C# Signature:

[DllImport("shell32.dll")]
static extern IntPtr SHGetFileInfo(string pszPath, uint dwFileAttributes,
   out SHFILEINFO psfi, uint cbFileInfo, uint uFlags);

User-Defined Types:

None.

Notes:

None.

Tips & Tricks:

Please add some!

Sample Code:

    //
    // From http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=uMD%23VHmqBHA.2368%40tkmsftngp03&rnum=4
    //

    using System;
    using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
    using System.Drawing;

    /// <summary>
    /// Summary description for ExtractIcon.
    /// </summary>
    public class ExtractIcon
    {
    [DllImport("Shell32.dll")]
    private static extern int  SHGetFileInfo
    (
        string pszPath,
        uint dwFileAttributes,
        out SHFILEINFO psfi,
        uint cbfileInfo,
        SHGFI uFlags
    );

    [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
    private struct SHFILEINFO
    {
        public SHFILEINFO(bool b)
        {
        hIcon=IntPtr.Zero;
        iIcon=0;
        dwAttributes=0;
        szDisplayName="";
        szTypeName="";
        }

        public IntPtr hIcon;
        public int iIcon;
        public uint dwAttributes;
        [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValTStr, SizeConst=260)]
        public string szDisplayName;
        [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValTStr, SizeConst=80)]
        public string szTypeName;
    };

    private ExtractIcon()
    {
    }

    private enum SHGFI
    {
        SmallIcon       = 0x00000001,
        LargeIcon       = 0x00000000,
        Icon        = 0x00000100,
        DisplayName     = 0x00000200,
        Typename        = 0x00000400,
        SysIconIndex    = 0x00004000,
        UseFileAttributes   = 0x00000010
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Get the associated Icon for a file or application, this method always returns
    /// an icon.  If the strPath is invalid or there is no idonc the default icon is returned
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="strPath">full path to the file</param>
    /// <param name="bSmall">if true, the 16x16 icon is returned otherwise the 32x32</param>
    /// <returns></returns>
    public static Icon GetIcon(string strPath, bool bSmall)
    {
        SHFILEINFO info = new SHFILEINFO(true);
        int cbFileInfo = Marshal.SizeOf(info);
        SHGFI flags;
        if (bSmall)
        flags = SHGFI.Icon|SHGFI.SmallIcon|SHGFI.UseFileAttributes;
        else
        flags = SHGFI.Icon|SHGFI.LargeIcon|SHGFI.UseFileAttributes;

        SHGetFileInfo(strPath, 256, out info,(uint)cbFileInfo, flags);
        return Icon.FromHandle(info.hIcon);
    }
    }

Alternative Managed API #1:

C# code to copy and paste starts here!

    /// <summary>
    /// Summary description for ShellIcon.  Get a small or large Icon with an easy C# function call
    /// that returns a 32x32 or 16x16 System.Drawing.Icon depending on which function you call
    /// either GetSmallIcon(string fileName) or GetLargeIcon(string fileName)
    /// </summary>
    public class ShellIcon
    {
        [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
        public struct SHFILEINFO
        {
            public IntPtr hIcon;
            public IntPtr iIcon;
            public uint dwAttributes;
            [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValTStr, SizeConst = 260)]
            public string szDisplayName;
            [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValTStr, SizeConst = 80)]
            public string szTypeName;
        };

        class Win32
        {
            public const uint SHGFI_ICON = 0x100;
            public const uint SHGFI_LARGEICON = 0x0; // 'Large icon
            public const uint SHGFI_SMALLICON = 0x1; // 'Small icon

            [DllImport("shell32.dll")]
            public static extern IntPtr SHGetFileInfo(string pszPath, uint dwFileAttributes, ref SHFILEINFO psfi, uint cbSizeFileInfo, uint uFlags);
        }

        public ShellIcon()
        {
            //
            // TODO: Add constructor logic here
            //
        }

        public static Icon GetSmallIcon(string fileName)
        {
            IntPtr hImgSmall; //the handle to the system image list
            SHFILEINFO shinfo = new SHFILEINFO();

            //Use this to get the small Icon
            hImgSmall = Win32.SHGetFileInfo(fileName, 0, ref shinfo,(uint)Marshal.SizeOf(shinfo),Win32.SHGFI_ICON | Win32.SHGFI_SMALLICON);

            //The icon is returned in the hIcon member of the shinfo struct
            return System.Drawing.Icon.FromHandle(shinfo.hIcon);        
        }

        public static Icon GetLargeIcon(string fileName)
        {
            IntPtr hImgLarge; //the handle to the system image list
            SHFILEINFO shinfo = new SHFILEINFO();

            //Use this to get the large Icon
            hImgLarge = Win32.SHGetFileInfo(fileName, 0, ref shinfo, (uint)Marshal.SizeOf(shinfo), Win32.SHGFI_ICON | Win32.SHGFI_LARGEICON);

            //The icon is returned in the hIcon member of the shinfo struct
            return System.Drawing.Icon.FromHandle(shinfo.hIcon);        
        }
    }

This is where the C# code to copy and paste ends!

Tip for using above code

    If you're using a "System.Windows.Forms.ImageList" to store your images it is helpful to use below settings for icon transparency

    //this setting makes the ImageList store the images in 32bit colors which you need for alpha transparency settings
    yourImageList.ColorDepth = System.Windows.Forms.ColorDepth.Depth32Bit;

    //This stores the images at 16x16 use 32.32 for large icons
    yourImageList.ImageSize = new System.Drawing.Size(16, 16);

    //Set the transparent color of the ImageList
    yourImageList.TransparentColor = System.Drawing.Color.Transparent;

Good Luck and Happy Engineering!

Alternative Managed API:

Do you know one? Please contribute it!

Please edit this page!

Do you have...

• helpful tips or sample code to share for using this API in managed code?
• corrections to the existing content?
• variations of the signature you want to share?
• additional languages you want to include?

Select "Edit This Page" on the right hand toolbar and edit it! Or add new pages containing supporting types needed for this API (structures, delegates, and more).