Loading a bitmap from a .net resource as a HBITMAP

[j.edwards]

I currently have some custom controls in a vb.net class library that use
native Win32 GDI calls instead of the GDI+ stuff as I found that way too
slow. The only way I know to get a HBITMAP required for win32 calls is to
use SHLoadImageFile() from aygshell - and that's been working well. However,
I now want to have the various images the controls need (such as a down
arrow) stored as resources within the class library rather than being
messily scatted about in the file system.

The loading of resources is working fine - I can have a bitmap as "Embedded
Resource" and load it's data into a stream, array of bytes, or whatever
else. But how can I convert the bitmap file data into an actual bitmap with
a HBITMAP handle? It looks like CreateDIBitmap is what I need but it's not
available in the pocket pc windows.

 

[Alex Feinman [MVP]]

I think the easiest way would be reading the bitmap data stream from
resource, copying it into a temporary file and then using SHLoadImageFile.
Once the bitmap is loaded you can delete the file

 

[Alex Yakhnin]

Take a look at my post:

http://blog.opennetcf.org/ayakhnin/PermaLink.aspx?guid=533715eb-898c-4f60-8560-e1ae9bed9cc3

--
Alex Yakhnin, .NET CF MVP
www.intelliprog.com
www.opennetcf.org

 

[Alex Feinman [MVP]]

But he needs it the other way around.

 

[Alex Yakhnin]

Yeah...

I realized that after I posted a response ...

-Alex

 

[j.edwards]

Thanks anyway.
I think I'll just write it to a temp file as suggested - dodgy, but should
work ok until/if ever a better way turns up.

 

[Alex Feinman [MVP]]

I did not say there isn't a better way - just that this was the easiest way
to go. You can create a bitmap from a memory stream in unmanaged code or
using P/Invoke, but it takes some work. In fact, I'm not sure that using a
temp file is such a bad idea - most applications use temporary files -
nothing dodgy about it