Win32 C/C++ Load Image from memory buffer

Question

I want to load an image (.bmp) file on a Win32 application, but I do not want to use the standard LoadBitmap/LoadImage from Windows API: I want it to load from a buffer that is already in memory. I can easily load a bitmap directly from a file and print it on the screen, but this issue is making me stuck.

What I'm looking for is a function that works like this:

HBITMAP LoadBitmapFromBuffer(char* buffer, int width, int height);

Answer 1

Try CreateBitmap():

HBITMAP LoadBitmapFromBuffer(char *buffer, int width, int height)
{
    return CreateBitmap(width, height, 1, 24, buffer);
}

Answer 2

No, but you can create a new bitmap the size of the current one in memory, and write your memory structure onto it.

You're looking for the CreateBitmap function. Set lpvBits to your data.