

You can add the image data to your executable's resources at compile-time via an .rc file, then load the image at runtime via LoadImage(). If you put a STATIC control on your UI, you can send it an STM_SETIMAGE message to display the image.

Answer 2

Image should be a bitmap, you should make it a resource with your resource editor and use LoadBitmap or LoadImage to load it in your exe. Use BitBlt , StretchBlt or TransparentBlt to draw it ( use last two if you want to shrink/enlarge it to fit your window-TransparentBlt also makes parts of your image transparent-see documentation ). Do not forget to delete the resource when you are done-usually in your WM_CLOSE handler with DeleteObject API.
EDIT:
As Remy Lebeau said, you can use workaround by putting a static control on your window and set it to display image. I do not know what suits you better since your post is scarse on information. I still suggest to use GDI to draw a picture since you can try to use all kind of stretching modes to improve images quality.
This tutorial has some examples, and is good in general for learning the Win32 API.
Good luck.
Best regards.