GetBinaryTypeA function (winbase.h)
Determines whether a file is an executable (.exe) file, and if so, which subsystem runs the executable file.
Syntax
BOOL GetBinaryTypeA(
[in] LPCSTR lpApplicationName,
[out] LPDWORD lpBinaryType
);
Parameters
[in] lpApplicationName
The full path of the file whose executable type is to be determined.
By default, the name is limited to MAX_PATH characters. To extend this limit to 32,767 wide characters, prepend "\\?\" to the path. For more information, see Naming Files, Paths, and Namespaces.
Tip
Starting with Windows 10, Version 1607, you can opt-in to remove the MAX_PATH limitation without prepending "\\?\". See the "Maximum Path Length Limitation" section of Naming Files, Paths, and Namespaces for details.
[out] lpBinaryType
A pointer to a variable to receive information about the executable type of the file specified by lpApplicationName. The following constants are defined.
Return value
If the file is executable, the return value is nonzero. The function sets the variable pointed to by lpBinaryType to indicate the file's executable type.
If the file is not executable, or if the function fails, the return value is zero. To get extended error information, call GetLastError. If the file is a DLL, the last error code is ERROR_BAD_EXE_FORMAT.
Remarks
As an alternative, you can obtain the same information by calling the SHGetFileInfo function, passing the SHGFI_EXETYPE flag in the uFlags parameter.
Symbolic link behavior—If the path points to a symbolic link, the target file is used.
In Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012, this function is supported by the following technologies.
| Technology | Supported |
|---|---|
| Server Message Block (SMB) 3.0 protocol | Yes |
| SMB 3.0 Transparent Failover (TFO) | Yes |
| SMB 3.0 with Scale-out File Shares (SO) | Yes |
| Cluster Shared Volume File System (CsvFS) | Yes |
| Resilient File System (ReFS) | Yes |
Note
The winbase.h header defines GetBinaryType as an alias that automatically selects the ANSI or Unicode version of this function based on the definition of the UNICODE preprocessor constant. Mixing usage of the encoding-neutral alias with code that is not encoding-neutral can lead to mismatches that result in compilation or runtime errors. For more information, see Conventions for Function Prototypes.
Requirements
| Requirement | Value |
|---|---|
| Minimum supported client | Windows XP [desktop apps only] |
| Minimum supported server | Windows Server 2003 [desktop apps only] |
| Target Platform | Windows |
| Header | winbase.h (include Windows.h) |
| Library | Kernel32.lib |
| DLL | Kernel32.dll |