CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c++visual-studio
Ph.nischkar
Ph.nischkar

Reputation: 41

How to use visual studio projects from the internet

I just want to know how to use visual studio projects that came from the internet. I mean I don't want to retype (copy and paste) all of the codes into a new project. Is there a way to open a vs project that came from the internet that acts as a whole project (the cpp can find the header files)

Upvotes: 1

Views: 63

Answers (1)

Marco A.
Marco A.

Reputation: 43662

Visual studio has solutions and projects. A solution might have multiple projects. Projects have information regarding files to be compiled and how to compile them while solutions usually have configurations for the various projects and user-specific settings (e.g. where windows have been moved and which ones have been opened).

You should be fine downloading both as long as you have a valid project or solution file and its necessary dependencies.

Mismatching compilers will activate a conversion process that should take care of different versions of MSVC.

A word of advice though:

  • A project might not be compilable if who created it used absolute paths instead of relative ones to the project root (i.e. it depends on who created the project)

  • You should not blindly build any project that came from the internet. Pre/Post compilation steps have macros and commands that, even when the code is not executed, might cause harm to your system.

Short story: if you download a complete solution or project made by someone slightly competent and trustworthy, you should be fine by just opening the sln or proj file and launching a compilation command.

Upvotes: 1

Related Questions