Message Compiler

The Microsoft Message Compiler (MC) is a tool for creating messages that an application or dynamic-link library (DLL) needs. Its input is a text file that defines the messages. The message file format makes it easy to support multiple languages in the same image file.

This tool is available in Visual Studio and the Windows SDK.

To use a message text file in your application, you must include it in a resource script (.rc) file. First, use MC to convert the message text file into a binary file suitable for inclusion in the .rc file. Then, use the resource compiler to place the messages into the resource table for the application.

For applications that perform event logging, the messages are typically placed in a DLL that contains only the message table. The application registers this resource-only DLL as the source of message text for the events that it logs. The application then uses the event logging functions or the FormatMessage function to retrieve and use the message text.

For more information, see the following topics:

• Message Text Files
• MC Command Line
• Sample Message Text File

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Build date: 5/7/2009