Targeting your application for Windows

05/31/2018
2 minutes to read

In Windows 8.1 and Windows 10, the GetVersion and GetVersionEx functions have been deprecated. In Windows 10, the VerifyVersionInfo function has also been deprecated. While you can still call the deprecated functions, if your application does not specifically target Windows 8.1 or Windows 10, you will get Windows 8 version (6.2.0.0).

Note

GetVersion, GetVersionEx, VerifyVersionInfo, and the Version Helper functions are for desktop apps only. Universal Windows apps can use the AnalyticsInfo.VersionInfo property for telemetry and diagnostic logs.

In order to target Windows 8.1 or Windows 10, you need to include the app manifest in the source file. The following example shows an app manifest file.

<exe>.manifest
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<assembly manifestVersion="1.0" xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1" xmlns:asmv3="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v3">
    <assemblyIdentity 
        type="win32" 
        name=SXS_ASSEMBLY_NAME
        version=SXS_ASSEMBLY_VERSION
        processorArchitecture=SXS_PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE
    />
    <description> my exe </description>
    <trustInfo xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v3">
        <security>
            <requestedPrivileges>
                <requestedExecutionLevel
                    level="asInvoker"
                    uiAccess="false"
                />   
            </requestedPrivileges>
        </security>
    </trustInfo>
    <compatibility xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:compatibility.v1"> 
        <application> 
            <!-- Windows 10 --> 
            <supportedOS Id="{8e0f7a12-bfb3-4fe8-b9a5-48fd50a15a9a}"/>
            <!-- Windows 8.1 -->
            <supportedOS Id="{1f676c76-80e1-4239-95bb-83d0f6d0da78}"/>
            <!-- Windows Vista -->
            <supportedOS Id="{e2011457-1546-43c5-a5fe-008deee3d3f0}"/> 
            <!-- Windows 7 -->
            <supportedOS Id="{35138b9a-5d96-4fbd-8e2d-a2440225f93a}"/>
            <!-- Windows 8 -->
            <supportedOS Id="{4a2f28e3-53b9-4441-ba9c-d69d4a4a6e38}"/>
        </application> 
    </compatibility>
</assembly>

Next, add the following to your sources:

SXS_MANIFEST_RESOURCE_ID=1
SXS_MANIFEST=foo.manifest
SXS_ASSEMBLY_NAME=Microsoft.Windows.Foo
SXS_ASSEMBLY_VERSION=1.0    
SXS_ASSEMBLY_LANGUAGE_INDEPENDENT=1
SXS_MANIFEST_IN_RESOURCES=1

Manifesting the .exe for Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 will not have any impact when run on previous operating systems. You can also add this to your .rc file if you already have it defined.

Adding the trustInfo isn’t essential, but it is highly recommended. This will allow your .exe to always get the correct version, whether the operating system is Windows 10, Windows 8.1, or Windows 8.

Getting the system version
Version Helper functions
OSVERSIONINFO
OSVERSIONINFOEX

Targeting your application for Windows

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