In Microsoft Windows, resources are read-only data embedded in an EXE or DLL files.

The Windows API provides for easy access to all applications' resources.

Types

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Each resource has a type and a name, both being either numeric identifiers or strings.

Windows has a set of predefined resource types:

• Cursor and animated cursor
• Icon
• Bitmap
• Dialog box template
• Font
• HTML document
• String and message template
• Version data

The programmer can also define custom data types in resources.

Usage

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The icon that Windows displays for a program file is actually the first icon resource in its EXE file. If the EXE file has no icon resources, a standard icon is displayed.

The version resource for EXE and DLL files is displayed in the Version tab of their property pages.

Editors are available that can modify resources embedded in EXE or DLL files. These are typically used to translate all strings of an application to another language, or to modify its icons and bitmaps accordingly.

Resource Editors

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• XN Resource Editor (Open Source)
• Resource Hacker (Freeware)
• Resource Tuner (Shareware)