Click here to Skip to main content
15,867,686 members
Articles / Programming Languages / C++
Article

VC6 with XP look

Rate me:
Please Sign up or sign in to vote.
4.26/5 (35 votes)
22 Dec 20021 min read 142.9K   1.6K   32   30
How to make VC6 look a little more XP

Sample Image - VC-2K.jpg

Introduction

By default Microsoft Visual C++ V6 when running under Windows XP manages a half-hearted XP look. In theory it shouldn't really have any XP look, but somehow bits seem to acquire it by magic.

So, I decided if I could make all (or most) of VC appear in the new look. And overall, I have. Note the correct scrollbars, search combobox, and dialog box controls

VC WinXP

As many of you will know, the way to make a program XP aware is to include a manifest resource in each .EXE or .DLL, but another way to achieve this is merely to add a manifest file to the same directory as the program (or DLL) named exactly the same as the file, but with .manifest appended to it.

e.g.
	Program Filename		Manifest Filename
	----------------		----------------------
	myprogram.exe		myprogram.exe.manifest
	mysupport.dll		mysupport.dll.manifest

The manifest file I have used is fairly standard:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?> 
<assembly 
   xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1" 
   manifestVersion="1.0">
	<assemblyIdentity 
    processorArchitecture="x86" 
    version="5.1.0.0"
    type="win32"
    name="test.exe"/>
    <description>Test Application</description>
    <dependency>
    <dependentAssembly>
    <assemblyIdentity
         type="win32"
         name="Microsoft.Windows.Common-Controls"
         version="6.0.0.0"
         publicKeyToken="6595b64144ccf1df"
         language="*"
         processorArchitecture="x86"/>
    </dependentAssembly>
    </dependency>
</assembly>

The only thing left to do is explain how to make it work!

Download the VC-XP_src.zip file (at the top of the page) and extract it to:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\Common\MSDev98\Bin
of course you may need to change this if you didn't install VC to the default directory/drive. Then, the next time you run VC (MSDEV.EXE), you will get the new look.

Of course, this doesn't actually give any extra features or benefits, it just looks nicer.

License

This article has no explicit license attached to it but may contain usage terms in the article text or the download files themselves. If in doubt please contact the author via the discussion board below.

A list of licenses authors might use can be found here


Written By
Web Developer
United Kingdom United Kingdom
This member has not yet provided a Biography. Assume it's interesting and varied, and probably something to do with programming.

Comments and Discussions

 
GeneralXP look for VC++ projects Pin
ibrahim_8429-Apr-08 19:35
ibrahim_8429-Apr-08 19:35 
QuestionIt's requiered Windows XP? Pin
accarvajal22-Jul-04 12:08
accarvajal22-Jul-04 12:08 
AnswerRe: It's requiered Windows XP? Pin
Chanwoo23-Jul-04 15:59
Chanwoo23-Jul-04 15:59 
GeneralRichEdit Trouble Pin
wswartzendruber26-Oct-03 13:49
wswartzendruber26-Oct-03 13:49 
GeneralMistake Pin
wswartzendruber26-Oct-03 14:03
wswartzendruber26-Oct-03 14:03 
GeneralRe: Mistake Pin
Anonymous26-Oct-03 14:31
Anonymous26-Oct-03 14:31 
GeneralRe: Mistake Pin
wswartzendruber26-Oct-03 22:42
wswartzendruber26-Oct-03 22:42 
GeneralRe: Mistake Pin
Sreekanth Muralidharan21-Dec-05 1:49
Sreekanth Muralidharan21-Dec-05 1:49 
Generalnot 100% relevant but, Pin
sharlila26-Jun-03 8:40
sharlila26-Jun-03 8:40 
GeneralSigh Pin
LordDelacroix12-Mar-03 8:35
LordDelacroix12-Mar-03 8:35 
GeneralRe: Sigh Pin
soundman3212-Mar-03 21:26
soundman3212-Mar-03 21:26 
GeneralNo Luck on my side Pin
junni30-Dec-02 19:13
junni30-Dec-02 19:13 
GeneralRe: No Luck on my side Pin
James T. Johnson30-Dec-02 19:27
James T. Johnson30-Dec-02 19:27 
GeneralVC6 can't debug static variable on Windows XP Pin
Alan Wen24-Dec-02 20:13
Alan Wen24-Dec-02 20:13 
GeneralRe: VC6 can't debug static variable on Windows XP Pin
Neville Franks24-Dec-02 21:00
Neville Franks24-Dec-02 21:00 
GeneralRe: VC6 can't debug static variable on Windows XP Pin
Alan Wen24-Dec-02 21:26
Alan Wen24-Dec-02 21:26 
I have posted this message on C++ Message Board, but no reponse. Maybe most people are using VC7 with XP now.

People reading this article are using VC6 with XP, right? This is why I post my message here, sorry to make you confusing, but I do like to get an answer.

I do use the same installation option on both OS. Everything works fine, except debugging on static variables. If you do not believe, just make a simple console application:

#include <stdio.h>
void main(void)
{
static int i = 0;

i = 100;

printf ("%d", i);
}

This code works fine, but you can't watch the value of i by VC IDE. Frown | :-(

I have also test this code on my friends PC, it is the same result.

Alan Wen
GeneralRe: VC6 can't debug static variable on Windows XP Pin
10-Jun-04 12:52
suss10-Jun-04 12:52 
GeneralRe: VC6 can't debug static variable on Windows XP Pin
Alan Wen13-Jun-04 15:26
Alan Wen13-Jun-04 15:26 
GeneralRe: VC6 can't debug static variable on Windows XP Pin
ehaerim7-Sep-09 10:59
ehaerim7-Sep-09 10:59 
GeneralRe: VC6 can't debug static variable on Windows XP Pin
Alan Wen7-Sep-09 15:34
Alan Wen7-Sep-09 15:34 
GeneralRe: VC6 can't debug static variable on Windows XP Pin
ehaerim7-Sep-09 21:26
ehaerim7-Sep-09 21:26 
GeneralRe: VC6 can't debug static variable on Windows XP Pin
Alan Wen8-Sep-09 13:39
Alan Wen8-Sep-09 13:39 
GeneralRe: VC6 can't debug static variable on Windows XP Pin
Alan Balkany16-Jun-04 4:02
Alan Balkany16-Jun-04 4:02 
GeneralExtremely Cool Pin
Chris Coble23-Dec-02 10:48
Chris Coble23-Dec-02 10:48 
Generalexactly what I did Pin
Paolo Messina23-Dec-02 7:33
professionalPaolo Messina23-Dec-02 7:33 

General General    News News    Suggestion Suggestion    Question Question    Bug Bug    Answer Answer    Joke Joke    Praise Praise    Rant Rant    Admin Admin   

Use Ctrl+Left/Right to switch messages, Ctrl+Up/Down to switch threads, Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right to switch pages.