Import png files into Visual Studio C ++ Resource Editor

Question

I would like to be able to import a png file inside the Visual Studio resource editor in order to be able to use the embedded resource in other projects. Is there a solution for this? I know that it works for bitmaps, but I'm interested in png because of the "transparency" that is available even in the lower format [16x16] or [32x32] (but not enough for bitmaps). Any ideas? Thanks.

Answer 1

With VS 2008, you can import png, and they will be recognized as an image, that is, you can "see" it, but you cannot change it using the resource editor.

But in any case, the problem is that they will not be processed as bitmap images, so you cannot embed them in a dialog. But you can access it using the usual FindResource / LockResource.

Just as MFC relies on GDI, and it does not natively support PNG (at least on XP, I have not tried Vista or Win7), you still have to convert them to BMP. Here Gdi + may be useful.

Also I have not tested VS 2010, it might be worth a try if it has a better C ++ resource editor.