Most items stored in the resource section make up the visual part of a program. A programmer defines the items to include in the resources of an executable by defining them inside a resource file (*.rc). A special compiler is used on these *.rc files to convert the definitions into a binary form suitable for linking with the executable. With Resource Tuner™ you can examine an approximation of what the original *.rc file looked like, and you can save that to disk and use it with your own programs (some minor adaptation to your specific resource compiler may be required).

You can view (or play, if possible), extract, delete, modify, edit, or replace a selected resource. Using the XP Visual Style Manifest Wizard, you can also insert an application manifest into the resource section of the executable.

VIEWING

When you display resources in the Resource Browser, you see them listed by name. A list of the file’s resources is displayed in the resource tree where the first level defines the resource type. This tree can be expanded or collapsed by clicking with right mouse button on the chosen resource type and selecting an action from popup menu.

There are standard resource types such as CURSOR/CURSOR_GROUP, BITMAP, ICON/ICON_GROUP, MENU, DIALOG, STRINGTABLE, MESSAGETABLE, TYPELIB, ACCELERATORS and VERSIONINFO. Some resources such as Strings and Dialogs may be stored multiple times for different languages.

Other resource types may also be defined by the programmer and are displayed in upper case. A custom resource is used to store most any type of binary data within a resource file. Common data types that might be stored as custom resources are sound (.wav) and video (.avi) files.

A selected resource will be displayed either as a graphic image, a text, or as raw binary data (then [F4] key toggles the browse mode, [F8] - code page (DOS/WIN)).

Programs compiled using the Borland VCL do not commonly have menu, dialog, or accelerator resources, but store this information in a resource type named RCData or the Application-defined resource (raw data) that holds the information that were in the DFM file before the compilation.

If VCL Delphi/C++ Builder is the case, and RCData contains DFM forms, all the found objects with all assigned properties and events will be displayed in a hierarchical tree. You can navigate easily through the objects and save their contents (Image Lists, Strings List, Glyphs, Bitmaps etc). PackageInfo shows all units used during compiling an executable. DVCLAL (this stands for "Delphi Visual Component Libraray Access License") shows the compiler version for Borland products.

THE TOOLBAR

Resource Editor

Delete a selected resource

Undelete (restore)

Copy a selected resource to clipboard.

Insert an application manifest into the resource section. See XP Visual Style Manifest Wizard

Play AVI, animated GIF or WAV files.

Show/Hide a dialog or menu compiled form. You can also minimize the form.

Search tree button - allows you search through the resource tree (useful for searching RCData content).

Show properties of a selected resource (Language ID, Type, Raw size, etc) as follows:

Tip: The language ID is a word integer value made up of a primary language and its sublanguage which is defined by Windows. If the resource item is “language neutral” then this value is zero.