Is it possible to load a *.bmp file into a HBITMAP in a Win32 project, using only WINAPI functions?
Yes, it is possible using only the standard win32 library.
HBITMAP hBMP = (HBITMAP) LoadImage( NULL, "Your/ImagePath/a.bmp", IMAGE_BITMAP, 0, 0, LR_LOADFROMFILE);
hBMP
is a handle to the BITMAP
to use as you want.
Note: It is important to pass NULL as the first argument, from the docs:
hinst [in, optional]
To load a stand-alone resource (icon, cursor, or bitmap file)—for example, c:\myimage.bmp—set this parameter to NULL.
From the msdn documentation for LoadImage
.