Introduction
MakeXP is a little utility that will automatically give your VC++6 Apps the Look & Feel of Windows XP. I got tired of having to make the manifest file, write the compile directive, etc. by hand every time i wanted my project to use the new windows XP looks, so I wrote this little app to do all the work for me.
Once you give it a little information about your Project MakeXP Will:
- Generate a custom manifest file, and put it on your project´s /res Directory
- Modify your project´s .dsp file to include the manifest file.
- Write the proper Compile directive to your project´s .rc2 file
- Make backups of your .rc2 and .dsp files BEFORE modifying them, in case of trouble
Requirements
Before you use MakeXP, Make sure your project meets the following conditions:
- Made using Visual C++ 6 (might work on 5.0 or .NET, but i haven't tested it on it)
- Has a valid .rc2 file (if you made the project with app wizard, then it does)
- Works on both MFC and Win32 Applications, as long as they have a valid .rc2 file
-
A recent copy of the Microsoft Platform SDK update installed on the PC where you compile your applications
-
In your target applications (the ones you run MakeXP on), you need to link to ComCtl32.lib (in Project / settings /link) and call InitCommonControls
early in your application (like in InitInstance
)
Using the code
- Compile the application
- Run it
- Use the first "Find" button to select your project´s .dsp file, the rest of the fields will be filled automatically
- Verify that all values are correct and that your project is not open!
- Press the "MakeXP" button
- That's it! enjoy your XP looks! (assuming your DO have windows XP :)
Note: If you have any trouble loading / using your project after you used MakeXP on it, just delete your .dsp / ,rc2 files and restore the backup files MakeXP made. These files will be named with a .BAK extension like: MyApp.dsp.BAK MyApp.rc2.BAK.
Points of Interest
Apart from being a useful utility, the code behind it illustrates the following points:
- Reading, Parsing and Writting to / From Text files using fstream
- Using some "advanced"
CString
functions like Find
, ReverseFind
, GetBufferSetLen
, etc.
- Basic file operations like
CopyFile,
DeleteFile
etc.
- Changing the colors used on a Dialog (on itself and it´s children)
History
- 29 Mar 03 - updated requirements list. Some readers were having trouble getting the application to work
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