C++ Builder / Delphi 2010 application manifest template

Question

After googling so much that my head is spinning and a bunch of misleading and contradictory information, I've managed to compile the following minimum "template" for application manifest which is supposed to do define the following:

program version and name
that it does not require any special administrator privileges
that it is compatible with Windows Vista to Windows 8.1
that it is DPI aware

Is my manifest file sufficient for the above purpose and are there any mistakes I did, that I should be aware of? I am in particular puzzled by the xmlns namespace versions and the reason why they are different for parts of this manifest?

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<assembly manifestVersion="1.0" xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1" xmlns:asmv3="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v3">

    <assemblyIdentity type="win32"
                      name="Manufacturer.Division.ApplicationName"
                      version="1.2.3.4"
                      processorArchitecture="x86"
    />

    <trustInfo xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v2">
        <security>
            <requestedPrivileges>
                <requestedExecutionLevel level="asInvoker" uiAccess="false" />
            </requestedPrivileges>
        </security>
    </trustInfo>

    <compatibility xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:compatibility.v1">
        <application>
            <supportedOS Id="{e2011457-1546-43c5-a5fe-008deee3d3f0}"/>  <!-- The application supports Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008  -->
            <supportedOS Id="{35138b9a-5d96-4fbd-8e2d-a2440225f93a}"/>  <!-- The application supports Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2   -->
            <supportedOS Id="{4a2f28e3-53b9-4441-ba9c-d69d4a4a6e38}"/>  <!-- The application supports Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012      -->
            <supportedOS Id="{1f676c76-80e1-4239-95bb-83d0f6d0da78}"/>  <!-- The application supports Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 -->
        </application>
    </compatibility>

    <asmv3:application xmlns:asmv3="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v3">
        <asmv3:windowsSettings xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/SMI/2005/WindowsSettings">
            <dpiAware>true</dpiAware>
        </asmv3:windowsSettings>
    </asmv3:application>

    </assembly>

Edit: Here is my final manifest file template based on help here and further research for future googlers.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>

<assembly xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1" manifestVersion="1.0">

  <assemblyIdentity type="win32"
                    processorArchitecture="*"
                    version="1.2.3.4"
                    name="Manufacturer.Division.ApplicationName"
  />

  <description>My Application Description</description>

  <dependency>
    <dependentAssembly>
      <assemblyIdentity type="win32"
                        name="Microsoft.Windows.Common-Controls"
                        version="6.0.0.0"
                        processorArchitecture="*"
                        publicKeyToken="6595b64144ccf1df"
                        language="*"
      />
    </dependentAssembly>
  </dependency>

  <trustInfo xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v2">
    <security>
      <requestedPrivileges>
        <requestedExecutionLevel level="asInvoker" uiAccess="false" />
      </requestedPrivileges>
    </security>
  </trustInfo>

  <compatibility xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:compatibility.v1">
    <application>
      <supportedOS Id="{e2011457-1546-43c5-a5fe-008deee3d3f0}"/>  <!-- Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008  -->
      <supportedOS Id="{35138b9a-5d96-4fbd-8e2d-a2440225f93a}"/>  <!-- Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2   -->
      <supportedOS Id="{4a2f28e3-53b9-4441-ba9c-d69d4a4a6e38}"/>  <!-- Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012      -->
      <supportedOS Id="{1f676c76-80e1-4239-95bb-83d0f6d0da78}"/>  <!-- Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 -->
    </application>
  </compatibility>

  <application xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v3">
    <windowsSettings>
      <dpiAware xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/SMI/2005/WindowsSettings">True/PM</dpiAware>
    </windowsSettings>
  </application>

</assembly>

Edit 2019: For DPI awareness V2 there needs to be a change done as described here:

How can I set the dpiAware property in a Windows application manifest to "per monitor" in Visual Studio?

So this part changes:

  <application xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v3">
    <windowsSettings>
        <dpiAware xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/SMI/2005/WindowsSettings">true/pm</dpiAware> <!-- fallback for Windows 7 and 8 -->
        <dpiAwareness xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/SMI/2016/WindowsSettings">permonitorv2,permonitor</dpiAwareness> <!-- falls back to per-monitor if per-monitor v2 is not supported -->
        <gdiScaling xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/SMI/2017/WindowsSettings">true</gdiScaling> <!-- enables GDI DPI scaling (if needed, otherwise leave out) -->
    </windowsSettings>
  </application>

+1 for including the final manifest, thinking of future googlers - thankyou. — David

Remy Lebeau Remy Lebeau · Accepted Answer · 2014-08-27T21:42:34

Your manifest is not enabling ComCtrl v6 if you want to enable Visual Styles:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<assembly xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1" manifestVersion="1.0">
  <!-- your assemblyIdentity element ... -->
  <dependency>
    <dependentAssembly>
      <assemblyIdentity
        type="win32"
        name="Microsoft.Windows.Common-Controls"
        version="6.0.0.0"
        processorArchitecture="*"
        publicKeyToken="6595b64144ccf1df"
        language="*"
      />
    </dependentAssembly>
  </dependency>
  <!-- your trustInfo, compatibility, application elements ... -->
</assembly>

You do not need a xmlns:asmv3 declaration on the top-level assembly element, since it is being re-declared on the application element.

The XML namespaces being used are different because they are defined by different APIs. A manifest file is not a single API, it is a collection of values for multiple APIs being controlled in a centralized location.

C++ Builder / Delphi 2010 application manifest template

1 Answers