Using SDL with Microsoft Visual C++
===================================

### by Lion Kimbro with additions by James Turk

You can either use the precompiled libraries from the [SDL](https://www.libsdl.org/download.php) web site, or you can build SDL
yourself.

### Building SDL

0. To build SDL, your machine must, at a minimum, have the DirectX9.0c SDK installed. It may or may not be retrievable from
the [Microsoft](https://www.microsoft.com) website, so you might need to locate it [online](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=directx9.0c+sdk+download&t=h_&ia=web).
_Editor's note: I've been able to successfully build SDL using Visual Studio 2019 **without** the DX9.0c SDK_

1. Open the Visual Studio solution file at `./VisualC/SDL.sln`.

2. Your IDE will likely prompt you to upgrade this solution file to whatever later version of the IDE you're using. In the `Retarget Projects` dialog,
all of the affected project files should be checked allowing you to use the latest `Windows SDK Version` you have installed, along with
the `Platform Toolset`.

If you choose *NOT* to upgrade to use the latest `Windows SDK Version` or `Platform Toolset`, then you'll need the `Visual Studio 2010 Platform Toolset`.

3. Build the `.dll` and `.lib` files by right clicking on each project in turn (Projects are listed in the _Workspace_
panel in the _FileView_ tab), and selecting `Build`.

You may get a few warnings, but you should not get any errors.

Later, we will refer to the following `.lib` and `.dll` files that have just been generated:

-   `./VisualC/Win32/Debug/SDL2.dll` or `./VisualC/Win32/Release/SDL2.dll`
-   `./VisualC/Win32/Debug/SDL2.lib` or `./VisualC/Win32/Release/SDL2.lib`
-   `./VisualC/Win32/Debug/SDL2main.lib` or `./VisualC/Win32/Release/SDL2main.lib`

_Note for the `x64` versions, just replace `Win32` in the path with `x64`_

### Creating a Project with SDL

- Create a project as a `Win32 Application`.

- Create a C++ file for your project.

- Set the C runtime to `Multi-threaded DLL` in the menu:
`Project|Settings|C/C++                  tab|Code Generation|Runtime Library `.

- Add the SDL `include` directory to your list of includes in the menu:
`Project|Settings|C/C++ tab|Preprocessor|Additional include directories `

*VC7 Specific: Instead of doing this, I find it easier to add the
include and library directories to the list that VC7 keeps. Do this by
selecting Tools|Options|Projects|VC++ Directories and under the "Show
Directories For:" dropbox select "Include Files", and click the "New
Directory Icon" and add the [SDLROOT]\\include directory (e.g. If you
installed to c:\\SDL\\ add c:\\SDL\\include). Proceed to change the
dropbox selection to "Library Files" and add [SDLROOT]\\lib.*

The "include directory" I am referring to is the `./include` folder.

Now we're going to use the files that we had created earlier in the *Build SDL* step.

Copy the following file into your Project directory:

-   `SDL2.dll`

Add the following files to your project (It is not necessary to copy them to your project directory):

-   `SDL2.lib`
-   `SDL2main.lib`

To add them to your project, right click on your project, and select
`Add files to project`.

**Instead of adding the files to your project, it is more desirable to add them to the linker options: Project|Properties|Linker|Command Line
and type the names of the libraries to link with in the "Additional Options:" box. Note: This must be done for each build configuration
(e.g. Release,Debug).**

### Hello SDL2

Here's a sample SDL snippet to verify everything is setup in your IDE:

```
    #include "SDL.h"

    int main( int argc, char* argv[] )
    {
        const int WIDTH = 640;
        const int HEIGHT = 480;
        SDL_Window* window = NULL;
        SDL_Renderer* renderer = NULL;

        SDL_Init(SDL_INIT_VIDEO);
        window = SDL_CreateWindow("SDL2 Test", SDL_WINDOWPOS_UNDEFINED, SDL_WINDOWPOS_UNDEFINED, WIDTH, HEIGHT, SDL_WINDOW_SHOWN);
        renderer = SDL_CreateRenderer(window, -1, SDL_RENDERER_ACCELERATED | SDL_RENDERER_PRESENTVSYNC);

        SDL_DestroyRenderer(renderer);
        SDL_DestroyWindow(window);
        SDL_Quit();
        return 0;
    }
 ```

### That's it!

I hope that this document has helped you get through the most difficult part of using the SDL: installing it.
Suggestions for improvements should be posted to the [Github Issues](https://github.com/libsdl-org/SDL/issues).

### Credits

Thanks to [Paulus Esterhazy](mailto:pesterhazy@gmx.net), for the work on VC++ port.

This document was originally called "VisualC.txt", and was written by [Sam Lantinga](mailto:slouken@libsdl.org).

Later, it was converted to HTML and expanded into the document that you see today by [Lion Kimbro](mailto:snowlion@sprynet.com).

Minor Fixes and Visual C++ 7 Information (In Green) was added by [James Turk](mailto:james@conceptofzero.net)