cant seem to find a definintive answer to how to add a library. theres project properties with a whole bunch of places to add filepaths but im wondering if i shouldnt be editing all of them, can someone tell me the purpose of each possible entry, if there are more, and possibly which ones i should be editing? or a handy tutoril? ill list what entries i know about. currently trying to add the Wwise library.
project->project name properties->configuration properties->vc++
directories->library directories (click edit and addthe relevant
filepath)
project->project name properties->configuration
properties->linker->general->additional library dependencies (click
edit and addthe relevant filepath)
project->project name properties->configuration
properties->linker->input->additional dependencies (enter the names
of the libraries manually)
If i go through all that i get more linker errors than i started with
Those are the directories that the linker will search for .libs that are provided with Visual Studio. Like the CRT, MFC, ATL and the Windows SDK. You don't want to tinker with that one, the default value is read from the registry and was written there by the installer. Only change if you want to link to non-standard versions of these .libs
Those are the files that the linker will actually link.
Those are the additional directories that the linker will search for files that were specified in bullet 2 or from #pragma comment directives in the source code. You'll only need to set this if bullet 2 didn't specify the full path of the file or the .lib file isn't present in one of the VS standard directories or the project directory. You typically put the Boost install directory there for example.
So bullet 2 is the important one, that actually specifies what will be linked. Bullet 3 just helps the linker find the file.
Related
How do I add a Static Library to a VS 2015 Fortran Project?
I've searched for the answer to this question online, but the solutions I've found (linked below) don't seem to work for me.
How to link a .LIB in a MS Visual Studio / Intel Fortran project?
https://software.intel.com/en-us/forums/intel-visual-fortran-compiler-for-windows/topic/393843
I'm using VS 2015 and Intel Fortran 2017.
I have created a static library from my Utilities project and I would like to be able to use the 'Utilities.lib' file in a different project (PhysicsCore) without having all of the source included.
I've tried dragging and dropping the 'Utilities.lib' file into the PhysicsCore Project. I've tried adding existing file and adding 'Utilities.lib'. I've tried adding the lib file and all of the '.mod' and '.obj' files. I've tried going under properties -> librarian -> additional dependencies. All of these end with the PhysicsCore project failing to compile due to missing procedures and modules.
I have gotten it to work one way that isn't very helpful. I have added a new project to the solution and then added in all of the '.obj' and '.mod' files and the '.lib' file. Changed the solution settings to not rebuild that project. And then finally added that non-building project as a dependency of the PhysicsCore project.
I feel like I must just be missing something small.
EDIT: years later. I finally came across the issue. If the library were all in .f90 files everything would work fine, but I'm using modules which require the .mod files. Everything was doing what it was supposed to as far as I can tell; however, it didn't behave the way I expected it to.
There are several ways:
Drag the .lib into the project as a source file. You say this didn't work, but it always has when I have done it.
In the Linker project properties, add the full path to the .lib to Linker > Input > Additional Dependencies, or just add the .lib name there and add the directory path to Linker > General > Additional Library Directories.
If the parent project is also Fortran, right click on the parent project, select Build Dependencies > Project Dependencies. Check the box for the library project. (This does not work if the parent project is not Fortran.)
I would generally recommend #3, as this will also make the .mod files from the library project visible to the parent project. If you choose one of the other methods, you then also have to make any include or .mod files visible by adding the directory path to the project property Fortran > General > Additional Include Directories.
If you need more help with this, I suggest asking in https://software.intel.com/en-us/forums/intel-visual-fortran-compiler-for-windows
I tried to add my USART library to my project but I am still failing to properly add it so it will be recognized.
I created an USART.c and USART.h file, which I want to add. This is what I tried:
1) Right Click on the Solution / Properties / Toolchain / Directories
2) Adding the Path where I got these two files
When I try to build the project, it did not work. I get the message undefined reference to 'initUSART'.
How do I add my own libraries to projects then?
The screenshot in your question shows that you arranged for the compiler to find the header files for your library. But you also need to use the compiler to compile your library functions (e.g. initUSART) and create a static library file (with a lib prefix and a .a extension). You would need a separate Atmel Studio project for that, or learn how to use the AVR GCC toolchain outside of the IDE to compile libraries. Then you need to put that file in a directory that is in the linker's search path for libraries, and then you need to pass the appropriate -l argument to the linker. For example, if your library is called libuart.a, you need to pass -luart to the linker. The Project Properties for an Atmel Studio project has the relevant settings you need to configure.
GCC has a standard way to compile, create, and link to static libraries, which I outlined above. You can learn about that from any tutorial on GCC static libraries. You then would need to apply that knowledge to the AVR GCC toolchain, and find the appopriate options inside Atmel Studio that you need to set.
Aside: Atmel Studio does not make it easy to use libraries at all. The Arduino IDE does a much better job because you just put the source files for the library in the right place and it compiles them for you. There are a huge number of Arduino libraries too; you wouldn't have to write your own UART driver if you could use the Arduino platform.
The simple alternative: If you don't know much about compiling and linking to C libraries and configuring your IDE, you would have a much easier time just copying the library files into your project, adding them as source files, and letting Atmel Studio compile them just like any other source file in your project.
Another simple way of adding folders to your project is to copy/paste the folder into your project and then open Atmel Studio.
On the right side (where is by default Solution Explorer) you'll see all your files except the ones that you just added. Now press the Show all files and search for you folder which should appear grayed out. Right click on it and Include in project. That should be all!
This image should help
I got another solution that might help . i found Include Directories in this path for MegaAvr(8bit) :
C:\Program Files (x86)\Atmel\Studio\7.0\packs\atmel\ATmega_DFP\1.6.364\include
Just Puts All your Library in one Folder And Copy All of It in this path , then include it like another library . For example I created a folder named "ali" in that path , then i copied all my libraries in this folder (like alcd.h , usart.h) and then included in my programes with this :
#include <ali/usart.h>
and done ! just remember to backup your folder before Windows Installation (Drive Format) . Also you can find your libraries (.h and .c) in Solution Explorer -> Dependencies after Code Compilation .
GoodLuck ...
inside Folder
including xio.h in folder ali
xio.h in dependencies after compilation
my folder in specified path
I am just approaching C++ development (from a C# background), and i am wondering what is the difference between Library Directories in C++ project settings (in Visual Studio):
and the Linker "Inputs" where i can also supply libraries:
Is there any fundamental difference between these?
This setting got fumbled a bit in VS2010, it was much clearer in previous versions. Where the settings you show in your screenshot were present in Tools + Options. Which shows the core intent, they contain directories that are determined by the setup for Visual Studio and its components. The locations of the CRT, MFC, ATL and SDK libraries.
The Linker + Input + Additional Dependencies setting is the important one, there you say exactly what .lib files the linker should link. You can specify the path of a .lib file and be done. But it is not uncommon that you only specify the name of the .lib file, then edit Additional Library Directories to tell the linker where to search for those .lib files. Which is handy if the install location for, say, Boost isn't always the same or you want to switch from one version of Boost to another.
So in summary:
Linker + Input + Additional Dependencies: add the .lib files you need to link
Linker + General + Additional Library Directories: only use if you didn't specify the path of .libs
VC++ directories: don't mess with it
Do note that the last two bullets only specify directories, not .lib files that the linker should link. The first bullet specifies actual .lib files. What is invariably confusing to starting MSVC programmers is that the linker magically knows how to find important .lib files without specifying them explicitly in the Additional Dependencies setting.
That's unfortunately the non-visual part of Visual C++. There are two distinct ways in which a project can specify .lib files that the linker should link without using the setting. The first one is the project template you selected to get the project started. It uses project property sheets, files that specify default settings for a project. You see them with View = Other Windows + Property Manager. An important one is "Core Windows Libraries", it sets the Additional Dependencies setting to link the essential Windows .lib files, the ones you always need like kernel32.lib and user32.lib. Those settings are "inherited" by your project. Otherwise giving meaning to "NoInherit" if you ever run into it.
The second important way is the #pragma comment directive. Which is used in source code, it injects a linker directive. The "lib" variety is important, that tells the linker to link a .lib file. In addition to what you explicitly specify in the linker's Additional Dependencies setting. A very good example of that one is vc/atlmfc/include/afx.h. Search for "#pragma comment". Note the macro soup that selects the proper mfc .lib file, depending on compiler specific settings. And the bunch of extra Windows .lib files an MFC needs to link.
The C++ build model is filled with a maze of twisty little passages. The IDE tries to make you fall in the pit of success but in the process hides what's important to get to the next level of understanding. It isn't different in C#, to know how to make the Reverse() extension method not consume O(n) storage requires digging in.
Most (not all) libraries come with two sets of files:
Header files are #included in the source code that's using the libraries, to provide declarations for functions, classes, constants or whatever else might be needed
Library files are binary code that contains the code of the library. These are used by the linker when it assembles the final executable
So I used the VisualMagick tool to set up a Static Library project and compiled all of the ImageMagick Source to static lib files. Then I created a new solution and moved all those libs and the needed .h files to my lib folder in my new solution. My cpp file that I want to use the lib files compiles fine, even with #include Magick++.h in the header, until I add any references to things in imageMagick. Like if I say Magick::Image image; It will give me LNK1120. I have added the lib folder to my projects Additional Library Locations (or something like that) in the solution properties. I am new to the whole Linking language thing, coming mostly from a Python/Java background. Any suggestions? I have tried a brute google search and tried a lot of the suggestions I have seen.
I'll put the foregoing comments interchange in the form of a real answer:
To convince VS20xx to link your app with some non-standard library, including maybe a new library that you just built:
Under the VS main-menu "Project" tab, take "<your-project-name> Properties ..." and then
First, tell the linker where to look for a lib (like make -L):
Linker --> General
In the "Additional Library Directories" edit box, give the paths -- just the directories -- where lib files live.
Second, tell the linker what library files you want to lilnk with (like make -l):
Linker --> Input and then
In the "Additional Dependencies" edit box, add the space-separated unadorned lib-file name(s), no quotes needed, like:
Additional Dependencies mysqlclient.lib libcurl.lib mynewlib.lib
That should be it. (yeah, suuuuuuuuure :-)
I have been in this situation quite a few times where visual studio does not honor the Additional Include Directories when it comes to lib and header source files. For example, I just downloaded MyGUI source code and made sure the include directories were correct. I even put them to absolute paths, Visual Studio still complained that it could not find specific header files.
Does anybody experience the same thing with projects, and if so, is there a solution to this problem?Blockquote
EDIT: My apologies for not being able to explain fully. I know that the library and source files have different include directories. The project that I received had correct directory paths for the Additional Include Directories and Additional Library Directories but Visual Studio still failed to recognize them properly. I can right click and open the header file within Visual Studio but when compiling it still complains it cannot find the required header files. I regularly make projects relying on a framework I myself programmed, so I am quite familiar with how to set up dependencies. This is however the second time this seems to be happening. I don't recall which 3rd party project I was trying to compile last time, but Visual Studio simply refused to believe that the Additional Include Directories paths is where it should look for the header files. I am not sure how to give the complete details of this particular library (MyGUI) but I can point you to the website where you can download it to try and see if it is able to find the header files that are included in the project (if it doesn't compile, that is fine, and it is probably because of additional dependencies, but it should at least be able to find files in the common folder, especially when I put absolute paths in Additional Include Directories)
This happened to me once. It turned out the inconsistency of the Debug vs Release builds. When I modified one build, the other build was being compiled. Please set both builds with same include folders and see if it works. Good luck.
I've just spent some hours battling with failing #include paths in the compiler, inconsistencies between the compiler and intellisense.
What I finally discovered was that in the properties of the *.cpp file -- not the project, but the individual *.cpp file -- the "Additional Include Directories" property was blank. I had to explicitly set it to "inherit from from parent or project defaults" -- there's a checkbox near the lower-left corner of the dialog for editing the directory path.
I had copied this file from another project and used "Add > Existing Item..." to add it to the current project. My hypothesis was that maybe the "Existing Item" procedure skipped a property initialization step that "New Item" would normally perform. But I just tested that hypothesis by Adding another Existing and a New. Both of these files had their property set to inherit from the project, so I don't have an explanation for why my problem file was not initially set to inherit.
Anyway ... after much frustration, found and fixed that one.
I have found (stumbled) on the solution (I think). It has something to do with the character limit imposed by the OS. Although the limit should be 260, for me it falls in the below 150, see this discussion and links to it. I downloaded and unzipped the file to C:\Users\MyUserName\My Documents\Downloads\Downloads From Chrome\MyGui3.0...[and so on]. I learned quite some time ago not to try to compile projects under such long paths, but this time it completely slipped my mind as VS did not give me a warning at all and pointed me in the wrong direction. Anyway, cutting and pasting the project to D:\ fixed the issue. I am not going to checkmark the answer however until someone confirms this.
I have the same problem : Can't find .lib file even though I've added the additional include directory.
From an answer of Additional include directory in Visual studio 2015 doesn't work, I tried:
delete the .suo file and restart VS
Then it works for me.
I had this issue too. Just like sam said - this string value containing path to your framework includes has to be the same for the Debug and Release configurations. So the best way is to choose "Configuration:All Configurations" and "Platform:All Platforms" from the two context checklists on the top of the project properties window before typing it in, or copying from windows explorer adress bar.
Can you elaborate on this? If I recall, there are at least two places in Visual Studio where you can configure this:
Per-installation: Tools/Options/Projects and Solutions/VC++ Directories)
Per-project: Project/Properties/Configuration Properties/"C/C++"/General/Additional Include Directories
If you're adding the include directories per-project (#1), which I think you are, and then trying to include from another project, this will obviously not work. Try adding them at the per-installation level and see if it works.
Also, this may sound stupid/simplistic, but make sure the path is right (i.e. copy-paste into Explorer's path bar and see if the header files are in that folder).
If by lib files you mean library (.lib) files, the directory location is not specified through C/C++/General/Additional Include Directories but rather through Linker/General/Additional Library Directories.
It's logical if you think about it. C/C++ options are all compilation options, settings involved with compiling .cpp and .h files. Linker options are all linking options, settings involved with linking up .obj and .lib files.
I had the same symptoms in my c++ project. Navigating from header to header went fine, but after toggling to the source file of a header (let's say foo.cpp), then the navigation to an #include <bar.cpp> in that source file failed. I got the following error:
File 'bar.cpp' not found in the current source file's directory or in build system paths.
After research I noticed that the system build path given in the error where not extended with the include paths of the project. In other words: IntelliSense didn't know that the source file (foo.cpp) was part of the project, and therefore it didn't use the include paths of the project to search for the #include <bar.cpp>.
The fix for me was creating a file intelliSense.cpp (file name doesn't matter) that is part of the project, but excluded from the build. This file contains an include for each source file. ex:
#include <foo.cpp>
#include <bar.cpp>
...
This way IntelliSense knows that these source files are part of the project, and will therefore use the include paths of the project to resolve the #includes in those source files.
For me the issue was that .vcxproj Project file was read-only and after I added my directory to "Additional directories", the project file did not actually change. I was surprised that VS did not complain about this file being read-only.
So after I made that file write-able I could compile my project.
Here is another 'I had the same...' in vs2015.
For me it turned out that the active setting is also depending on the 'solution configuration' and 'solution platform'. That makes 4 settings which all should be identical.
That solved the problem in my case.
I realize this question is over 10 years old at this point, but I also just ran into this issue and none of the answers fit my scenario. After some playing with my IDE (VS 2019) for a few minutes I realized that the cpp file I was using had it's platform set to Win32, but the libs I was trying to use were built for x64.
As others have stated, make sure your project's configuration is set to
-"All Configurations" when you add the necessary paths to your project as that can also be an issue. I imagine my issue will not be as common, but I figured it was worth sharing. I hope this helps someone else in the future.
One more possible reason not mentioned earlier: make sure you are configuring properties of the correct project in a multi-project solution.
My problem was that I had a solution of two projects each using the same file with includes. Turns out that I correctly configured 'Additional Include Directories' only for one of two projects and totally forgot about another one. Of course error message was stating that only the second project and not the first one had problems.