Project Options

ProjectOptions

Use this dialog box to set project options.

In the left pane, click an item in a category to display its option page. If you leave the cursor over text describing an option, a tool tip gives you an option description, its default value, and a switch for the option if one exists.

Each configuration, except the Base, is based on another configuration. In the Project Manager pane, the Build Configurations node under the project represents the Base configuration. All configurations are listed under the Build Configurations node in a hierarchical list that shows the parent-child relationship for each configuration.

If an option's value differs from its parent's configuration, its associated text is boldface. To revert to the parent configuration value, right-click the option text and click Revert on the context menu. If you change option values, you can save your set of changes in a new configuration or a named option set. You can switch to this configuration or load this option set into the active configuration.

Build Configuration options	Description
Build Configuration	Displays the active build configuration. Use the drop-down menu to select another build configuration. The Build Configuration drop-down menu lists the configurations for that project—not option sets. Each project has its own list of configurations, independent of other projects. An active configuration's option values can be saved to an option set file with the Save As... button. An option set may be applied entirely or partially to a project's active configuration with the Load... button. Three initial configurations are provided: Base, Debug, and Release. The Base configuration provides a base set of configuration options. It cannot be deleted, so you always have at least one configuration. Some options that contain a list of items, such as defines or paths, have a Merge check box. If checked, the IDE merges the option's list with that of its immediate ancestor's configuration's list for that option. Note that the IDE does not actually change the contents of the option, but acts as if the list included the ancestor's list. If the ancestor's Merge check box is also checked, the IDE also merges this ancestor's list for that option, and so on up the inheritance chain. If unchecked, the IDE uses only the items in the current configuration.
Save As...	Displays the Save As dialog box to save the current configuration's options to a file that can be loaded as a named option set. Only the values in the current active configuration that are different than their parent's configuration are saved in the option set file. This includes any values that you changed in the active configuration as well as any that were already changed from their default values in the configuration.
Load...	Displays the Apply Option Set dialog box to apply the options in a named option set to the current configuration. You have three choices for how you load the values: Overwrite, Replace, or Preserve.

General option	Description
Default	Saves the current settings as the default for each new project.