VC6 with XP look

• Download source files - 8 Kb

Introduction

By default Microsoft Visual C++ V6 when running under Windows XP manages a half-hearted XP look. In theory it shouldn't really have any XP look, but somehow bits seem to acquire it by magic.

So, I decided if I could make all (or most) of VC appear in the new look. And overall, I have. Note the correct scrollbars, search combobox, and dialog box controls

As many of you will know, the way to make a program XP aware is to include a manifest resource in each .EXE or .DLL, but another way to achieve this is merely to add a manifest file to the same directory as the program (or DLL) named exactly the same as the file, but with .manifest appended to it.

e.g.
	Program Filename		Manifest Filename
	----------------		----------------------
	myprogram.exe		myprogram.exe.manifest
	mysupport.dll		mysupport.dll.manifest
	

The manifest file I have used is fairly standard:

&lt?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?&gt 
&ltassembly 
   xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1" 
   manifestVersion="1.0"&gt
	&ltassemblyIdentity 
    processorArchitecture="x86" 
    version="5.1.0.0"
    type="win32"
    name="test.exe"/&gt
    &ltdescription&gtTest Application&lt/description&gt
    &ltdependency&gt
    &ltdependentAssembly&gt
    &ltassemblyIdentity
         type="win32"
         name="Microsoft.Windows.Common-Controls"
         version="6.0.0.0"
         publicKeyToken="6595b64144ccf1df"
         language="*"
         processorArchitecture="x86"/&gt
    &lt/dependentAssembly&gt
    &lt/dependency&gt
&lt/assembly&gt

The only thing left to do is explain how to make it work!

Download the VC-XP_src.zip file (at the top of the page) and extract it to:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\Common\MSDev98\Bin

of course you may need to change this if you didn't install VC to the default directory/drive. Then, the next time you run VC (MSDEV.EXE), you will get the new look.

Of course, this doesn't actually give any extra features or benefits, it just looks nicer.

You must Sign In to use this message board.

FAQ    Noise Tolerance Very HighHighMediumLowVery Low   Layout Expand Posts & RepliesThread ViewNo JavascriptNo JS + Preview   Per page 102550

Msgs 1 to 25 of 30 (Total in Forum: 30) (Refresh) FirstPrevNext

XP look for VC++ projects ansif_pi 20:35 29 Apr '08   Hello sir, i copied all the dlls in zip folder to Bin directory of Visual studio and i got XP look for MSDEV.exe. But when i execute a new project i didn't get XP look. How to do this? regards Ansif ansif Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink It's requiered Windows XP? accarvajal 13:08 22 Jul '04   This manifest just work on windows XP? Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: It's requiered Windows XP? Chanwoo 16:59 23 Jul '04   yes No 2000 Only XP Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink RichEdit Trouble wswartzendruber 14:49 26 Oct '03   It's a really great trick, but have any of you tried placing a RichEdit or Custom Control on a dialog resource? It won't start the compiled program. Any ideas. Yes, I am a newbie. Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink 1.00/5 (1 vote) Mistake wswartzendruber 15:03 26 Oct '03   Actually, I've discovered that I can't use RichEdit at all under Windows XP. Help? Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: Mistake Anonymous 15:31 26 Oct '03   I am using the CRichEditCtrl in Windows XP. Did you call AfxInitRichEdit() before using it in the program. I usually put the call in the InitInstance method of the app class. Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: Mistake wswartzendruber 23:42 26 Oct '03   GREAT!!! That works! Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: Mistake Sreekanth Muralidharan 2:49 21 Dec '05   That's THE thing!! Sreekanth Muralidharan, Corporate Systems Consultant [Embedded Systems], INDIA Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink not 100% relevant but, sharlila 9:40 26 Jun '03   I did the same thing to VB IDE and then to my amazement (well, not really) I noticed that an OptionBox placed on top of a Frame control displays entirly in black, and only when done like this. Then I did it to VC IDE but everything went well. I used spy++ to see why there are differences, and saw that vb's optionbox isn't really of class button but thunder...something. 1) Is there something I can do besides creating it on the form and moving it on runtime? In VC I can insert this file to the resources, link with comctl32.lib and call InitCommonControls to use it, 2) do you know if it can be done with VB? I know these are more VB oriented questions, but I also found it interesting enough for me to share with you Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Sigh LordDelacroix 9:35 12 Mar '03   Since doing this on my XP Pro box, I can't run DevStudio using ANY themes other than the classic theme that makes XP just blow. Not what I want DevStudio will run for about 5-15 minutes before GPF'n on itself. Removing the manifests FIXES the problem but then I'm back to square ZERO. Does anyone have any ideas on this? -- LD Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: Sigh soundman32 22:26 12 Mar '03   It works here on XP Pro. Just a thought...have you got any add-ins (Tools/customize/add-ins)? Badly written ones may not work? Neil Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink No Luck on my side junni 20:13 30 Dec '02   Hi, Well I did exactly the same procedure but I didi'nt get any XP look to the VC6 IDE Iam running win2k ..tell me if I had missed anything cause I tried doing the same by adding the resource file(.manifest ) to my application but it gave the same result "No XP LOOK" .. If any of u guys have a solution I'd be gratefull Thanx and Regards JUnni:(:( Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: No Luck on my side James T. Johnson 20:27 30 Dec '02   junni wrote: Iam running win2k And that is why you don't see the XP look. All this technique does is tell Windows XP that it is okay to 'skin' the program's controls. In order to skin an application in Win2K you need a program that does that specifically, like WindowsBlinds. James "The elastic retreat rings the close of play as the last wave uncovers the newfangled way. But your new shoes are worn at the heels and your suntan does rapidly peel and your wise men don't know how it feels to be thick as a brick." "Thick as a Brick" from Thick as a Brick, Jethro Tull 1972 Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink VC6 can't debug static variable on Windows XP Alan Wen 21:13 24 Dec '02   Currently I upgrade my OS to Windows XP, but I found my VC6 can't watch static variable in debug mode, the IDE report a CXX0017 error, which means "symbol not found". But it works fine with Windows 2000. Anyone meet the same problem? Is this a bug? Thanks in advance Alan Wen Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: VC6 can't debug static variable on Windows XP Neville Franks 22:00 24 Dec '02   What has this post got to do with this article? Try posting it over in the C++ Message Board. That said I haven't noticed any differences between running VC6 on W2K or XP. It sounds like you might not have everything installed the same on both OS's. Neville Franks, Author of ED for Windows. www.getsoft.com Make money with our new Affilate program Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink 1.00/5 (1 vote) Re: VC6 can't debug static variable on Windows XP Alan Wen 22:26 24 Dec '02   I have posted this message on C++ Message Board, but no reponse. Maybe most people are using VC7 with XP now. People reading this article are using VC6 with XP, right? This is why I post my message here, sorry to make you confusing, but I do like to get an answer. I do use the same installation option on both OS. Everything works fine, except debugging on static variables. If you do not believe, just make a simple console application: #include void main(void) { static int i = 0; i = 100; printf ("%d", i); } This code works fine, but you can't watch the value of i by VC IDE. I have also test this code on my friends PC, it is the same result. Alan Wen Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: VC6 can't debug static variable on Windows XP Bernd Runges 13:52 10 Jun '04   Hi ! It is a little late to answer your posting, but I have the same problem. I called MS-Germany today (09.06.04 !) and they told me that this is a bug in VC6.0 under WindowsXP and that there is no patch available until now. Greetings Bernd Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: VC6 can't debug static variable on Windows XP Alan Wen 16:26 13 Jun '04   Anyway, thanks for your reply on this. I found out the solution by myself at last. Sometime, the creator even don't know its secret, just like human don't know the secret of their brain. Please download and install the processor pack for VC6 at: http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/downloads/tools/ppack/default.aspx And your problem will be solved. I'm not sure if MS has already included this fix in SP6 for VC6, since I have installed this pack before SP6. Best wishes Alan Wen Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: VC6 can't debug static variable on Windows XP ehaerim 11:59 7 Sep '09   Hi Alan It seems that the curent link does not display anything about VC6 any more. Would you be kind enough to give me a new link for the preprocessor pack for VC6, or just send me what you already have downloaded before? My email is ehaerim@gmail.com. Many thanks. Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: VC6 can't debug static variable on Windows XP Alan Wen 16:34 7 Sep '09   The updated download info is http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/aa718349.aspx[^] Alan Wen Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: VC6 can't debug static variable on Windows XP ehaerim 22:26 7 Sep '09   Thank you Alan, BTW, have you check this Processor Pack for VC SP6, not SP5? I use SP6 and want to know if it will work with SP6 with no problem. HR Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: VC6 can't debug static variable on Windows XP Alan Wen 14:39 8 Sep '09   You might have to find out this by yourself. I did not use VC6 any more. Alan Wen Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: VC6 can't debug static variable on Windows XP Alan Balkany 5:02 16 Jun '04   I just upgraded to XP and noticed a similar problem: When my VC++ program crashes in VC6, I can't invoke the debugger to see WHERE it crashed. I used to be able to click "Retry" and enter the debugger. Now I get a dialog with options to send an error report to MS or debug. When I select 'debug', it doesn't. Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Extremely Cool Chris Coble 11:48 23 Dec '02   I use StyleXP, and now VC++ 6 looks just excellent. Great article. Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink exactly what I did Paolo Messina 8:33 23 Dec '02   My first thought when I started VC6 on XP was to enable the new Visual Styles. Don't know why... Did anyone of you notice a redraw problem with scrollbars? If you have a window with both horizontal and vertical bars the gray square between them isn't refreshed properly, unless there's a size grip. Try dragging another window on it... when you reach the border you leave a track on the scrollbar. Is this a new "feature" ?? Paolo ------ "airplane is cool, but space shuttle is even better" (J. Kaczorowski) Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink

Last Visit: 19:25 21 Nov '09     Last Update: 19:25 21 Nov '09 12 Next »