I have a file format I need to be able to show in explorer thumbnails. Since the target system is windows XP, the Vista PreviewHandler API will not be suitable. Ill be using c++.
How would I do it?
You'll need to register a shell extension for your file type. The extension contains code that extracts/generates the thumbnail by implementing the IExtractImage interface.
See: IExtractImage Interface on MSDN
https://github.com/reliak/moonpdf/tree/master/ext/sumatra/src/previewer is perfect example.
To build both x86 and x64 versions of DLL I use VS 2010 with SP1 along with Win7 x64 SDK (for <thumbcache.h>) installed on Windows 7 x64. Builded DLLs works fine on Win7 and Win10 of either bitness.
Also don't forget /MD linker flag to avoid necessity to install Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package (x86) on WinXP.
Next lines may be added to "targetver.h" to avoid import and using of new functions from newer versions of Windows system DLLs (say, there is no RegDeleteTreeW in WinXP's advapi.dll):
#define WINVER 0x0501
#define _WIN32_WINNT 0x0501
#include <winsdkver.h>
#include <SDKDDKVer.h>
Additionally it has implementation of previewer for some file formats, but related interfaces can be completely omitted in your implementation.
Related
I would like to use Visual Studio 2019 to enjoy the latest C++ additions, but targeting Windows 7.
I created a Windows C++ application using the VS 2019 wizard (running on Windows 10).
A targetver.h file is created by the wizard, with the following content:
#pragma once
// // Including SDKDDKVer.h defines the highest available Windows platform.
// If you wish to build your application for a previous Windows platform, include WinSDKVer.h and
// set the _WIN32_WINNT macro to the platform you wish to support before including SDKDDKVer.h.
#include <SDKDDKVer.h>
I followed the instructions in the comment lines, and added the following lines intargetver.h (before the #include <SDKDDKVer.h> line):
// Target Windows 7 SP1
#include <WinSDKVer.h>
#define _WIN32_WINNT 0x0601
To test that, in the program's main function I invoked an API (PathCchAppend) that is not supported in Windows 7.
The program builds fine (I statically link the CRT), and runs fine in Windows 10.
The same program fails when executed in Windows 7, showing the following error message:
Now, the program should have not compiled at all, because I specified the Windows 7 target, and the aforementioned API is not available on Windows 7.
Is this a bug in the Windows SDK?
Is it possible to target Windows 7 using VS 2019 and the Windows 10 SDK, getting errors during the build process when an API or structure that is not supported in Windows 7 is used in the code, and how?
VS 2019's toolset and the latest Windows 10 SDK support targeting Windows 7 Service Pack 1.
You have already configured the Windows headers in the Windows 10 SDK properly:
#include <winsdkver.h>
#define _WIN32_WINNT 0x0601
#include <sdkddkver.h>
You can still call APIs that are not supported by Windows 7 in this mode, which is why calling PathCchAppend builds, links, and fails at runtime.
The problem you are seeing may also be related to the Universal C/C++ Runtime not being on your target machine. Install the x86 and/or x64 native version on your target test machine.
See Microsoft Docs.
I have a c++ project that compiles well under Visual Studio 2013.
Today I installed Visual Studio 2017 Professional Edition, then there's a new setting in project settings > General called "Windows SDK Version", by default is 10.0.16299.0. Since I'm compiling windows desktop programs for targeting Windows 7 systems, I changed it to 8.1, is this correct?
Generally speaking, a Windows SDK supports its "main" version and also the previous ones, but you need to specify what Windows version your program will need. In fact, you're better off doing so or else you can inadvertently use features not available in the version you want to support.
Given an SDK, you indicate which older Windows version to target by defining the WINVER and _WIN32_WINNT macros somewhere in your project files or in the C/C++ Preprocessor project settings in Visual Studio.
For example, the following definitions target Windows 7:
#define WINVER 0x0601
#define _WIN32_WINNT 0x0601
For more information, see Using the Windows Headers and Modifying WINVER and _WIN32_WINNT
Indeed I raised this issue because my freshly installed Visual Studio could not build the VM because SDK 16299 is now indeed the default. It's mentioned here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Windows_SDK.
.
Also MS does not make finding older SDK's very easy. You have to click through to another page all the way on the end of this page:
https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/windows-10-sdk
Even though I googled on "Microsoft Windows SDK 15063".
.
So all-in-all it's now a small chore for newbies to get up and running on the VM. To start, I think it should be made as easy as possible. (Complexity will come soon after that :)).
.
PS I'm not sure about Windows 7 compatibility. But the current VM SDK is also listed as being for Windows 10.
I am using Visual Studio Community 2015 and I wrote some simple Win32 demo application which should download file from internet and execute two HTTP GET requests.
I am using functions like InternetOpenA, InternetConnectA, HttpOpenRequestA, URLDownloadToFile, etc.
Only thing that I have changed in settings is Platform Toolset to Visual Studio 2013 (v120) and my targetver.h file looks like this:
#pragma once
// Including SDKDDKVer.h defines the highest available Windows platform.
// If you wish to build your application for a previous Windows platform, include WinSDKVer.h and
// set the _WIN32_WINNT macro to the platform you wish to support before including SDKDDKVer.h.
#include <WinSDKVer.h>
#define WINVER 0x0600
#define _WIN32_WINNT 0x0600
#include <SDKDDKVer.h>
However, it runs on my Windows 10 computer, but it does not run on windows 7. It says: Missing MSVCR120.dll file. I can install appropriate C++ Redistributables but that is not solution that I need.
Is there any other options I need to include when I compile so I can avoid this error?
To avoid your application needing a separate runtime DLL, in the project settings, look under:
C/C++ > Code Generation > Runtime Library
and choose multi-threaded, rather than multi-threaded DLL.
You do not need to change the platform toolset.
In my project, that I compile with VS 2017 and want to run all the way down to Vista, I do the same as you, but without the first #include <WinSDKVer.h>. I just set the _WIN32_WINNT macro to 0x0600 and so far it's working fine.
I target the Windows 8.1 SDK, and use MFC, if that helps.
I've used dependency walker in the past to diagnose dll dependencies. Hopefully it's something silly like the 32-bit or 64-bit runtimes being missing.
As keith recommended in his answer, you can also try static linking the vc runtime (/MT[d] under C++/Code generation/Runtime Library) so that it doesn't need to load the runtime as a dll. Note that this is not the recommended option, since the VC runtime cannot be patched by Windows Update if it's burned into your executible.
So I wanted to try using DirectXTK's spritefont class and after including all of the needed files I end up with an error poping up as the program is about to start, telling me that The procedure entrypoint CreateFile2 could not be located in the kernel32.dll. Now I have searched around for the problem and from what I can tell it seems the directxtk is trying to use windows 8 specific things (or possibly 8.1 I guess) while I am using windows 7. The general fix that people seem to suggest is to change what kind of version is used by defining
#define WINVER 0x0601
#define _WIN32_WINNT 0x601
to make it use the windows 7 version. I put those defines in a header file as msdn says, but I still get the same error. If it matters I am coding it in c++ in visual studio 2013.
The DirectX Tool Kit supports a broad array of Microsoft platforms and OS configurations, so the first step is to make sure you pick the correct VCXPROJ and/or NuGet package for your intended project and Visual C++ compiler edition.
For Windows desktop applications using VS 2013, you should use:
DirectXTK_Desktop_2013.vcxproj
-or- NuGet package directxtk_desktop_2013
The coding techniques used in the library are covered in great detail in this article Dual-use Coding Techniques for Games.
The primary control used throughout the code-base is the Windows OS target version which is set by _WIN32_WINNT as per MSDN. With the Windows 8.1 SDK (included with VS 2013) the SDK will default to using _WIN32_WINNT=0x0603 / _WIN32_WINNT=_WIN32_WINNT_WINBLUE which means to build for a Windows 8.1 or later OS. This is why the code uses CreateFile2 which is required for the code to be usable for Windows 8.x Store, Windows phone 8.x, or Windows 10 UWP.
If, however, you use the Windows desktop projects, they build with _WIN32_WINNT=0x0600 / _WIN32_WINNT=_WIN32_WINNT_VISTA and the library will make use of the APIs that work on Windows Vista SP2+KB971644 (needed for Direct3D 11 and Windows 7.
In the Direct3D Win32 Game Visual Studio template, I set this value in pch.h before including any other headers.
#include <WinSDKVer.h>
#define _WIN32_WINNT 0x0600
#include <SDKDDKVer.h>
The CreateFile2 reference comes from https://github.com/microsoft/DirectXTK/blob/master/Src/LoaderHelpers.h here:
#if (_WIN32_WINNT >= _WIN32_WINNT_WIN8)
ScopedHandle hFile(safe_handle(CreateFile2(fileName,
GENERIC_READ,
FILE_SHARE_READ,
OPEN_EXISTING,
nullptr)));
#else
ScopedHandle hFile(safe_handle(CreateFileW(fileName,
GENERIC_READ,
FILE_SHARE_READ,
nullptr,
OPEN_EXISTING,
FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL,
nullptr)));
#endif
So if the header is compiled with _WIN32_WINNT <= 0x0601, it should not use CreateFile2. How did you try to override it? I used the VS "Preprocessor Definitions" field and was able to force the else path. I recommend you double check your override.
Ok, so I'm using Visual Studio 2012 in Windows 7 x64 for programming and compiling. My application works fine there, but when I try to execute it from a Windows XP SP3 Virtual Machine, I get "xxxx.exe is not a valid win32 application" right away.
The application is being compiled with static linking, that is, with /MT. I have set _WIN32_WINNT to 0x0501 in targetver.exe; the configuration manager is set to Win32 and the target machine in the Linker advanced options is set to MACHINEX86.
My targetver.h looks like this:
#include <winsdkver.h>
#define _WIN32_WINNT 0x0501
#define WINVER 0x0501
#define NTDDI_VERSION 0x0501
#include <SDKDDKVer.h>
I also tried compiling with /MD and installing .NET Framework, but that didn't help either.
I'm clueless, and I could really use some help as I need to have it working for Windows XP.
VC++ 2012 RTM did not support Windows XP – that support came later in 2012 in Visual Studio 2012 Update 1.
The CTP of Windows XP targeting with VC++ 2012 could be installed, but you would have to link the CRT statically in order to deploy. See this blog article for more information.
Visual Studio 2012 Update 1 added official support for running applications built with VC++ 2012 on Windows XP as well as the ability to link the CRT dynamically.
Download link
Blog article containing additional information
Two things should be done:
Configuration Properties → General page, change Platform Toolset to: Visual Studio 2012 - Windows XP (v110_xp);
Menu Linker → System. Change Subsystem to: Console/Windows.
A detailed explanation is here: http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/linking-applications-using-visual-studio-2012-to-run-on-windows-xp
When you generate the EXE file, the version for 32-bit will be in the project folder bin\x86\Release.