windmc - generates Windows message resources
windmc [options] input-file
windmc reads message definitions from an input file (.mc)
and translate them into a set of output files. The output files may be of
four kinds:
- "h"
- A C header file containing the message definitions.
- "rc"
- A resource file compilable by the windres tool.
- "bin"
- One or more binary files containing the resource data for a specific
message language.
- "dbg"
- A C include file that maps message id's to their symbolic name.
The exact description of these different formats is available in
documentation from Microsoft.
When windmc converts from the
"mc" format to the
"bin" format,
"rc",
"h", and optional
"dbg" it is acting like the Windows
Message Compiler.
- -a
- --ascii_in
- Specifies that the input file specified is ASCII. This is the default
behaviour.
- -A
- --ascii_out
- Specifies that messages in the output
"bin" files should be in ASCII
format.
- -b
- --binprefix
- Specifies that "bin" filenames should
have to be prefixed by the basename of the source file.
- -c
- --customflag
- Sets the customer bit in all message id's.
- -C codepage
- --codepage_in
codepage
- Sets the default codepage to be used to convert input file to UTF16. The
default is ocdepage 1252.
- -d
- --decimal_values
- Outputs the constants in the header file in decimal. Default is using
hexadecimal output.
- -e ext
- --extension
ext
- The extension for the header file. The default is .h extension.
- -F target
- --target
target
- Specify the BFD format to use for a bin file as output. This is a BFD
target name; you can use the --help option to see a list of
supported targets. Normally windmc will use the default format,
which is the first one listed by the --help option.
- -h path
- The target directory of the generated header file. The default is the
current directory.
- -H
- --help
- Displays a list of command-line options and then exits.
- -m characters
- --maxlength
characters
- Instructs windmc to generate a warning if the length of any message
exceeds the number specified.
- -n
- --nullterminate
- Terminate message text in "bin" files by
zero. By default they are terminated by CR/LF.
- -o
- --hresult_use
- Not yet implemented. Instructs "windmc"
to generate an OLE2 header file, using HRESULT definitions. Status codes
are used if the flag is not specified.
- -O codepage
- --codepage_out
codepage
- Sets the default codepage to be used to output text files. The default is
ocdepage 1252.
- -r path
- --rcdir
path
- The target directory for the generated
"rc" script and the generated
"bin" files that the resource compiler
script includes. The default is the current directory.
- -u
- --unicode_in
- Specifies that the input file is UTF16.
- -U
- --unicode_out
- Specifies that messages in the output
"bin" file should be in UTF16 format.
This is the default behaviour.
- -v
- --verbose
- Enable verbose mode.
- -V
- --version
- Prints the version number for windmc.
- -x path
- --xdgb
path
- The path of the "dbg" C include file
that maps message id's to the symbolic name. No such file is generated
without specifying the switch.
- @file
- Read command-line options from file. The options read are inserted
in place of the original @file option. If file does not
exist, or cannot be read, then the option will be treated literally, and
not removed.
Options in file are separated by whitespace. A
whitespace character may be included in an option by surrounding the
entire option in either single or double quotes. Any character
(including a backslash) may be included by prefixing the character to be
included with a backslash. The file may itself contain additional
@file options; any such options will be processed
recursively.
the Info entries for binutils.
Copyright (c) 1991-2025 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this
document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3
or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover Texts.
A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free
Documentation License".