I recently asked about the wisdom of using multiple Xcode projects to separate project components. I have decided to follow this route in my next project.
I attempted to add another project to a master Xcode project by dragging and dropping it into the sidebar. However, when I #import any of the classes that are defined in the added project I am informed that those classes cannot be found.
What do I need to do in order to be able to refer to the classes in other projects in a master project? I was surprised that I found virtually no information on how to do this on the web.
Project -> Edit Project Settings
Use Header Search Paths
This is a list of paths to folders to be searched by the compiler for included or imported user header files (those headers listed in quotes) when compiling C, Objective-C, C++, or Objective-C++. Paths are delimited by whitespace, so any paths with spaces in them need to be properly quoted. See the description of the Always Search User Paths build setting for more details on how this setting is used. If the compiler doesn't support the concept of user headers, then the search paths are prepended to the any existing header search paths defined in Header Search Paths. [USER_HEADER_SEARCH_PATHS, -iquote]
Related
Below is a picture I grabbed off google, and it is actually linked back to a previous Stackoverflow question.
So, on the left (project explorer view) we see an Includes and src directory. I believe the Includes really is just paths to where header files may reside in the file system.
So now for my question, should header files I have made say "xyz.h" reside in the src folder in an Eclipse project?
Currently I put them somewhere in the file system on my Linux machine and then path to them (so they show up in the "Includes" for the project), this allows me to edit them in the eclipse editor and so forth, but I believe they are not actually a part of the "Eclipse project".
Not sure there is a right and wrong answer, just looking for what others few as the "best" way.
Generally the header files that you create should be in your project.
The main purpose of the "Includes" mechanism is finding the headers of third-party libraries that your project may use.
You can also use it to specify the location of includes inside your project. For example, you might have an include folder inside your project, put all (or some) of your headers there, and configure that as an include path. Eclipse allows you to configure include paths relative to the project, by choosing "Project Path" when adding the include in the project's Paths and Symbols preference page.
As your projects get large, you may eventually want to split them up into several projects, such as an application and supporting libraries. In a case like that, the application's project would have include paths pointing to the headers in the library projects.
What is the purpose of "Linked" Files in visual studio, and when I would use them versus simply including the class project that contains the file to my current project.
Project + Add Existing Item, arrow on the Add button, select "Add as Link".
Visual Studio strongly favors copying the item you select in this dialog into your project directory. This will keep you out of trouble, like accidentally modifying a source code file or resource that's also used in another project. Or forgetting to check-in the file into source control, by far the most dangerous mishap. Something you'll discover only a year or more from now, far too late to do anything about it.
The Add as Link option overrides that behavior, the file stays in its original location and the project file records the relative path of the file.
Good reasons to use this feature are very hard to come by. Trying to come up with some:
You may want to maintain a single source code file that's included in multiple projects, using Add as Link ensures you'll only ever edit that one single source file.
You may have a project that uses the same source code files as another project but with very different build settings, in which case you'd make all of the project items a link.
You may have a humongous resource that you don't want to have copied repeatedly in multiple projects
You may have a deployable item, like an unmanaged DLL, that you keep in a single directory but is used in multiple unrelated projects.
Digging yourself a deep source control hole is a high risk, be sure to think this through before you commit to using the feature.
Linked files are for when you want the code to be included in that project assembly.
"Wow Jimmy, thanks for pointing out the obvious. But why would I want to do this?"
Well, there can be several reasons, but for now I'll just list one example. Consider the scenario that your company|team requires every assembly to have certain constants or assembly attributes defined. Instead of creating a duplicate class in every single project, you could just have one copy of the file and link it into each project. Update the file once, and every assembly gets the changes.
In Visual Studio 2010, how to I set up my VC++ import directories so that I can build my project from multiple machines? For example, my project requires the use of a graphics library that's installed on both of the machines I'm using, but located on different paths.
I imagine the answer is some sort of macro, but I'm new to Visual Studio, so I'm not sure if my intuitions are correct.
I'm transitioning from the Matlab environment, where you can set the path directly per machine, rather than per project. Does Visual Studio have such functionality, or is everything at the level of project properties?
You can indeed use macros to set your include and lib directories on a per machine basis.
if you have your files in your project directory you can use:
$(SolutionDir)\ This will point to the full path of your solution directory root
$(ProjectDir)\ This will point to the full path of your project directory root.
You can place your graphics library in your project directory and point to it like:
$(ProjectDir)\graphicslib, for example, or any other place you want to put it in your solution.
More info is located here http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/c02as0cs.aspx
use a hierarchy of property sheets, or use a tool like CMake to generate project files for you (as it should automatically find all the libs/includes).
For the property sheets: add the same property sheet to each project. Withing that property sheet, include other property sheets with predefined names. Then on each computer you work, you will have to provide those 'per-machine' propert sheets. For example:
main.vsprops -> include by every project
|- matlab.vsprops -> sets the lib/includes for matlab runtime
|- opengl.vsprops -> sets the lib/include for opengl
Now in your versioning system, you provide a default for matlab.vsprops and opengl.vsprops that contains suitable dfeault values and a batch file to create them. This way you can checkout from the VCS, run a single file, edit the vsprops and start coding without too much hassle. For example:
main.vsprops -> versioned
matlab.vsprops.def -> versioned, contains defaults
opengl.vsprops.def -> versioned, contains defaults
create_vsprops.bat -> versioned, copies *.vsprops.def to *.vsprops
I'm having a myriad of problems with Xcode 4 and nested projects that worked just well under Xcode 3.2. Here's a very basic one I cannot solve:
I'm building a cocoa framework that requires another cocoa framework for which I have the source. So I perform the usual steps:
Drag the .xcodeproj file of the required framework into my main framework project
In my main framework under TARGETS > MyFramework > Build Phases > Target Dependencies: Add the nested project's target
Make sure the header files of the nested framework are public
In Xcode Settings > Locations > Build Location I have it set to Place build products in derived data location (recommended)
Build products path of both targets are set to ${BUILT_PRODUCTS_DIR} and tell me they are at the DerivedData/Debug (or Release) location
Architecture settings for both targets are identical
Then I hit [CMD] + B to build and it tells me that it doesn't find the header files of the nested framework. When I check the settings, User Header Search Paths contain the path to DerivedData/Debug, and inside there is the nested framework target with the header files in Versions/A/Headers.
I'm sitting here, anybody an idea what I'm doing wrong?
The issue goes away when building for Debug when I change the User header search paths to ${BUILT_PRODUCTS_DIR}/MyFramework.framework/Headers. However this doesn't work when building for Distribution as the frameworks then use their Release settings, which ends up in a different subdirectory...
My temporary solution is to also define a Distribution configuration for the nested projects. This way the headers are found and the linker can link successfully.
Here's my synthesized knowledge so far:
Forget the whole public header thing with Xcode, it's a PITA and doesn't work correctly when archiving your app. Instead, have all static library header files on the project level and tell your app where to find it.
Ease your pain by making sure all targets have the same name for the build configuration (i.e. add an "AdHoc" and "Deployment" configuration to the static libraries).
In build settings, point the Header Search Paths (if you use #include <file.h>) or User Header Search Paths (if you use #include "file.h") to the directory of the static library project. If the static library project is inside your app directory, use this:
"$(PROJECT_DIR)" (recursive enabled)
If you have a directory which contains a) the static library project and b) your app, then this should work:
"$(PROJECT_DIR)/.." (recursive enabled)
If the submodule contains compiled libraries, set your Library Search Paths to:
"$(TARGET_BUILD_DIR)"
Make sure all the static library projects that you use have Skip Install set to YES.
Again, no public header files (Build Phases » Copy Headers) in any of the static libraries, otherwise Xcode will not be able to archive an app.
Make sure to tell Xcode when to build the static libraries, as shown in this Tech Doc from Apple.
Old Answer:
I still haven't found a real solution to this problem with static libraries. What works for me is:
Create an "AdHoc" Configuration for the static library
Add $(BUILT_PRODUCTS_DIR) to User Header Search paths for the application (with recursive checked) -> this is used when running the app
In the Xcode menu, select Product > Build For > Build For Archiving
This works, the app finds the header files and builds itself, it ends up in DerivedData//Build/Products/AdHoc-iphoneos/ as an App bundle. Following these simple instructions (dead link) from TestFlightApp.com I can pack this App into an IPA and send it around. Simply selecting to Archive the app from Xcode does again not find the headers, even if they truly are in the AdHoc-iphoneos build directory.
(As of Xcode 5.1)
When the subproject is built by XCode, the subproject header files are copied into the build directory. When archiving, it seems that this copy destination directory is not added to the header/include search path. You'll want to go to your Build Settings and add
$(BUILD_ROOT)/../IntermediateBuildFilesPath/UninstalledProducts/include
to the "Header Search Paths" for the scheme that you use for archiving.
If you're not sure which scheme is used for archiving, go to Product -> Scheme -> Edit Schemes and look for Archive in the left column.
Make sure your third party framework is added as «group» to your main project, so you can see it in your project's hierarchy...
I had the same problem here and I could solve the problem by setting "Build Location" to Place build products in locations specified by targets"
I had this problem: I could build both Debug and App Store configurations, but not Ad Hoc. Building Ad Hoc gave me errors because it couldn't find .h files needed by nested projects.
Turned out I had an expired provisioning lingering in my Release configuration. I updated that provisioning link and now I can both build Ad Hoc and use the Archive feature to package it.
Took me hours to figure it out! My mind just didn't jump from missing .h files to provisioning errors just by itself. =) There might have been an error or warning complaining about the missing provisioning, but if so it was well buried among the hundreds of .h related errors.
I was having the same issue with a Configuration named "Ad Hoc" (as per TestFlight recommendation at http://help.testflightapp.com/customer/portal/articles/402782-how-to-create-an-ipa-xcode-4) and the main project could not find some of the headers from the nested projects. I renamed the project to "AdHoc" (no spaces) and the problem went away; seems like spaces can mess up header search paths in some cases, although I haven't figured out the specifics of when that might happen and why.
I was having this issue with a nested project that built a static library. I found this doc on apples site that completely saved my life.
http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#DOCUMENTATION/Xcode/Conceptual/ios_development_workflow/AA-Developing_a_Static_Library_and_Incorporating_It_in_Your_Application/archiving_an_application_that_uses_a_static_library.html
I'm so glad I didn't have to muck around with the derived data paths.
For me, this happened after a GIT merge, which created many conflicts, one of them related to the project file. After the merge, I'm sure the structure of the project file changed.
What I ended up doing was going into the project "Build Settings", then looking for "Always Search User Paths" and turning it to Yes.
I guess the merge turned this boolean to No, therefore the project wasn't looking in the right places for the header files.
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.