Problems calling a char* var inside a rc file

[Nobody/Anonymous]

Cant i use a var as a text parameter when inside a .rc file? Im getting rc error when trying to do it like this:

ID_ABOUT DIALOG DISCARDABLE 200, 200, 200, 150 
STYLE DS_3DLOOK | DS_MODALFRAME | DS_CENTER | WS_POPUP | WS_VISIBLE | WS_CAPTION | WS_SYSMENU
CAPTION "About..."
FONT 8, "MS Sans Serif"
BEGIN
EDITTEXT (varAboutText) ID_ABOUTTEXT, 2, 14, 196, 115, ES_MULTILINE   //This is what im talking about.
DEFPUSHBUTTON "Ok", ID_ABOUTOK, 2, 134, 40, 14
PUSHBUTTON "Cancel", ID_ABOUTSITE, 158, 134, 40, 14
LTEXT "Thanks for using it, really :)", ID_LABELABOUTTEXT, 3, 3, 150, 10
END

[Nobody/Anonymous]

Hmmm... Looks very strange to me. RC files are only good for discribing what the dialog will look like, no more no less. As RC's get compiled into an own format (.res) and then linked to your app, you can't simply add a char* or whatever in there. Leave this (varAboutText) out, fill in "" and compile it with windres. Afterwards in your actual .c or .cpp source send the edit a message for setting or changing it's text ( SetDlgItemText(hwnd, ID_ABOUTTEXT, "I want this text displayed..."); ). This should do the trick. Using MFC you could alter the text by simply asigning a variable a new value, but using plain C or CPP this won't work.

Hope this helps...
Bye