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Under Windows and with Delphi it's very easy to put the main resources (BMP and WMF pictures, icons) directly in the .EXE file.
But we can also put a lot of other things : cursors, sounds, messages and even fonts !
We must, like in most high level languages, create a resources file (.RES).
Why :
- best use of memory (load and unload of resources if necessary)
- compacity (less files)
- security (less risk of damage or loss of files)
- more rapidity to load ?
and perhaps above all the possibility with an utilitary like Resource WorkShop to have access to these resources without having the source of the program (to translate a soft for different countries for example)
It's not very difficult but the documentation, supplied on the subject with Delphi, is rather thin . I will try to explain with elements found here or there.
For each project ( PROJECT1.DPR) Delphi create a PROJECT1.RES (name_of_ project.res) in which it puts only the icon (?). We don't touch this one !
We must create a own .RES and give it a name different from the program's name (TEST here) to put all the things we want to incorporate in it (pictures, sounds, icons, strings, ...)
The method :
With an editor (Notepad or Delphi editor), we must create a text file
with .RC as extension
Example : TEST.RC in which w'll put : 2 sounds , 3 pictures, 2
cursors, 3 icons et 3 strings.
| S1 WAV
Son1.Wav
S2 WAV Son2.Wav vache BITMAP vache.bmp perroquet BITMAP perroq.bmp rat BITMAP rat.bmp baton CURSOR baton.cur seau CURSOR seau.cur I1 ICON icone1.ico I2 ICON icone2.ico I3 ICON icone3.ico STRINGTABLE DISCARDABLE { 1, "Bonjour" 2, "Good morning" 3, "Guten Morgen" } |
It's important to follow exactly this model and then to compile with BRCC32.EXE (supplied with Delphi, BRCC in Delphi 1)
Syntax : BRCC32 Test
Don't forget here to put all the resources in the current directory
when compiling with BRCC32.
If no error happens, we obtain a TEST.RES file that we can incorporate
in a project as shown below :
| var
Form1: TForm1; Implementation
{$R Test.res} |
Note :
Cursors, icons, and even pictures can be created with IMAGEDIT (supplied
with Delphi) wich can directly realise the .RES. (but be sure to
capitalize all ressources names !)
In the project w'll call these different resources with appropriate
procedures as described in file Unit1.pas.
For a basic use it's easiest to put the pictures and strings directly
in the .EXE but for a professional one it's the right way, I think.
See the program project1.dpr accompanying this text that demonstrates the technic.
I hope this could help ...
I learned a lot by studying the variety of sources generously given
by their authors to the Delphi community.
If you are interested send me a mail :
j-c.meier@ac-nancy-metz.fr