Thread: Drawing bitmaps efficiently

The easiest way to draw a bitmap in a static control is to let someone else do it.

Code:

case WM_CREATE: // or wherever else the control is created
{
    // you can set the control height and width to 0 as it'll resize automatically
    HWND hStatic = CreateWindowEx(0, WC_STATIC, TEXT(""), SS_BITMAP | WS_CHILD, ...); 
    if(hStatic)
    {
        HBITMAP hBm = // load your hbitmap
        SendMessage(hStatic, STM_SETIMAGE, IMAGE_BITMAP, (LPARAM)hBm);
        ShowWindow(hStatic, SW_SHOW);
    }
}
break;

You could also create a pattern brush with CreatePatternBrush using your HBITMAP and return the brush in reponse to WM_CTLCOLORSTATIC for largely the same effect.