How to Load a Bitmap from a Resource (Direct2D)

As described in How to Load a Bitmap from a File, Direct2D uses the Windows Imaging Component (WIC) to load bitmaps. To load a bitmap from a resource, use WIC objects to load the image and to convert it to a Direct2D-compatible format; then, use the CreateBitmapFromWicBitmap method to create an ID2D1Bitmap.

1. In the application resource definition file, define the resource. The following example defines a resource named "SampleImage".

   C++

   // THIS CODE AND INFORMATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF
   // ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
   // THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND/OR FITNESS FOR A
   // PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
   //
   // Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved
   #include "windows.h"
   
   SampleImage Image "sampleImage.jpg"
   

This resource will be added to the application's resource file when the application is built.

2. Load the image from the application resource file.

   C++

   HRESULT DemoApp::LoadResourceBitmap(
       ID2D1RenderTarget *pRenderTarget,
       IWICImagingFactory *pIWICFactory,
       PCWSTR resourceName,
       PCWSTR resourceType,
       UINT destinationWidth,
       UINT destinationHeight,
       ID2D1Bitmap **ppBitmap
       )
   {
       IWICBitmapDecoder *pDecoder = NULL;
       IWICBitmapFrameDecode *pSource = NULL;
       IWICStream *pStream = NULL;
       IWICFormatConverter *pConverter = NULL;
       IWICBitmapScaler *pScaler = NULL;
   
       HRSRC imageResHandle = NULL;
       HGLOBAL imageResDataHandle = NULL;
       void *pImageFile = NULL;
       DWORD imageFileSize = 0;
   
       // Locate the resource.
       imageResHandle = FindResourceW(HINST_THISCOMPONENT, resourceName, resourceType);
       HRESULT hr = imageResHandle ? S_OK : E_FAIL;
       if (SUCCEEDED(hr))
       {
           // Load the resource.
           imageResDataHandle = LoadResource(HINST_THISCOMPONENT, imageResHandle);
   
           hr = imageResDataHandle ? S_OK : E_FAIL;
       }
   

3. Lock the resource and calculate the image's size.

   C++

       if (SUCCEEDED(hr))
       {
           // Lock it to get a system memory pointer.
           pImageFile = LockResource(imageResDataHandle);
   
           hr = pImageFile ? S_OK : E_FAIL;
       }
       if (SUCCEEDED(hr))
       {
           // Calculate the size.
           imageFileSize = SizeofResource(HINST_THISCOMPONENT, imageResHandle);
   
           hr = imageFileSize ? S_OK : E_FAIL;
   
       }
   

4. Use the IWICImagingFactory::CreateStream method to create an IWICStream object.

   C++

       if (SUCCEEDED(hr))
       {
             // Create a WIC stream to map onto the memory.
           hr = pIWICFactory->CreateStream(&pStream);
       }
       if (SUCCEEDED(hr))
       {
           // Initialize the stream with the memory pointer and size.
           hr = pStream->InitializeFromMemory(
               reinterpret_cast<BYTE*>(pImageFile),
               imageFileSize
               );
       }
   

5. Use the IWICImagingFactory::CreateDecoderFromStream method to create an IWICBitmapDecoder.

   C++

       if (SUCCEEDED(hr))
       {
           // Create a decoder for the stream.
           hr = pIWICFactory->CreateDecoderFromStream(
               pStream,
               NULL,
               WICDecodeMetadataCacheOnLoad,
               &pDecoder
               );
       }
   

6. Retrieve a frame from the image and store it in an IWICBitmapFrameDecode object.

   C++

       if (SUCCEEDED(hr))
       {
           // Create the initial frame.
           hr = pDecoder->GetFrame(0, &pSource);
       }
   

7. Before Direct2D can use the image, it must be converted to the 32bppPBGRA pixel format. To convert the image format, use the IWICImagingFactory::CreateFormatConverter method to create an IWICFormatConverter object, then use the IWICFormatConverter object's Initialize method to perform the conversion.

C++

        if (SUCCEEDED(hr))
        {
            // Convert the image format to 32bppPBGRA
            // (DXGI_FORMAT_B8G8R8A8_UNORM + D2D1_ALPHA_MODE_PREMULTIPLIED).
            hr = pIWICFactory->CreateFormatConverter(&pConverter);
        }

       if (SUCCEEDED(hr))
        {           
        hr = pConverter->Initialize(
            pSource,
            GUID_WICPixelFormat32bppPBGRA,
            WICBitmapDitherTypeNone,
            NULL,
            0.f,
            WICBitmapPaletteTypeMedianCut
            );

8. Finally, use the CreateBitmapFromWicBitmap method to create an ID2D1Bitmap object that can be drawn by a render target and used with other Direct2D objects.
   C++

       if (SUCCEEDED(hr))
       {
           //create a Direct2D bitmap from the WIC bitmap.
           hr = pRenderTarget->CreateBitmapFromWicBitmap(
               pConverter,
               NULL,
               ppBitmap
               );
   
       }
   
       SafeRelease(&pDecoder);
       SafeRelease(&pSource);
       SafeRelease(&pStream);
       SafeRelease(&pConverter);
       SafeRelease(&pScaler);
   
       return hr;
   }
   

Some code has been omitted from this example.

Related topics

How to Load a Bitmap from a File