WINDMC(1)

📦
version 2.47 · 6 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

🎀 NAME 🎀

windmc — she generates Windows message resources 💅 (she lives in the GNU Development Tools family, manual section 1, and yes she's that girl)

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

windmc [options] input-file

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

Okay so here's the vibe: windmc reads message definitions out of an input file (the .mc one) and translates them into a whole lil squad of output files. And those output files come in four delicious flavors:

  • "h" — a C header file holding all the message definitions. 🫶
  • "rc" — a resource file that the windres tool can compile. slay.
  • "bin" — one or more binary files carrying the resource data for a specific message language. 🔥
  • "dbg" — a C include file that maps message id's to their symbolic name. iconic.

The exact description of these different formats is available in documentation from Microsoft. (Not me gatekeeping — that's just where it lives. 💀)

When windmc converts from the "mc" format to the "bin" format, "rc", "h", and the optional "dbg", she is literally acting like the Windows Message Compiler. main character energy fr fr.

👑 OPTIONS 👑

  • -a, --ascii_in — says the input file you gave her is ASCII. This is the default behaviour, bestie, no cap.
  • -A, --ascii_out — says the messages inside the output "bin" files should be in ASCII format.
  • -b, --binprefix — says the "bin" filenames gotta be prefixed by the basename of the source file.
  • -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. (yes the docs really say "ocdepage", we don't fix typos in this house, we just vibe 🙈)
  • -d, --decimal_values — outputs the constants in the header file in decimal. Default is using hexadecimal output.
  • -e ext, --extension ext — the extension for the header file. The default is the .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 fave, honestly.
  • -m characters, --maxlength characters — tells windmc to generate a warning if the length of any message exceeds the number specified. she's just looking out for you 🫶
  • -n, --nullterminate — terminate message text in "bin" files by zero. By default they are terminated by CR/LF.
  • -o, --hresult_use — Not yet implemented. 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. (again. she said it twice. we respect it. 💀)
  • -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, queen behavior 💅
  • -v, --verbose — enable verbose mode. she will yap (affectionately).
  • -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. like, none. zero. nada. 🙈
  • @ 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. 🌀 (recursion, we love her)

🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

  • the Info entries for binutils.

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".

okay that's the whole thing, you ate that reading bestie 🫶💖 this was binutils-2.47, from 2026-09-12, page WINDMC(1) — go forth and generate those Windows message resources, periodt ✨👑

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