Adding Bitmaps to Menus

This tip explains how to add bitmap pictures to menu items.

Declarations

Add the following code to the declarations section of a module:

Declare Function GetMenu Lib "user32" _
(ByVal hwnd As Long) As Long

Declare Function GetSubMenu Lib "user32" _
(ByVal hMenu As Long, ByVal nPos As Long) As Long

Declare Function GetMenuItemID Lib "user32" _
(ByVal hMenu As Long, ByVal nPos As Long) As Long

Declare Function SetMenuItemBitmaps Lib "user32" _
(ByVal hMenu As Long, ByVal nPosition As Long, _
ByVal wFlags As Long, ByVal hBitmapUnchecked As Long, _
ByVal hBitmapChecked As Long) As Long

Public Const MF_BITMAP = &H4&

Type MENUITEMINFO
    cbSize As Long
    fMask As Long
    fType As Long
    fState As Long
    wID As Long
    hSubMenu As Long
    hbmpChecked As Long
    hbmpUnchecked As Long
    dwItemData As Long
    dwTypeData As String
    cch As Long
End Type

Declare Function GetMenuItemCount Lib "user32" _
(ByVal hMenu As Long) As Long

Declare Function GetMenuItemInfo Lib "user32" _
Alias "GetMenuItemInfoA" (ByVal hMenu As Long, _
ByVal un As Long, ByVal b As Boolean, _
lpMenuItemInfo As MENUITEMINFO) As Boolean

Public Const MIIM_ID = &H2
Public Const MIIM_TYPE = &H10
Public Const MFT_STRING = &H0&

Code

• Add one form to the project.
• Add a picturebox (Autosize = True) with a bitmap (not an icon!!!), max. 13X13
• Add a commandbutton with following code:

Private Sub Command1_Click()

'Get the menuhandle of your app
hMenu& = GetMenu(Form1.hwnd)

'Get the handle of the first submenu (Hello)
hSubMenu& = GetSubMenu(hMenu&, 0)

'Get the menuId of the first entry (Bitmap)
hID& = GetMenuItemID(hSubMenu&, 0)

'Add the bitmap

SetMenuItemBitmaps hMenu&, hID&, MF_BITMAP, _
Picture1.Picture, _
Picture1.Picture
'You can add two bitmaps to a menuentry
'One for the checked and one for the unchecked
'state.

End Sub

• Run the Project and click the button.