Creating a cmake project with visual studio - c++

Question

Visual Studio 2017 provides built-in support for handling CMake projects. The documentation mostly covers scenarios based on pre-existing cmake projects. But is there any support for creating a cmake project without having to fiddle with the CMakeLists.txt file?

Answer 1

EDIT: VS2017 15.6 added an official New Project CMake Wizard
With version 15.6 came the feature of "Create CMake projects from the Add New Project dialog."
This creates a simple ninja based C++ "Hello CMake" project.
A Custom CMake Wizard
Your question and the lack of an existing Wizard inspired me to write one. It's a very basic setup and would most definitely benefit if people with more experience in writing Visual Studio extensions would contribute, but here it is:
https://github.com/FloriansGit/VSCMakeWizards
Edit: Latest VSIX installer is now also available for free on VS Marketplace
https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=oOFlorianOo.CMakeProjectWizards
The new "CMake Executable Template" will show up after a restart of your Visual Studio 2017 under "File/New/Project/Visual C++":
It generates the following files in the given folder and then uses "Open Folder" on it:
CMakeLists.txt
CMakeSettings.json
MyProject1.cpp
Next Steps
Possible next steps would be to:
Add an interactive Wizard Dialog for some basic project/compiler settings
Add also an Item Wizard to be able to add source files to the CMakeLists.txt
I'm looking forward getting feedback on the basic idea. Please add any requests directly to:
https://github.com/FloriansGit/VSCMakeWizards/issues
The Code
And here is the Wizards basic/initial code as a reference:
WizardImplementationClass.cs
// Based on https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/extensibility/how-to-use-wizards-with-project-templates
// and https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3882764/issue-with-visual-studio-template-directory-creation
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text.RegularExpressions;
using EnvDTE;
using Microsoft.VisualStudio.TemplateWizard;
using Microsoft.VisualStudio.Shell;
using Microsoft.VisualStudio.Shell.Interop;
using EnvDTE80;
namespace VSCMakeWizards
{
public class WizardImplementation : IWizard
{
public void RunStarted(object automationObject,
Dictionary<string, string> replacementsDictionary,
WizardRunKind runKind, object[] customParams)
{
var destinationDir = replacementsDictionary["$destinationdirectory$"];
var desiredNamespace = replacementsDictionary["$safeprojectname$"];
var templatePath = Path.GetDirectoryName((string)customParams[0]);
var dte = automationObject as DTE2;
var solution = dte.Solution as EnvDTE100.Solution4;
if (solution.IsOpen)
{
solution.Close();
}
File.Copy(Path.Combine(templatePath, "CMakeSettings.json"), Path.Combine(destinationDir, "CMakeSettings.json"));
File.Copy(Path.Combine(templatePath, "main.cpp"), Path.Combine(destinationDir, desiredNamespace + ".cpp"));
// see https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1231768/c-sharp-string-replace-with-dictionary
Regex re = new Regex(#"(\$\w+\$)", RegexOptions.Compiled);
string input = File.ReadAllText(Path.Combine(templatePath, "CMakeLists.txt"));
string output = re.Replace(input, match => replacementsDictionary[match.Groups[1].Value]);
File.WriteAllText(Path.Combine(destinationDir, "CMakeLists.txt"), output);
var vsSolution = Package.GetGlobalService(typeof(SVsSolution)) as IVsSolution7;
if (vsSolution != null)
{
vsSolution.OpenFolder(destinationDir);
}
throw new WizardCancelledException();
}
// This method is called before opening any item that
// has the OpenInEditor attribute.
public void BeforeOpeningFile(ProjectItem projectItem)
{
}
public void ProjectFinishedGenerating(Project project)
{
}
// This method is only called for item templates,
// not for project templates.
public void ProjectItemFinishedGenerating(ProjectItem
projectItem)
{
}
// This method is called after the project is created.
public void RunFinished()
{
}
// This method is only called for item templates,
// not for project templates.
public bool ShouldAddProjectItem(string filePath)
{
return false;
}
}
}
Note: The WizardCancelledException is necessary, because Visual Studio otherwise would try to generate/open an actual solution. An "Open Folder" kind of project wizard is not yet supported (no SDK API for this).
References
Issue with visual studio template & directory creation
C# String replace with dictionary

Answer 2

As far as I know, there is no Wizard to create a new CMake project, but it can be done by configuring a CMakeSettings.json file. https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/vcblog/2017/08/14/cmake-support-in-visual-studio-customizing-your-environment/