How to use the Windows API in MinGW?

Question

How to use the Windows API in MinGW?

Solution 1

Whenever I've done this, I just

#include <windows.h>

and start coding. MinGW comes with a windows.h file so you don't need to do anything extra.

Solution 2

I occasionally use the Windows API for Qt apps that I build using Qt Creator/MinGW - I just #include the appropriate Windows SDK header (the headers come with MinGW) and it just works. However, you may need to #define a few things in order that some API calls are exposed. For example, I recently needed to call SHGetSpecialFolderPath (found in shlobj.h) but needed to define _WIN32_IE to 0x0400 first.

Solution 3

In case if you installed MinGW as a part of MSYS on Windows then you can install Windows.h and other Win-API headers through following command inside MSYS shell:

pacman -S msys2-w32api-headers msys2-w32api-runtime

then header is located in

c:/MSYS_PATH/usr/include/w32api/windows.h

also you can search any package name (or sub-name) through e.g.

pacman -Ss w32api

---

If you're on Linux then Windows.h can be installed through

sudo apt install mingw-w64-common

then header is located here

/usr/share/mingw-w64/include/windows.h

you may probably need to include compiler's option

-I/usr/share/mingw-w64/include/

Comments

[Andrejs Cainikovs]

It is wrong to tell that MinGW comes with windows.h. People like me, who prefers copying latest packages and building MinGW by yourself (not using installer), should copy w32api package from MinGW download site.

[jondinham]

my mingw has that header file, but it fails to link

[Tanz87]

The need to #define _WIN32_IE is described here.