Thread: LoadBitmap requires GetModuleHandle(NULL) as argument instead of hInstance

Hello,
I was playing around with LoadBitmap. Originally I got it working. Then the screen it load was "white" meaning the HBITMAP it returned was not NULL, but it was just as if nothing is displayed. I was moving the LoadBitmap back and forth between InitInstance (before and after createWindow routine) and WM_CREATE. Magically when I finally got it working again but only after I replace it get GetModuleHandle(NULL) as the argument instead of hInstance.

Code:

 hbitmapTest= (HBITMAP)LoadBitmap(GetModuleHandle(NULL), _T("MyBitmap"));

Question 1: Why does LoadBitmap needs this argument instead of hInstead? I looked online and it says GetModuleHandle returns a module. Looking at the module, it seems it's some sort of dll.

If you are loading a bitmap resource, LoadBitmap needs to know from which memory-resident module you want to load it from.

A module is any PE image (.exe, dll).

If for example you make a program with a bitmap resource, you will need to pass the handle to the program's module.

GetModuleHandle(NULL) gets the executable's handle.

I can't tell you why the hInstance supplied by MFC doesn't work, just looking at it shocked me with so many catches and almost-good things that I ignored this framework entirely and did a few months of booze and hookers instead. Just as fulfilling, if not moreso.