Loads the specified resource into global memory.

Syntax

HGLOBAL LoadResource(      
    HMODULE hModule,
    HRSRC hResInfo
);

Parameters

hModule

[in] 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.

hResInfo

[in] Handle to the resource to be loaded. This handle is returned by the FindResource or FindResourceEx function.

Return Value

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 resource data, call the LockResource function.

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.

The system automatically deletes these resources when the process that created them terminates; however, calling the appropriate function saves memory and decreases the size of the process's working set.

Example

For an example see Updating Resources.

Function Information

Minimum DLL Version	kernel32.dll
Header	Declared in Winbase.h, include Windows.h
Import library	Kernel32.lib
Minimum operating systems	Windows 95, Windows NT 3.1
Unicode	Implemented as Unicode version.

See Also

Resources Overview, FindResource, FindResourceEx, LoadLibrary, LoadModule, LockResource