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Windows-Format Metafiles

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Microsoft Windows-format metafiles are limited in their capabilities and should rarely be used. The Windows-format functions are supported to maintain backward compatibility with applications that were written to run as 16 bit Windows-based applications. Instead, you should use the enhanced-format functions.

A Windows-format metafile is used by 16-bit Windows-based applications. The format consists of a header and an array of metafile records.

The following are the limitations of this format:

  • A Windows-format metafile is application and device dependent. Changes in the application's mapping modes or the device resolution affect the appearance of metafiles created in this format.
  • A Windows-format metafile does not contain a comprehensive header that describes the original picture dimensions, the resolution of the device on which the picture was created, an optional text description, or an optional palette.
  • A Windows-format metafile does not support the new curve, path, and transformation functions. See the list of supported functions in the table that follows.
  • Some Windows-format metafile records cannot be scaled.
  • The metafile device context associated with a Windows-format metafile cannot be queried (that is, an application cannot retrieve device-resolution data, font metrics, and so on).

The following are the only functions that are supported by Windows-format metafiles.

     
AnimatePaletteArc
BitBlt
Chord
CreateBrushIndirect
CreateDIBPatternBrush
CreateFontIndirect
CreatePalette
CreatePatternBrush
CreatePenIndirect
DeleteObject
Ellipse
Escape
ExcludeClipRect
ExtFloodFill
ExtTextOut
FillRgn
FloodFill
FrameRgn
IntersectClipRect
InvertRgn
 LineToMoveToEx
OffsetClipRgn
OffsetViewportOrgEx
OffsetWindowOrgEx
PaintRgn
PatBlt
Pie
Polygon
Polyline
PolyPolygon
RealizePalette
Rectangle
ResizePalette
RestoreDC
RoundRect
SaveDC
ScaleViewportExtEx
ScaleWindowExtEx
SelectClipRgn
SelectObject
 SelectPaletteSetBkColor
SetBkMode
SetDIBitsToDevice
SetMapMode
SetMapperFlags
SetPaletteEntries
SetPixel
SetPolyFillMode
SetROP2
SetStretchBltMode
SetTextAlign
SetTextCharacterExtra
SetTextColor
SetTextJustification
SetViewportOrgEx
SetWindowExtEx
SetWindowOrgEx
StretchBlt
StretchDIBits
TextOut

Note

To convert a Windows-format metafile to an enhanced-format metafile, call the GetMetaFileBitsEx function to retrieve the data from the Windows-format metafile and then call the SetWinMetaFileBits function to convert this data into an enhanced-format metafile. To convert an enhanced-format record into a Windows-format record, call the GetWinMetaFileBits function.