MFC Desktop Applications

The Microsoft Foundation Class (MFC) Library provides an object-oriented wrapper over much of the Win32 and COM APIs. Although it can be used to create very simple desktop applications, it is most useful when you need to develop more complex user interfaces with multiple controls. You can use MFC 11.0 to create applications with Office-style user interfaces.

The MFC Reference covers the classes, global functions, global variables, and macros that make up the Microsoft Foundation Class Library version 11.0.

The individual hierarchy charts included with each class are useful for locating base classes. The MFC Reference usually does not describe inherited member functions or inherited operators. For information on these functions, refer to the base classes depicted in the hierarchy diagrams.

The documentation for each class includes a class overview, a member summary by category, and topics for the member functions, overloaded operators, and data members.

Public and protected class members are documented only when they are normally used in application programs or derived classes. See the class header files for a complete listing of class members.

Important

The MFC classes and their members cannot be used in applications that execute in the Windows Runtime.

MFC libraries (DLLs) for multibyte character encoding (MBCS) are no longer included in Visual Studio, but are available as a Visual Studio add-on. For more information, see MFC MBCS DLL Add-on.

In This Section

• Hierarchy Chart
  Visually details the class relationships in the class library.

• Class Library Overview
  Lists the classes in the MFC Library according to category.

• Walkthroughs (MFC)
  Contains articles that walk you through various tasks associated with MFC library features.

• MFC Technical Notes
  Provides links to specialized topics, written by the MFC development team, on the class library.

• Customization for MFC
  Provides some tips for customizing your MFC application.

• MFC Classes
  Provides links to and header file information for the MFC classes.

• Internal Classes
  Used internally in MFC. For completeness, this section describes these internal classes, but they are not intended to be used directly in your code.

• MFC Macros and Globals
  Provides links to the macros and global functions in the MFC Library.

• Structures, Styles, Callbacks, and Message Maps
  Provides links to the structures, styles, callbacks, and message maps used by the MFC Library.

Related Sections

• Hierarchy Chart Categories
  Describes the MFC hierarchy chart by category.

• ATL/MFC Shared Classes
  Provides links to classes that are shared between MFC and ATL.

• MFC Samples
  Provides links to samples that demonstrate how to use MFC.

• Visual C++ Libraries
  Provides links to the various libraries provided with Visual C++, including ATL, MFC, OLE DB Templates, the C run-time library, and the Standard C++ Library.

• Debugging in Visual Studio
  Provides links to using the Visual Studio debugger to correct logic errors in your application or stored procedures.