Cannot open include file 'afxres.h' in VC2010 Express

Question

I'm trying to compile an old project using VS express 2010 but I get this error:

fatal error RC1015: cannot open include file 'afxres.h'. from this code

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//
// Generated from the TEXTINCLUDE 2 resource.
//
#include "afxres.h"

I have installed Windows SDK already, but without any success.

thanks!

Kirill V. Lyadvinsky · Accepted Answer · 2010-08-25T13:08:29.767

211

This header is a part of the MFC Library. VS Express edition doesn't contain MFC. If your project doesn't use MFC you can safely replace afxres.h with windows.h in your terrain2.rc.

edited Aug 25 '10 at 13:08

answered Aug 25 '10 at 13:03

Kirill V. Lyadvinsky

97,037
24
136
212

4

thanks, then i get the error: error RC2104: undefined keyword or key name: IDC_STATIC – clamp Aug 25 '10 at 13:16
@clamp: that sounds like a Common Control definition. try adding #include as well (and link your program to Comctl32.lib) – default Aug 25 '10 at 13:28
3

Otherwise IDC_STATIC is defined as -1, so define it yourself if that's the only problem remaining. – erikH Jun 26 '12 at 11:46
40

winres.h defines IDC_STATIC so you can likely just #include rather than afxres.h or windows.h. – Conrad Poelman Oct 20 '12 at 05:51

score 142 · Answer 2 · edited Jan 10 '23 at 14:43

142

Had the same problem . Fixed it by installing Microsoft Foundation Classes for C++.

Start
Change or remove program (type)
Microsoft Visual Studio
Modify
Select 'Microsoft Foundation Classes for C++'
Update

enter image description here

In in the Visual Studio Installer for VS 2022 this may be listed as an individual component: "C++ MFC for latest v143 build Tools (x86 & x64)", but you may need to adapt this for your platform and latest version available.

edited Jan 10 '23 at 14:43

Stephen Turner

7,125
4
51
68

answered Jul 23 '13 at 10:47

Colonel Panic

132,665
89
401
465

2

This should be marked as answer, all other are workarounds or hacks – MaKiPL Dec 15 '21 at 14:21

score 42 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 03 '13 at 17:22

42

Even I too faced similar issue,

fatal error RC1015: cannot open include file 'afxres.h'. from this code

Replacing afxres.h with Winresrc.h and declaring IDC_STATIC as -1 worked for me. (Using visual studio Premium 2012)

//#include "afxres.h"
#include "WinResrc.h"
#define IDC_STATIC  -1

answered Jul 03 '13 at 17:22

ravi.zombie

1,482
1
20
23

I _have_ MFC installed. The above hack just tells me that WinResrc.h is not found (I am using VS 2019 Community Edition) – flounder Jan 04 '23 at 06:27

score 16 · Answer 4 · answered Sep 12 '14 at 13:45

Alternatively you can create your own afxres.h:

#ifndef _AFXRES_H
#define _AFXRES_H
#if __GNUC__ >= 3
#pragma GCC system_header
#endif

#ifdef __cplusplus
extern "C" {
#endif

#ifndef _WINDOWS_H
#include <windows.h>
#endif

/* IDC_STATIC is documented in winuser.h, but not defined. */
#ifndef IDC_STATIC
#define IDC_STATIC (-1)
#endif

#ifdef __cplusplus
}
#endif
#endif

score 8 · Answer 5 · answered Oct 01 '12 at 12:20

8

You can also try replace afxres.h with WinResrc.h

answered Oct 01 '12 at 12:20

Irbis

11,537
6
39
68

I changed the file to windows.h and WinResrc.h and the message has changed in both cases to another messgaes stating : error RC2104: undefined keyword or key name: IDC_STATIC .. I am just guessing that this IDC_static is defined within th original afxres.h file, but how to resolve this new error ? – hashDefine Jun 27 '13 at 10:50

score 6 · Answer 6 · answered Jan 10 '15 at 14:05

6

managed to fix this by copying the below folder from another Visual Studio setup (non-express)

from C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 12.0\VC\atlmfc

to C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 11.0\VC\atlmfc

answered Jan 10 '15 at 14:05

Tiago Duarte

3,244
3
23
29

score 2 · Answer 7 · answered Jun 06 '15 at 19:55

2

a similar issue is for Visual studio 2015 RC. Sometimes it loses the ability to open RC: you double click but editor do not one menus and dialogs.

Right click on the file *.rc, it will open:

enter image description here

And change as following:

enter image description here

answered Jun 06 '15 at 19:55

ingconti

10,876
3
61
48

score 2 · Answer 8 · answered Jun 22 '22 at 23:38

I faced same issue on VS 2019. My solution was to install C++ MFC library from Individual Components tab. When you open Visual Studio go to Tools->GetToolsAndFeatures->IndividualComponents

Select and install:

MSVC v142 - VS 2019 C++ x64/x86 build tools (Latest)
C++ ATL for latest v142 build tools (x86 & x64)
C++ MFC for latest v142 build tools (x86 & x64)

score -1 · Answer 9 · answered Oct 07 '15 at 08:11

-1

Had similar issue but the message was shown when I tried to open a project solution. What worked for me was:

TOOLS -> Import and Export Settings...-> Reset all settings

answered Oct 07 '15 at 08:11

Olppah

790
1
10
21

Cannot open include file 'afxres.h' in VC2010 Express

9 Answers9

Linked