How to use a custom.dll in forms 6i

Question

Hi,
i have made a small dll using a icon-making software, that software has made a .dll of the icon I made in that software
Now i want to use that .dll in my forms 6i. (client/server)
the dll contains only one icon named 'Icon1'
would any one please tell me how can I call that icon in that .dll to view in my forms button at run time..
is this possible..??
just for clarification, for security reasons I am not using the .ico of that icon diect from hardisk in my button thats why i made a .dll of that so that the user may not be able copy my icon
thanks in advance,

Answer 1

Here is the doc
Doc ID:      Note:99824.1
Subject:      How to Display User-Defined Cursors and Icons in Forms
Type:      BULLETIN
Status:      PUBLISHED
     Content Type:      TEXT/X-HTML
Creation Date:      23-FEB-2000
Last Revision Date:      30-OCT-2002
PURPOSE
The purpose of this note is to explain how to display customized
cursors and icons in Forms 6.0 on Windows platform (32 bits).
Assumption is made that resources are stored in a DLL, which is
available in the path at runtime.
It is mandatory to store the cursor in a DLL to make it available
with Forms: .cur cursor files cannot be directly loaded from the
file system.
On the other hand, icons .cio files can directly be read from the
filesystem by Forms Runtime. However we will focus on icons which are
stored in a DLL.
The article is divided into two main parts:
- how to build a resource-only DLL with Visual C++ 5.0
- how to display the cursor and the icon in Forms 6.0
SCOPE & APPLICATION
The intended audience needs to have basic knowledge in Forms Builder
and also in Visual C++ (or any other Win32 compiler).
A typical environment is Forms 6.0, Visual C++ 5.0 and Windows NT.
WHAT IS A RESOURCE ?
A resource can be considered as some extra binary information that can
be added to an executable file. Windows resources are for example icons,
cursors, menus, dialog boxes, keyboard-accelerator tables and much more.
Resources are usually stored in a .rc file, which is compiled by the
resource compiler in order to provide a .res file. These compiled resources
can then be appended to a binary executable file or a DLL.
For instance, Visual C++ 5.0 includes a resource editor which allows you to
draw your icons and your cursors, and store them in a resource file.
Part I - BUILDING A RESOURCE-ONLY DLL
Consider the following setup:
- myicon.ico: icon file
- mycur.cur: cursor file
The objective of this section is to build a DLL called proj.dll which
contains both the icon and the cursor. This operation requires several steps.
Step 1: Create a project
In Visual C++, select menu File->New... In the dialog box, choose the Projects
tab and pick "Win32 Dynamic Link-Library". Fill the project name (e.g. Proj)
and the location (e.g. c:\MyProjects). Check 'Create new workspace', check
Win32 as target platform and click on OK.
This creates a directory c:\MyProjects\Proj, where necessary .rc and .cpp
files can be stored. Place the .ico and .cur files in this directory too.
Step 2: Add a resource file to the project
Create a proj.rc file, edit it and make sure it contains the following lines:
testcur CURSOR DISCARDABLE "mycur.cur"
testico ICON DISCARDABLE "myicon.ico"
This is the resource file. Using the Project->Add to Project->Files... menu,
select the proj.rc file and add it to the current project.
Step 3: Add a dummy C++ file to the project
Create a proj.cpp file, edit it and make sure it contains the following lines:
#include <windows.h>
extern "C"
BOOL WINAPI DllMain (HINSTANCE hInstance, DWORD dwReason, LPVOID)
     return 1;
This creates an entry-point in the DLL. This function does nothing but is mandatory
to have a DLL after the build of the project.
Add the proj.cpp file to the project as described in Step 2.
Step 4: Choose the target type
At this moment, you can choose if you need a 'DEBUG' or a 'RELEASE' flavour of
the DLL. As there is not much to debug in this DLL, the 'RELEASE' flavour is
recommended. Furthermore, it is much more compact.
Using the Build->Set Active Configuration... menu, choose the Proj - Win32 Release
as the active configuration.
Step 5: Build the DLL
Now, it is time to compile the resource file, compile the C++ file, link both
together and build the proj.dll DLL. This operation is performed by using the
Build->Rebuild All menu.
After a short time, you should see "Proj.dll - 0 error(s), 0 warning(s)" in
the Visual C++ message window. This means that the DLL was built successfully.
Step 6: Place the DLL in the appropriate directory
The proj.dll file is currently located under the c:\MyProjects\Proj\Release
directory. Copy it in an appropriate directory which is reachable in the
runtime environment path.
Part II - USING THE ICON AND CURSOR IN THE FORM
At this stage the DLL is created and can be used in the Form application.
Again, this is a multi-step procedure.
Step 1: Load the DLL in the Forms Runtime environment
Assuming the proj.dll DLL is placed in a directory pointed by the
PATH environment variable, below is the piece of PL/SQL code which loads
the DLL into the Forms Runtime environment. This code can be placed in the
WHEN-NEW-FORM-INSTANCE trigger for example:
declare
     hDLL     ORA_FFI.LIBHANDLETYPE;
begin break;
     --Preload the DLL so the cursor and Icons can be found.
     -- I'm assuming the DLL is in the path here
     hDLL := ORA_FFI.LOAD_LIBRARY(NULL,'proj.dll');
exception
     when ORA_FFI.FFI_ERROR then
          for i in 1..TOOL_ERR.NERRORS LOOP
               message(TOOL_ERR.MESSAGE(i));
          end LOOP;
end;
Step 2: Display the cursor stored in the DLL
Now, you may want to change the cursor when the user clicks on
a specific button. This is an example of code that could be set
in the WHEN-BUTTON-PRESSED trigger:
set_application_property(CURSOR_STYLE,'<proj>TESTCUR');
<proj> refers to the proj.dll. Please note the < and > signs
which are mandatory there. TESTCUR is the name of the cursor resource
as defined in the proj.rc file.
Step 3: Display the icon stored in the DLL
You may also want to change the icon of an iconic button after
some specific end-user action. The appropriate code for that is:
set_item_property('IBUTTON',ICON_NAME,'<proj>TESTICO');
IBUTTON is a PushButton, with the Iconic property set to Yes.
TESTICO is the name of the icon resource as defined in the proj.rc file.
Asim.