LoadResource function (libloaderapi.h)

Retrieves a handle that can be used to obtain a pointer to the first byte of the specified resource in memory.

HGLOBAL LoadResource(
  [in, optional] HMODULE hModule,
  [in]           HRSRC   hResInfo
);

[in, optional] hModule

Type: HMODULE

A 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.

[in] hResInfo

Type: HRSRC

A handle to the resource to be loaded. This handle is returned by the FindResource or FindResourceEx function.

Type: HGLOBAL

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.

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 first byte of the resource data, call the LockResource function; to obtain the size of the resource, call SizeofResource.

GlobalSize returns 0 for a resource HGLOBAL. As a result, any APIs that depend on GlobalSize to determine the size of the HGLOBAL will not function correctly. For example, use SHCreateMemStream instead of CreateStreamOnHGlobal.

To use a resource immediately, an application should use the following resource-specific functions to find and load the resource in one call.

For example, an application can use the LoadIcon function to load an icon for display on the screen, followed by DestroyIcon when done.

For an example see Updating Resources.

Conceptual

FindResource

FindResourceEx

LoadLibrary

LoadModule

LockResource

Other Resources

Reference

Resources