I developed an application that depends on a DLL file. When I debug my application, the applicationwould complain that:
"This application has failed to start because xxx.dll was not found."
So I have to copy the DLL file into the same directory as my .vcproj file.
Is there a way to set the project to look for the DLL file in (preferably) some relative path or (not preferred) some absolute path?
Similar concept to how we set include and library path in the project settings.
I mean when I debug my application (hitting F5) the above error would pop up.
Go to project properties (Alt+F7)
Under Debugging, look to the right
There's an Environment field.
Add your relative path there (relative to vcproj folder) i.e. ..\some-framework\lib by appending PATH=%PATH%;$(ProjectDir)\some-framework\lib or prepending to the path PATH=C:\some-framework\lib;%PATH%
Hit F5 (debug) again and it should work.
Go through project properties -> Reference Paths
Then add folder with DLL's
The search path that the loader uses when you call LoadLibrary() can be altered by using the SetDllDirectory() function. So you could just call this and add the path to your dependency before you load it.
See also DLL Search Order.
Another possibility would be to set the Working Directory under the debugging options to be the directory that has that DLL.
Edit: I was going to mention using a batch file to start Visual Studio (and set the PATH variable in the batch file). So then did a bit of searching and see that this exact same question was asked not long ago in this post. The answer suggests the batch file option as well as project settings that apparently may do the job (I did not test it).
In your Project properties(Right click on project, click on property button) ▶ Configuration Properties ▶ Build Events ▶ Post Build Events ▶ Command Line.
Edit and add one instruction to command line.
for example copy botan.dll from source path to location where is being executed the program.
copy /Y "$(SolutionDir)ProjectDirs\x64\Botan\lib\botan.dll" "$(TargetDir)"
I had the same problem and my problem had nothing to do with paths. One of my dll-s was written in c++ and it turnes out that if your visual studio doesn't know how to open a dll file it will say that it did not find it. What i did was locate which dll it did not find, than searched for that dll in my directories and opened it in a separate visual studio window. When trying to navigate through Solution explorer of that project, visual studio said that it cannot show what is inside and that i need some extra extensions, so that it can open those files. Surely enough, after installing the recomended extension (in my case something to do with c++) the
"This application has failed to start because xxx.dll was not found."
error miraculously dissapeared.
I know this question had been answered years ago, but for those like me who needed to change where the debugger starts the application, change the command property under Project Properties -> Debugging.
Related
This question already has answers here:
How do I set the path to a DLL file in Visual Studio?
(7 answers)
Closed 7 years ago.
In Visual Studio 2010, under VC++ Directories > Executable Directories, I have specified the path to glew32d.dll. However, when I run the executable, it still complains.
On the other hand, if I copy the DLL into the local folder and run the executable then, it doesn't complain.
Can someone please tell me how to fix this? Also, why is Visual Studio not recognizing that path?
Update
Scenario: I currently use a template project which I use as a starter code for a lot of my projects. This template depends on glew32d.dll. I usually store all dependent dlls in a common bin folder. I was hoping to reference this folder and Visual studio could read the dlls from there, instead of me having to copy the dlls everytime. What would be a good way to handle this?
Specifying the path to the DLL file in your project's settings does not ensure that your application will find the DLL at run-time. You only told Visual Studio how to find the files it needs. That has nothing to do with how the program finds what it needs, once built.
Placing the DLL file into the same folder as the executable is by far the simplest solution. That's the default search path for dependencies, so you won't need to do anything special if you go that route.
To avoid having to do this manually each time, you can create a Post-Build Event for your project that will automatically copy the DLL into the appropriate directory after a build completes.
Alternatively, you could deploy the DLL to the Windows side-by-side cache, and add a manifest to your application that specifies the location.
I've experienced same problem with same lib, found a solution here on
SO:
Search MSDN for "How to: Set Environment Variables for Projects".
(It's Project>Properties>Configuration Properties>Debugging
"Environment" and "Merge Environment" properties for those who are in
a rush.)
The syntax is NAME=VALUE and macros can be used (for example,
$(OutDir)).
For example, to prepend C:\Windows\Temp to the PATH:
PATH=C:\WINDOWS\Temp;%PATH%
Similarly, to append $(TargetDir)\DLLS to the PATH:
PATH=%PATH%;$(TargetDir)\DLLS
(answered by Multicollinearity here: How do I set a path in visual studio?
try "configuration properties -> debugging -> environment" and set the PATH variable in run-time
To add to Oleg's answer:
I was able to find the DLL at runtime by appending Visual Studio's $(ExecutablePath) to the PATH environment variable in Configuration Properties->Debugging. This macro is exactly what's defined in the Configuration Properties->VC++ Directories->Executable Directories field*, so if you have that setup to point to any DLLs you need, simply adding this to your PATH makes finding the DLLs at runtime easy!
* I actually don't know if the $(ExecutablePath) macro uses the project's Executable Directories setting or the global Property Pages' Executable Directories setting. Since I have all of my libraries that I often use configured through the Property Pages, these directories show up as defaults for any new projects I create.
I'm working in VS 2019 on a C++ program in which I want to link into a bunch of 3rd party dlls, which are located in a folder separate from my executable. I don't want to copy all the dlls into the executable folder and have found the following solution.
Just like in the solution, I create a registry entry to define the keys with the information about the executable and the required path information to link to the DLLs:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\MyExe.exe
%Path2MyExe%\MyExe.exe (default key)
Path = %Path2DLLs%
The compilation from within VS works fine and when I start the generated executables from outside VS by (a) double clicking or (b) by using the command line, the 3rd party DLLs are found and the program is executed as expected.
However, when I invoke the debugger from within Visual Studio (c), execution is halted right away complaining that DLLs cannot be found.
I have checked the present working directory from within the code using _getcwd and for all options (a-c) it indicates the same directory.
So the question is: why does option (c) - debugging from within VS - not work?!
Cheers, Sebastian
It's probably because the executable that's launched when debugging is a vshost executable, not the generated executable for the project, and so it needs a separate entry in the registry.
If you want to stick with this kind of a build (highly not recommended), the easiest way to debug is to disable the hosting process:
Following the suggestion by drescherjm I tried to prepend the DLL directory to the PATH variable in "Configuration Properties -> Debugging -> Environment" following this solution.
However, this did not work for me. I also added the path directly in the system environment dialogue without success.
What did work in the end is setting the working directory under "Configuration Properties -> Debugging -> Working Directory" to point to the DLL folder. Now all three calling routes (a-c) work as expected.
Thanks to everyone for taking the time to help me out on this.
Sebastian
I have recently switched my IDE to Visual Studio 2019 for C++ projects. I easily followed a tutorial into setting up a new library like SFML into visual studio, and tell it where the additional include and library directories are.
But there is something else that is required for it to work, which are the .dll files. Every page I followed, even the Documentation by the SFML website, it says that they have to be in the same directory as my project. That means I need to copy-paste the 7-8 files into my project directory. This really makes the folder look untidy. I would like to create a new folder and tell Visual Studio where those files are. I tried going doing this
Project -> Properties -> Linker -> Input -> Additional dependencies
Usually, the lines that would work are
sfml-system-d.lib
sfml-window-d.lib
...
I tried doing $(ProjectDir)valid path\ sfml-files.lib but this gives me the linker error, saying that It could not find the file.
If I simply move the .dlls into a folder without doing anything, the code would compile and link fine. But when it runs, Windows gives me a pop-up box with the same error message.
Here is how it currently looks
Looks really messy, I just want to be able to move them into dependencies like how src contains the source files.
How can I achieve this?
As it is now, it works perfectly fine. The issue only occurs when I try to create a new folder.
I hope I have covered the important information required for a good answer, If not please let me know what more I should add
Microsoft Visual Studio 2019
Currently running 64-bit platform with Debug configuration. Hence the -d suffix
You could create a path environment for your specified directory, which is like drescherjm’s suggestion. The steps:
Right-click “This PC” -> “Properties”-> “Advance System settings”
Click “Environment Variables”
In the System Variables group, edit “Path”
Add your directory, for example: ”D:\ SFML-2.5.1\bin”
Restart your visual studio and re-open your project
The easier solution might be to put them in the x64 subdirectory. This allows you to have various builds side by side (x86/x64, debug/release).
Since this x64 directory is where the EXE is located, it is the first directory searched for DLL's. It will take precedence over the Path solution suggested in the other answer. The Path directories are searched last of all.
I developed an application that depends on a DLL file. When I debug my application, the applicationwould complain that:
"This application has failed to start because xxx.dll was not found."
So I have to copy the DLL file into the same directory as my .vcproj file.
Is there a way to set the project to look for the DLL file in (preferably) some relative path or (not preferred) some absolute path?
Similar concept to how we set include and library path in the project settings.
I mean when I debug my application (hitting F5) the above error would pop up.
Go to project properties (Alt+F7)
Under Debugging, look to the right
There's an Environment field.
Add your relative path there (relative to vcproj folder) i.e. ..\some-framework\lib by appending PATH=%PATH%;$(ProjectDir)\some-framework\lib or prepending to the path PATH=C:\some-framework\lib;%PATH%
Hit F5 (debug) again and it should work.
Go through project properties -> Reference Paths
Then add folder with DLL's
The search path that the loader uses when you call LoadLibrary() can be altered by using the SetDllDirectory() function. So you could just call this and add the path to your dependency before you load it.
See also DLL Search Order.
Another possibility would be to set the Working Directory under the debugging options to be the directory that has that DLL.
Edit: I was going to mention using a batch file to start Visual Studio (and set the PATH variable in the batch file). So then did a bit of searching and see that this exact same question was asked not long ago in this post. The answer suggests the batch file option as well as project settings that apparently may do the job (I did not test it).
In your Project properties(Right click on project, click on property button) ▶ Configuration Properties ▶ Build Events ▶ Post Build Events ▶ Command Line.
Edit and add one instruction to command line.
for example copy botan.dll from source path to location where is being executed the program.
copy /Y "$(SolutionDir)ProjectDirs\x64\Botan\lib\botan.dll" "$(TargetDir)"
I had the same problem and my problem had nothing to do with paths. One of my dll-s was written in c++ and it turnes out that if your visual studio doesn't know how to open a dll file it will say that it did not find it. What i did was locate which dll it did not find, than searched for that dll in my directories and opened it in a separate visual studio window. When trying to navigate through Solution explorer of that project, visual studio said that it cannot show what is inside and that i need some extra extensions, so that it can open those files. Surely enough, after installing the recomended extension (in my case something to do with c++) the
"This application has failed to start because xxx.dll was not found."
error miraculously dissapeared.
I know this question had been answered years ago, but for those like me who needed to change where the debugger starts the application, change the command property under Project Properties -> Debugging.
I have a C++ program that I built using Visual Stuidos. It has to read some variables from a .config file. I notice that when I run the program from VS (i.e. I open the VS solution and press the "Start Without Debugging" button), it can't find the .config file unless it's in the "release" or "debug" directory. However, I'd like to be able to run the program from the VS solution, while keeping the .config file in the same directory as the .sln file. Is there a way I can set the path of the .config file to this directory, perhaps somewhere in the source code?
Thanks.
I would take advantage of Visual Studios directory macros and set an additional include path in your solution directory, I answered a question previously on this site relating to include directories, so here is a diagram I created:
bigger link here
Don't pay attention to the text on the left side, but the black text on the right side is what you're looking for. $(SolutionDir) is a macro that finds the directory of your solution, and adding this will allow your program to have access to this directory during the program.
You can call GetModuleFileName to get the full path to your exe file. From there you can remove the lowest level (/debug or /release) to get the project path.
That should get you what you asked for, but what you asked for is not a good approach. Putting your config file in your exe directory will encounter problems later on with non-admin user rights. The recommended place for such files can be found by calling SHGetFolderPath, where you can create an accessible folder for your app.
However, I'd like to be able to run the program from the VS solution,
while keeping the .config file in the same directory as the .sln
file.
Just set Project Properties|Debugging|Working Directory to $(SolutionDir). Or any directory you want.