MakeXP

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Introduction

MakeXP is a little utility that will automatically give your VC++6 Apps the Look & Feel of Windows XP. I got tired of having to make the manifest file, write the compile directive, etc. by hand every time i wanted my project to use the new windows XP looks, so I wrote this little app to do all the work for me. 

Once you give it a little information about your Project MakeXP Will:

• Generate a custom manifest file, and put it on your project´s /res Directory
• Modify your project´s .dsp file to include the manifest file.
• Write the proper Compile directive to your project´s .rc2 file
• Make backups of your .rc2 and .dsp files BEFORE modifying them, in case of trouble

Requirements 

Before you use MakeXP, Make sure your project meets the following conditions:

• Made using Visual C++ 6 (might work on 5.0 or .NET, but i haven't tested it on it)
• Has a valid .rc2 file (if you made the project with app wizard, then it does)
• Works on both MFC and Win32 Applications, as long as they have a valid .rc2 file
• A recent copy of the Microsoft Platform SDK update installed on the PC where you compile your applications
• In your target applications (the ones you run MakeXP on), you need to link to ComCtl32.lib (in Project / settings /link) and call InitCommonControls early in your application (like in InitInstance )

Using the code

1. Compile the application
2. Run it
3. Use the first "Find" button to select your project´s .dsp file, the rest of the fields will be filled automatically
4. Verify that all values are correct and that your project is not open!
5. Press the "MakeXP" button
6. That's it! enjoy your XP looks! (assuming your DO have windows XP :) 

Note: If you have any trouble loading / using your project after you used MakeXP on it, just delete your .dsp / ,rc2 files and restore the backup files MakeXP made. These files will be named with a .BAK extension like: MyApp.dsp.BAK MyApp.rc2.BAK.

Points of Interest

Apart from being a useful utility, the code behind it illustrates the following points:

• Reading, Parsing and Writting to / From Text files using fstream
• Using some "advanced" CString functions like Find, ReverseFind, GetBufferSetLen, etc.
• Basic file operations like CopyFile, DeleteFile etc.
• Changing the colors used on a Dialog (on itself and it´s children)

History

• 29 Mar 03 - updated requirements list. Some readers were having trouble getting the application to work