openFrameworks | Documentation table of contents
To getting started with openFrameworks and Visual Studio, you need to have Visual Studio 2012 installed.
Any version should work, Express included.
There are many versions of Visual Studio. If you don't know which one to install, then we recommend Visual Studio 2012 Express for Desktop.
Each generation of Visual Studio (i.e. 2008, 2010, 2012) comes with a different C++ compiler (a compiler is what makes your c++ code into an executable that you can run).
Generally, projects created in different generations of Visual Studio are not compatible with each other, but you can upgrade files from old generations to new generations.
See setup guide for more detailed instructions.
Visual Studio Express is a special version of Visual Studio which is free to download and use indefinitely. There appears to be no restriction of commercial use for Visual Studio Express versions, but Express versions have a reduced feature set whilst sharing the same compiler and general interface of the more premium versions (e.g. Professsional, Premium, Ultimate, etc). The premium versions are only really recommended for more commercial oF users, for students who can otherwise get these versions for free, or for users who know for definite that they need the premium features which aren't available in the Express distributions.
See projectGenerator page, to understand the usage of this tool.
Every openFrameworks application is represented by a 'Solution' and a 'Project'. A solution is a collection of (generally) co-dependent projects.
The solution for your project contains your project, and the openFrameworks project, which is a library of all openFrameworks functions and classes
which can be used by your project.
Your solution filename will be openFrameworks/apps/[your name]/[project name]/[project name].sln. Open this file with Visual Studio either by double
clicking on it in Explorer, or selecting File>Open>Project/Solution... inside Visual Studio.
Open your solution file [project].sln, and hit F5. This should compile and run your project. You should see a blank OpenGL window appear.
If Visual Studio complains that your project cannot be started, try right clicking on your project in the 'Solution Explorer' and select 'Set as startup project' and then try F5 again.
These are two build configurations, "Debug" and "Release":
- Debug is useful when developing your project, as it will provide the most information about where and why something crashed.
- Release is useful when you're done developing your project. Release will create a smaller, faster app, but it won't give you much information if it crashes.
Now it's time to get to work coding with openFrameworks. Hit 'Esc' to exit the blank, boring application you just built, and start editing testApp.cpp
and testApp.h to finally put to rest your critics and friends and make that generative/interactive/totally awesome piece of work that you've been wanting
to get out.
Just be careful not to forget your friends and critics in the process!
If you have questions or issues, the best place to look is the openFrameworks forum.
Thanks for reading this and enjoy!
The OF Team