The LoadIcon function loads the specified icon resource from the executable (.exe) file associated with an application instance.
Note This function hase been superseded by the
LoadImage function.
Syntax
HICON LoadIcon(
HINSTANCE hInstance,
LPCTSTR lpIconName
);
Parameters
- hInstance
-
[in] Handle to an instance of the module whose executable file contains the icon to be loaded. This parameter must be NULL when a standard icon is being loaded.
- lpIconName
-
[in]
Pointer to a null-terminated string that contains the name of the icon resource to be loaded. Alternatively, this parameter can contain the resource identifier in the low-order word and zero in the high-order word. Use the MAKEINTRESOURCE macro to create this value.
To use one of the predefined icons, set the hInstance parameter to NULL and the lpIconName parameter to one of the following values.
IDI_APPLICATION- Default application icon.
IDI_ASTERISK- Same as IDI_INFORMATION.
IDI_ERROR- Hand-shaped icon.
IDI_EXCLAMATION- Same as IDI_WARNING.
IDI_HAND- Same as IDI_ERROR.
IDI_INFORMATION- Asterisk icon.
IDI_QUESTION- Question mark icon.
IDI_WARNING- Exclamation point icon.
IDI_WINLOGO- Windows logo icon.
Windows XP: Default application icon.
IDI_SHIELD- Security Shield icon.
Return Value
If the function succeeds, the return value is a handle to the newly loaded icon.
If the function fails, the return value is NULL. To get extended error information, call GetLastError.
Remarks
LoadIcon loads the icon resource only if it has not been loaded; otherwise, it retrieves a handle to the existing resource. The function searches the icon resource for the icon most appropriate for the current display. The icon resource can be a color or monochrome bitmap.
LoadIcon can only load an icon whose size conforms to the SM_CXICON and SM_CYICON system metric values. Use the LoadImage function to load icons of other sizes.
Windows 95/98/Me: LoadIconW is supported by the Microsoft Layer for Unicode (MSLU). To use this, you must add certain files to your application, as outlined in Microsoft Layer for Unicode on Windows 95/98/Me Systems.
Function Information
| Minimum DLL Version | user32.dll |
|---|
| Header | Declared in Winuser.h, include Windows.h |
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| Import library | User32.lib |
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| Minimum operating systems |
Windows 95, Windows NT 3.1 |
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| Unicode | Implemented as
ANSI and Unicode versions. |
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See Also