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Creating a New Bitmap or Other Image

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You can create a new image (bitmap, icon, cursor, or toolbar), then use the Image editor to customize its appearance. You can also create a new bitmap patterned after a template.

To add a new image resource to an unmanaged C++ project

  1. In Resource View, right-click your .rc file, then choose Insert Resource from the shortcut menu. (If you already have an existing image resource in your .rc file, such as a cursor, you can simply right-click the Cursor folder and select Insert Cursor from the shortcut menu.)

    Note

    Note   If your project doesn't already contain an .rc file, please see Creating a New Resource Script File.

  2. In the Insert Resource dialog box, select the type of image resource you'd like to create (Bitmap, for example) then click New.

    If a plus sign (+) appears next to the image resource type in the Insert Resource dialog box, it means that toolbar templates are available. Click the plus sign to expand the list of templates, select a template, and click New.

To add a new image resource to a project in a .NET programming language

  1. In Solution Explorer, right-click the project folder (for example, WindowsApplication1).

  2. From the shortcut menu, click Add, then choose Add New Item.

  3. In the Categories pane, expand the Local Project Items folder, then choose Resources.

  4. In the Templates pane, choose the resource type you'd like to add to your project.

    The resource is added to your project in Solution Explorer and the resource opens in the Image editor. You can now use all the tools available in the Image editor to modify your image. For more information on adding images to a managed project, see Loading a Picture at Design Time.

    Note

    Any managed resources you want to edit must be linked resources. The Visual Studio resource editors do not support editing embedded resources. For more information, see Creating Resource Files in the .NET Framework Developer's Guide.

For information on adding resources to managed projects, please see Resources in Applications in the .NET Framework Developer's Guide. For information on manually adding resource files to managed projects, accessing resources, displaying static resources, and assigning resources strings to properties, see Walkthrough: Localizing Windows Forms and Walkthrough: Using Resources for Localization with ASP.NET.

Requirements

None

See Also

Tasks

Converting Bitmaps to Toolbars

Creating New Toolbars

Reference

Icons and Cursors: Image Resources for Display Devices

Editing Graphical Resources

Image Editor