How do I define version.txt (.exe metadata) on app.rc file (w64devkit)

General
1

I am learning C++ and the Win32 API using w64devkit. I want to set the metadata of the .exe and I think I have to embeed a version.txt file in the .exe, but without a category, like ICON or MANIFEST.

This is what I have so far:

1 MANIFEST "app.manifest"
1 ICON "app.ico"
version.txt   version.txt

Where something indicating the root of .rscr folder should go:
image
But it doesn’t work, because of a syntax error in windres.

This is what it produces without the syntax error:
image
And notepad.exe has this structure:
image
The point is that I want to place the version.txt on the “root” path of the .rsrc folder, but I don’t know how to indicate it in the app.rc file.

2

You’re on the right track, and your understanding of how windres works is solid, but there’s a limitation you’re running into: Windows resource files (.rc) don’t support placing a resource file at the “root” of .rsrc without a type. Every resource embedded in a Windows executable must be associated with a resource type (like ICON, MANIFEST, or a numeric/custom type).

Why Your version.txt version.txt Line Fails

In:

version.txt version.txt

You’re essentially saying: “Use the file version.txt with no specified type or ID.” — and that’s not valid syntax for windres. Every line needs a format like:

ID TYPE "filename"

What You Can Do Instead

You must assign a type to the resource. If you want to simulate a “root resource”, use a custom type and ID, like this:

1 MANIFEST "app.manifest"
1 ICON "app.ico"
1 "VERSION_TXT" "version.txt"

Or you can use a numeric type:

1 9999 "version.txt"

Here, 9999 is an arbitrary type ID. Then, when extracting or accessing it, you’d use that type.

:warning: There is no way to place a file at the root level of .rsrc in the way Windows Explorer may show for Notepad.exe. That display is a side effect of the PE viewer interpreting certain resource types or system structures — it’s not something you can manually assign using .rc syntax.

Recommendation

If your goal is to embed a version text for metadata, you might want to use a VERSIONINFO block, which is the standard for executable metadata. Example:

1 VERSIONINFO
FILEVERSION 1,0,0,0
PRODUCTVERSION 1,0,0,0
FILEOS 0x40004
FILETYPE 0x1
{
    BLOCK "StringFileInfo"
    {
        BLOCK "040904b0"
        {
            VALUE "FileDescription", "My C++ App"
            VALUE "FileVersion", "1.0.0.0"
            VALUE "InternalName", "facts.exe"
            VALUE "OriginalFilename", "facts.exe"
            VALUE "ProductName", "My Product"
            VALUE "ProductVersion", "1.0.0.0"
        }
    }
    BLOCK "VarFileInfo"
    {
        VALUE "Translation", 0x0409, 1200
    }
}

This is what Notepad and most Windows apps use — and what you’re probably seeing in your third image.