Build localized apps as separate executables

• Download source files - 1 Kb
• Download demo project - 11.9 Kb

Overview

Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 offers only a framework to build all resources into one executable file. This can be disturbing if you want to localize your application into completely separated files. Fortunately VC++'s wide environment allows you to achieve this with a couple of steps...

Steps:

1. Rename your default Demo.rc file to Demo_EN.rc or other names depending on the language version.
2. Create a new default Demo.rc file which would look something like this:

   //Microsoft Developer Studio generated resource script.
   //
   #include "resource.h"
   
   #define APSTUDIO_READONLY_SYMBOLS
   ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
   //
   // Generated from the TEXTINCLUDE 2 resource.
   //
   #include "afxres.h"
   
   ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
   #undef APSTUDIO_READONLY_SYMBOLS
   
   #ifdef APSTUDIO_INVOKED
   ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
   //
   // TEXTINCLUDE
   //
   
   1 TEXTINCLUDE DISCARDABLE 
   BEGIN
   "resource.h\0"
   END
   
   2 TEXTINCLUDE DISCARDABLE 
   BEGIN
   "#include ""afxres.h""\r\n"
   "\0"
   END
   
   3 TEXTINCLUDE DISCARDABLE 
   BEGIN
   "#ifdef MYLANGUAGE_CZ\r\n"
   "#include ""Demo_CZ.rc""\r\n"
   "#endif\r\n"
   "\r\n"
   "#ifdef MYLANGUAGE_EN\r\n"
   "#include ""Demo_EN.rc""\r\n"
   "#endif\r\n"
   "\0"
   END
   
   #endif // APSTUDIO_INVOKED
   
   
   #ifndef APSTUDIO_INVOKED
   ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
   //
   // Generated from the TEXTINCLUDE 3 resource.
   //
   #ifdef MYLANGUAGE_CZ
   #include "Demo_CZ.rc"
   #endif
   
   #ifdef MYLANGUAGE_EN
   #include "Demo_EN.rc"
   #endif
   
   ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
   #endif // not APSTUDIO_INVOKED

3. Add the standard resource file (renamed to Demo_EN.rc) into the project (Menu/Project/Add To Project/Files)
4. Go to Menu/Build/Configurations and add appropriate build configuration (Add... e.g. Release English, Copy from: Release)
5. Go to Menu/Project/Settings, select your newly added Release English configuration
   • Switch to General tab, change the intermediate and output files location - just enter Release
   • Switch to Link tab and change the output file name to Release/Demo_EN.exe
   • Switch to Resources tab, Resource file name: Release/Demo_EN.res, preprocessor definitions: insert the string MYLANGUAGE_EN, change the Language to English (if not selected)
6. Follow steps 3-5 for each language version you want to build
7. For each new language version, add these lines into Demo.rc file:

   "#ifdef MYLANGUAGE_CZ\r\n"
   "#include ""Demo_CZ.rc""\r\n"
   "#endif\r\n"
   "\r\n"

   #ifdef MYLANGUAGE_CZ
   #include "Demo_CZ.rc"
   #endif

Note: For ATL projects you must keep the typelib in Demo.rc:

1 TYPELIB "Demo.tlb"