WINDMC(1)

📦
version 26.09 · 2 versions
, in nixpkgs unstable

💅 WINDMC(1) — GNU Development Tools 💅

okay bestie, buckle up, because this is the manpage for windmc (that's the manual name, right there at the top, in case you were wondering ✨) — and it is genuinely a little icon. it generates Windows message resources. that's the whole vibe. let's get into it. 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

windmc — generates Windows message resources 🦋

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

windmc [options] input-file

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

so windmc reads message definitions from an input file (the .mc file, iykyk) and translates them into a whole little set of output files. it's giving translator, it's giving multitasker.

the output files can be one of four kinds, and yes we're listing all of them:

  • "h" — a C header file containing the message definitions.
  • "rc" — a resource file compilable by the windres tool. slay.
  • "bin" — one or more binary files containing the resource data for a specific message language.
  • "dbg" — a C include file that maps message id's to their symbolic name.

the exact description of these different formats is available in documentation from Microsoft (not me, go ask them 💀).

when windmc converts from the "mc" format to the "bin" format, "rc", h, and optional dbg, it is acting like the Windows Message Compiler. literally the same gig, no cap.

🦋 OPTIONS 🦋

kay so here's every single flag, all 40-ish of them, nobody gets left out. 👑

  • -a, --ascii_in — tells it the input file you specified is ASCII. this is the default behaviour, so like... it's already doing this. but you can say it out loud. 💅
  • -A, --ascii_out — says the messages in the output "bin" files should be in ASCII format.
  • -b, --binprefix — says the "bin" filenames have to be prefixed by the basename of the source file. cute little name tag 🏷️
  • -c, --customflag — sets the customer bit in all message id's.
  • -C codepage, --codepage_in codepage — sets the default codepage used to convert the input file to UTF16. the default is ocdepage 1252.
  • -d, --decimal_values — outputs the constants in the header file in decimal. default is using hexadecimal output, so this switches it up.
  • -e ext, --extension ext — the extension for the header file. the default is .h extension.
  • -F target, --target target — specify the BFD format to use for a bin file as output. this is a BFD target name; you can use the --help option to see a list of supported targets. normally windmc will use the default format, which is the first one listed by the --help option. 👀
  • -h path, --headerdir path — the target directory of the generated header file. the default is the current directory.
  • -H, --help — displays a list of command-line options and then exits. your classic.
  • -m characters, --maxlength characters — instructs windmc to generate a warning if the length of any message exceeds the number specified. it's giving length check, it's giving concerned friend 🫶
  • -n, --nullterminate — terminate message text in "bin" files by zero. by default they are terminated by CR/LF.
  • -o, --hresult_use — not yet implemented, bestie 🙈 instructs "windmc" to generate an OLE2 header file, using HRESULT definitions. status codes are used if the flag is not specified.
  • -O codepage, --codepage_out codepage — sets the default codepage to be used to output text files. the default is ocdepage 1252.
  • -r path, --rcdir path — the target directory for the generated "rc" script and the generated "bin" files that the resource compiler script includes. the default is the current directory.
  • -u, --unicode_in — says the input file is UTF16.
  • -U, --unicode_out — says the messages in the output "bin" file should be in UTF16 format. this is the default behaviour, so again, she's already doing it. 💜
  • -v, --verbose — enable verbose mode. she will yap (helpfully).
  • -V, --version — prints the version number for windmc.
  • -x path, --xdgb path — the path of the "dbg" C include file that maps message id's to the symbolic name. no such file is generated without specifying the switch — so nothing happens unless you actually ask, fr fr.
  • @file — read command-line options from file. the options read are inserted in place of the original @file option. if file does not exist, or cannot be read, then the option will be treated literally, and not removed.

options in file are separated by whitespace. a whitespace character may be included in an option by surrounding the entire option in either single or double quotes. any character (including a backslash) may be included by prefixing the character to be included with a backslash. the file may itself contain additional @file options; any such options will be processed recursively. it's giving inception, it's giving turtles all the way down 🐢

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

the Info entries for binutils. go read 'em, they're iconic. ✨

Copyright (c) 1991-2026 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License". 🫶

mwah, that's the whole page 💋 — binutils-2.46.1, dated 1980-01-01, and that's your sign-off bestie, go compile something cute. 🧚‍♀️💖

📦 where this page comes from