How to Setup Qt Quick 4.7.3 / QML Project with Microsoft Visual Studio C++ 2008 Express

It's possible to configure Qt Quick 4.7.3 / QML Development using Microsoft Visual Studio C++ 2008 Express project.

Quick Start

1. Install Microsoft Visual Studio C++ 2008 (Express)
2. Install Qt Library 4.7.x for Visual C++ 2008
3. Set environment QTDIR to C:\Qt\4.7.x
   

How to Create A New Qt Project in Visual Studio 2008

1. Create a new Makefile project
2. For Debug, set the build command as: qmake && nmake
   Set the Debug launch command as: debug\YourApp.exe
3. For Release, set the build command as: qmake && nmake release-all
   Set the Release launch command as: release\YourApp.exe
4. Add a YourApp.cpp file
5. Create initial Qt .pro project file by running: qmake -project
   

You should get this:

TEMPLATE = app
TARGET =
DEPENDPATH += .
INCLUDEPATH += .

# Input
SOURCES += YourApp.cpp

You need to update this .pro Qt project file when you add source or header files.

A simple YourApp.cpp would be:

#include <QApplication>
#include <QPushButton>

int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
    QApplication app(argc, argv);
    QPushButton hello("Hello world");
    hello.resize(100, 30);

    hello.show();
    return app.exec();
}

You can see how this simple Qt GUI application looks on the screenshot.

How to Add Qt Quick / QML Support

To support QML / Qt Quick, add to .pro file:

QT += gui declarative

Create the .qml file :

import QtQuick 1.0

Rectangle { width: 100; height: 100; color: "red" }

Then load the .qml file from the main .cpp :

#include <QApplication>
#include <QPushButton>
#include <QDeclarativeView>

int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
    QApplication app(argc, argv);

    QDeclarativeView view;
    view.setSource(QUrl::fromLocalFile("qmlvs.qml"));
    view.show();

    return app.exec();
}

You can see how this QML / Qt Quick application looks on the screenshot.

What about Visual Studio 2010?

It's possible but you'll have to download Qt sources and
build using Visual Studio compiler which can take 3 hours or more.

Download / Clone Sample Projects from Git Repository

To make it easy for you, the sample projects are freely available as Apache Licensed open source projects in my Nokia Developer Projects Git repository:

https://projects.developer.nokia.com/qmlexperiments

Learning Resources

To get started on Qt GUI / Qt Quick Development on desktop and mobile devices, check out these recommended books:

1. C++ GUI Programming with Qt 4 (2nd Edition) - Prentice Hall
2. Beginning Nokia Apps Development: Qt and HTML5 for Symbian and MeeGo
3. Foundations of Qt Development
4. Advanced Qt Programming: Creating Great Software with C++ and Qt 4

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