i don't use .rc files. the method i use is the only one i've found sufficiently documented. i own petzold but find 'programming windows' too windy and disparate to function as a reference, i simply cannot recall the contents of all 1200+ pages at once. my perception is that the method of the author is not intended to actually convey an understanding of the material either.

i resent that all win32 instructive material starts off building dialogs without using .rc and then switches to using them without fully documenting how to do things in the initial manner. borland fclt doesn't build them for you so i'd be at a greater loss attempting to use them.

it does seem to me that i've eliminated every variable as a discretisor, so i will have to address this at a greater scope (or simply aggregate all my params on one panel with a scroll bar).