Dialog Boxes

I'm fairly new to Win Programming.

For the DialogBox function (http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms645452.aspx) what is the 2nd parameter, exactly? I see that it says you can use 'MAKEINTRESOURCE'. So does that mean the template is a image?

Thanks,

Relyt_123

You use that macro if you have an ID number for the Dialog Box. You could designate this ID number in the resource file of your program.

The template for your dialog box is usually a DIALOGEX resource, defined in your resource file. All dialog resources must have a nameID which can either be a string or 16-bit unsigned integer number. Since the latter is commonly the case when naming resources, you will usually need to use the MAKEINTRESOURCE macro which creates the necessary identifier from your integer resource id to supply to the DialogBox function. I.E. if you defined a DialogEx resource as such:

Code:

---

#define IDD_MYDIALOGBOX 24
...
...
IDD_MYDIALOGBOX DIALOGEX DISCARDABLE 0, 0, 0, 0
STYLE DS_MODALFRAME | WS_POPUP | WS_CAPTION | WS_SYSMENU
CAPTION "MyDialog"
{
}

---

Then you would call DialogBox as so:

Code:

---

DialogBox(hInst, MAKEINTRESOURCE(IDD_MYDIALOGBOX), hwnd, myDialogProc);

---

This doesn't work. I put it in the .rc file and it wouldn't compile. Said the error was 'Syntax Error'.

When I transferred the code into the .cpp it had two errors:

error: expected unqualified-id before numeric constant

error: expected ',' or ';' before numeric constant

They were both on the line "IDD_MYDIALOGBOX DIALOGEX DISCARDABLE 0, 0, 0, 0"

Any suggestions?

where is the resource.h?
Typically you use a resource.h to declare the constants used in resource.rc

I have three files:

-main.cpp:

Code:

---

#include <windows.h>
...
...

---

-resource.h:

Code:

---

#define ID_FILE_EXIT 9001
#define ID_HELP_ABOUT 9002
#define IDD_MYDIALOGBOX 9003

---

-resources.rc:

Code:

---

#include "resource.h"
IDD_MYDIALOGBOX DIALOGEX DISCARDABLE 0, 0, 0, 0
STYLE DS_MODALFRAME | WS_POPUP | WS_CAPTION | WS_SYSMENU
CAPTION "MyDialog"
{
}

---

Edit: Turns out it's a problem with the line, "STYLE DS_MODALFRAME | WS_POPUP | WS_CAPTION | WS_SYSMENU"

Doesn't say what it is though. It just says it's a "Syntax Error". No specifics. If I comment out that line, the program will compile and run and the dialogbox will be created but it is just a small rectangle box.

Are you including Windows.h?

I am into 'main.cpp'.

Edit: Should I include "resources.rc" into main.cpp?

No that's totally wrong, and silly.

Include Windows.h from inside resources.rc.

Like that, it compiles, but the dialog box is still strange in size. It is merely a small box ~10px wide and the heigh of the title bar of the window.

How about not giving it a width and height of 0? lol....

No one ever told me what those arguments were... I would have looked them up if I had known that was the issue.

Thanks for the help.

Isn't that the point? If you know the solution for every problem you have, then what's the reason for debugging? This is why being a good programmer requires more than simply just being able to write code that compiles.

OK, ok.... I'll stop lecturing. :p

I realize that. It's just that I had no way to debug it if I didn't know the arguments in the first place, eh? :p

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by relyt_123

No one ever told me what those arguments were... I would have looked them up if I had known that was the issue.

Thanks for the help.

---

Did you not see my BIG GLARING RED CAPSLOCK TEXT LINK to the DialogBoxEX resource in my previous post that I selflessly found and provided for you EVEN though it is more than readily available via MSDN search? Didn't you think a link to the MSDN DIALOGEX resource might just have something to do with.. oh, i dunno, a DialogBox resource??