LoadBitmapA function (winuser.h)

[LoadBitmap is available for use in the operating systems specified in the Requirements section. It may be altered or unavailable in subsequent versions. Instead, use LoadImage and DrawFrameControl.]

The LoadBitmap function loads the specified bitmap resource from a module's executable file.

Syntax

HBITMAP LoadBitmapA(
  [in] HINSTANCE hInstance,
  [in] LPCSTR    lpBitmapName
);

Parameters

[in] hInstance

A handle to the instance of the module whose executable file contains the bitmap to be loaded.

[in] lpBitmapName

A pointer to a null-terminated string that contains the name of the bitmap resource to be loaded. Alternatively, this parameter can consist of the resource identifier in the low-order word and zero in the high-order word. The MAKEINTRESOURCE macro can be used to create this value.

Return value

If the function succeeds, the return value is the handle to the specified bitmap.

If the function fails, the return value is NULL.

Remarks

If the bitmap pointed to by the lpBitmapName parameter does not exist or there is insufficient memory to load the bitmap, the function fails.

LoadBitmap creates a compatible bitmap of the display, which cannot be selected to a printer. To load a bitmap that you can select to a printer, call LoadImage and specify LR_CREATEDIBSECTION to create a DIB section. A DIB section can be selected to any device.

An application can use the LoadBitmap function to access predefined bitmaps. To do so, the application must set the hInstance parameter to NULL and the lpBitmapName parameter to one of the following values.

Bitmap name Bitmap name
OBM_BTNCORNERS OBM_OLD_RESTORE
OBM_BTSIZE OBM_OLD_RGARROW
OBM_CHECK OBM_OLD_UPARROW
OBM_CHECKBOXES OBM_OLD_ZOOM
OBM_CLOSE OBM_REDUCE
OBM_COMBO OBM_REDUCED
OBM_DNARROW OBM_RESTORE
OBM_DNARROWD OBM_RESTORED
OBM_DNARROWI OBM_RGARROW
OBM_LFARROW OBM_RGARROWD
OBM_LFARROWD OBM_RGARROWI
OBM_LFARROWI OBM_SIZE
OBM_MNARROW OBM_UPARROW
OBM_OLD_CLOSE OBM_UPARROWD
OBM_OLD_DNARROW OBM_UPARROWI
OBM_OLD_LFARROW OBM_ZOOM
OBM_OLD_REDUCE OBM_ZOOMD
 

Bitmap names that begin with OBM_OLD represent bitmaps used by 16-bit versions of Windows earlier than 3.0.

For an application to use any of the OBM_ constants, the constant OEMRESOURCE must be defined before the Windows.h header file is included.

The application must call the DeleteObject function to delete each bitmap handle returned by the LoadBitmap function.

Examples

For an example, see Example of Menu-Item Bitmaps in Using Menus.

Note

The winuser.h header defines LoadBitmap as an alias which automatically selects the ANSI or Unicode version of this function based on the definition of the UNICODE preprocessor constant. Mixing usage of the encoding-neutral alias with code that not encoding-neutral can lead to mismatches that result in compilation or runtime errors. For more information, see Conventions for Function Prototypes.

Requirements

Requirement Value
Minimum supported client Windows 2000 Professional [desktop apps only]
Minimum supported server Windows 2000 Server [desktop apps only]
Target Platform Windows
Header winuser.h (include Windows.h)
Library User32.lib
DLL User32.dll
API set ext-ms-win-ntuser-draw-l1-1-1 (introduced in Windows 8.1)

See also

Bitmap Functions

Bitmaps Overview

CreateBitmap

DeleteObject

DrawFrameControl

LoadCursor

LoadIcon

LoadImage

MAKEINTRESOURCE