LoadLibrary and AfxLoadLibrary
Processes call LoadLibrary or LoadLibraryEx to explicitly link to a DLL. (MFC apps use AfxLoadLibrary or AfxLoadLibraryEx.) If the function succeeds, it maps the specified DLL into the address space of the calling process, and returns a handle to the DLL. The handle is required in other functions used for explicit linking—for example, GetProcAddress and FreeLibrary. For more information, see Explicit linking.
LoadLibrary attempts to locate the DLL by using the same search sequence that is used for implicit linking. LoadLibraryEx gives you more control over the search path order. For more information, see Dynamic Link Library Search Order. If the system can't find the DLL or if the entry-point function returns FALSE, LoadLibrary returns NULL. If the call to LoadLibrary specifies a DLL module that is already mapped into the address space of the calling process, the function returns a handle of the DLL and increments the reference count of the module.
If the DLL has an entry-point function, the operating system calls the function in the context of the thread that called LoadLibrary or LoadLibraryEx. The entry-point function isn't called if the DLL is already attached to the process. That happens when a previous call to LoadLibrary or LoadLibraryEx for the DLL hasn't had a corresponding call to the FreeLibrary function.
For MFC applications that load MFC extension DLLs, we recommend that you use AfxLoadLibrary or AfxLoadLibraryEx instead of LoadLibrary or LoadLibraryEx. The MFC functions handle thread synchronization before loading the DLL explicitly. The interfaces (function prototypes) to AfxLoadLibrary and AfxLoadLibraryEx are the same as LoadLibrary and LoadLibraryEx.
If Windows can't load the DLL, your process can attempt to recover from the error. For example, it could notify the user of the error, then ask for another path to the DLL.
Important
Make sure to specify the full path of any DLLs. The current directory may be searched first when files are loaded by LoadLibrary. If you don't fully qualify the path of the file, a file other than the intended one might be loaded. When you create a DLL, use the /DEPENDENTLOADFLAG linker option to specify a search order for statically linked DLL dependencies. Within your DLLs, use both complete paths to explicitly loaded dependencies, and LoadLibraryEx or AfxLoadLibraryEx call parameters to specify module search order. For more information, see Dynamic-Link Library Security and Dynamic Link Library Search Order.