CreateMetaFile

CreateMetaFile

The CreateMetaFile function creates a device context for a Windows-format metafile.

This function is provided for compatibility with earlier 16-bit versions of Microsoft Windows. Win32-based applications should use the CreateEnhMetaFile function.

HDC CreateMetaFile(

LPCTSTR lpszFile	// pointer to filename string
);

Parameters

lpszFile

Points to the filename for the Windows-format metafile to be created. If this parameter is NULL, the Windows-format metafile is memory based and its contents are lost when it is deleted by using the DeleteMetaFile function.

Return Values

If the function succeeds, the return value is a handle to the device context for the Windows-format metafile.

If the function fails, the return value is NULL.

Remarks

Where text arguments must use Unicode characters, use the CreateMetaFile function as a wide-character function. Where text arguments must use characters from the Windows 3.x character set, use this function as an ANSI function.

CreateMetaFile is a Windows-format metafile function. This function supports only applications designed for Microsoft Windows version 3.x. It does not record or play back the new Win32 graphics device interface (GDI) functions such as PolyBezier.

The device context created by this function can be used to record GDI output functions in a Windows-format metafile. It cannot be used with GDI query functions such as GetTextColor. When the device context is used with a GDI output function, the return value of that function becomes TRUE if the function is recorded and FALSE otherwise. When an object is selected by using the SelectObject function, only a copy of the object is recorded. The object still belongs to the application.

To create a scalable Windows-format metafile, record the graphics output in the MM_ANISOTROPIC mapping mode. The file cannot contain functions that modify the viewport origin and extents, nor can it contain device-dependent functions such as the SelectClipRgn function. Once created, the Windows metafile can be scaled and rendered to any output device-format by defining the viewport origin and extents of the picture before playing it.