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IMAGE_FILE_HEADER structure (winnt.h)

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Represents the COFF header format.

Syntax

typedef struct _IMAGE_FILE_HEADER {
  WORD  Machine;
  WORD  NumberOfSections;
  DWORD TimeDateStamp;
  DWORD PointerToSymbolTable;
  DWORD NumberOfSymbols;
  WORD  SizeOfOptionalHeader;
  WORD  Characteristics;
} IMAGE_FILE_HEADER, *PIMAGE_FILE_HEADER;

Members

Machine

The architecture type of the computer. An image file can only be run on the specified computer or a system that emulates the specified computer. This member can be one of the following values.

Value Meaning
IMAGE_FILE_MACHINE_I386
0x014c
 x86
IMAGE_FILE_MACHINE_IA64
0x0200
 Intel Itanium
IMAGE_FILE_MACHINE_AMD64
0x8664
 x64

NumberOfSections

The number of sections. This indicates the size of the section table, which immediately follows the headers. Note that the Windows loader limits the number of sections to 96.

TimeDateStamp

The low 32 bits of the time stamp of the image. This represents the date and time the image was created by the linker. The value is represented in the number of seconds elapsed since midnight (00:00:00), January 1, 1970, Universal Coordinated Time, according to the system clock.

PointerToSymbolTable

The offset of the symbol table, in bytes, or zero if no COFF symbol table exists.

NumberOfSymbols

The number of symbols in the symbol table.

SizeOfOptionalHeader

The size of the optional header, in bytes. This value should be 0 for object files.

Characteristics

The characteristics of the image. This member can be one or more of the following values.

Value Meaning
IMAGE_FILE_RELOCS_STRIPPED
0x0001
 Relocation information was stripped from the file. The file must be loaded at its preferred base address. If the base address is not available, the loader reports an error.
IMAGE_FILE_EXECUTABLE_IMAGE
0x0002
 The file is executable (there are no unresolved external references).
IMAGE_FILE_LINE_NUMS_STRIPPED
0x0004
 COFF line numbers were stripped from the file.
IMAGE_FILE_LOCAL_SYMS_STRIPPED
0x0008
 COFF symbol table entries were stripped from file.
IMAGE_FILE_AGGRESIVE_WS_TRIM
0x0010
 Aggressively trim the working set. This value is obsolete.
IMAGE_FILE_LARGE_ADDRESS_AWARE
0x0020
 The application can handle addresses larger than 2 GB.
IMAGE_FILE_BYTES_REVERSED_LO
0x0080
 The bytes of the word are reversed. This flag is obsolete.
IMAGE_FILE_32BIT_MACHINE
0x0100
 The computer supports 32-bit words.
IMAGE_FILE_DEBUG_STRIPPED
0x0200
 Debugging information was removed and stored separately in another file.
IMAGE_FILE_REMOVABLE_RUN_FROM_SWAP
0x0400
 If the image is on removable media, copy it to and run it from the swap file.
IMAGE_FILE_NET_RUN_FROM_SWAP
0x0800
 If the image is on the network, copy it to and run it from the swap file.
IMAGE_FILE_SYSTEM
0x1000
 The image is a system file.
IMAGE_FILE_DLL
0x2000
 The image is a DLL file. While it is an executable file, it cannot be run directly.
IMAGE_FILE_UP_SYSTEM_ONLY
0x4000
 The file should be run only on a uniprocessor computer.
IMAGE_FILE_BYTES_REVERSED_HI
0x8000
 The bytes of the word are reversed. This flag is obsolete.

Requirements

Requirement Value
Minimum supported client Windows XP [desktop apps only]
Minimum supported server Windows Server 2003 [desktop apps only]
Header winnt.h (include Windows.h)

See also

IMAGE_NT_HEADERS

ImageHlp Structures