Build fails in release mode

Bryan Kelly 486

I am far from expert in VS so please be explicit
Windows 11, Visual Studio 2019, C++

Trying to learn wxWidgets. The basic Hello World file compiles in debug but not in release.
The first few lines look like this.

I have tried changing PATH, and the properties pages

For example wxprec.h is found here:

C:\WXWIDGETS\3.2.0\include\wx\wxprec.h

Environment variable WXWIN is set to C:\WXWIDGETS\3.2.0

What needs to be different?

David Lowndes 4,726 Reputation points

2022-07-17T20:56:08.2+00:00

Note that the project has different settings for debug & release configurations. Presumably you have the debug one's set correctly, but not the release.
Bryan Kelly 486 Reputation points

2022-07-17T21:30:26.147+00:00

Re: Presumably you have the debug one's set correctly, but not the release.

Why yes, that appears to be the problem. So where are those that need to be set for release mode?
I am far from a VS expert and need some detailed guidance.
David Lowndes 4,726 Reputation points

2022-07-17T21:33:51.74+00:00

Your screen shows shows your debug configuration - pick the release one from the combo box and then compare and contrast the differences you have.
YujianYao-MSFT 4,296 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2022-07-18T03:58:14.41+00:00

Hi @Bryan Kelly ,

I found this question is similar to your previous question, could you please tell me what is the difference between the two questions?
Bryan Kelly 486 Reputation points

2022-07-18T18:20:34.953+00:00

Does this mean that for every solution a user creates, we must show the configuration, capture it with a screen capture, change the mode (debug to release or reverse), show the config again, and compare every detail?
There are multiple config dialogs so this will take significant time and be tedious.
RLWA32 49,536 Reputation points

2022-07-18T18:51:37.433+00:00

As I explained in my posted answer you should be using the provided property sheet which would handle the situation that you describe automatically.

And the guidance from How to use wxMSW binaries -

"Using Binaries with Visual Studio

Next step is to set up your project to use these files: for this, simply add the provided wxwidgets.props file as a property sheet to your project. This can be done using View|Property Manager menu item in the IDE and selecting "Add Existing Property Sheet..." from the project popup menu.

Note: your project must use "Unicode Character Set" option.

Now you should be able to build and run your project successfully, both in "Debug" and "Release" configurations. Please note that during run-time the executables will require wxWidgets DLLs in addition to MSVC run-time DLLs, so you should consider adding the directory containing these DLLs to your PATH and either distributing them with your application or instructing your users to download them."
Bryan Kelly 486 Reputation points

2022-07-21T21:18:35.037+00:00

I tried replying to the reply from DavidLowndes-6766, but my post disappeared.

Re: Your screen shows shows your debug configuration - pick the release one from the combo box and then compare and contrast the differences you have.

That seems like for every project I will need to show each of the properties sheets in Debug, capture the images, then show each in Release mode and look for differences. That seems ridiculous so I presume there is something I don't understand about the reply.
David Lowndes 4,726 Reputation points

2022-07-21T22:25:15.21+00:00

The VS IDE allows you to select all configurations to be edited at once and indicates where there are differences between configurations by displaying <different options>.

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RLWA32 49,536 Reputation points

2022-07-18T01:25:12.337+00:00

I don't think that you have followed the instructions from the wxwidgets site. After installing wxwidgets the guidance given is that you add the wxwidgets.props property sheet to your project. This will automatically provide the proper configuration for your vs2019 project.

I suggest you start with a clean slate by creating a new solution for the wxwidgets "Hello World" sample.

Open your new solution and view the Property Manager pane. Right click on your project and select "Add existing property sheet...". In the dialog that opens navigate to C:\wxwidgets\3.2.0 and select wxwidgets.props.

Expand the nodes in the property manager and this is what you should see --

At this point you should be able to build the sample code.
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RLWA32 49,536 Reputation points

2022-07-21T00:34:11.56+00:00

@Bryan Kelly Have you made any progress with this?

Bryan Kelly 486 Reputation points

2022-07-21T21:31:13.14+00:00

Replying to the detailed post by: RLWA32-6355
There were a couple of things I did not understand and tried a bunch of stuff in the mean time.
Now I have made things worse. My wx_hello project will compile but the linker throws out 340 unresolved externals.

The Property Manager dialog looks much similiar to the image provided, but, the image here has a second level item named:

wxWidget Setup Options

for each of the four top level items. It is not present in my display.

I am getting really disappointed in my inability to get a simple project working.
I have looked at the manual pages for wxWidgets and find no simple instructions for creating a simple project.

All the wxWidgets source code is on my C drive and the batch build process for VS 2019 works without error.
Does there exist a web site with instructions to get a very simple project working within my own working directories?

RLWA32 49,536 Reputation points

2022-07-21T23:34:49.81+00:00

Did you build DLLs or Static libs for wxWidgets? Did you build for x86 or x64?

Bryan Kelly 486 Reputation points

2022-07-21T23:54:42.76+00:00

From the tool bar I selected Build -> Batch Build
The default was to have everything checked.
So I clicked Clean and after a bit clicked Rebuild.
It ran for a while as I ate dinner, then Output noted no errors.
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Bryan Kelly 486 Reputation points

2022-07-21T23:58:35.673+00:00

I don't see an edit option so just to be certain.
...
Now I see an edit option, and my post from a minute ago is not visible.

With wxWidget solution wx_vc16 opened, I clicked: Build -> Batch Build
It opened with all options selected.
I clicked Clean, let it finish, then Rebuild All and took a break.
After a while the Output panel declared no errors.
Is this what you asked about?
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RLWA32 49,536 Reputation points

2022-07-22T10:44:59.187+00:00

Sorry, but I had to post an image of my instructions for you because this site refused accept the entered text -
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RLWA32 49,536 Reputation points

2022-07-22T14:56:17.977+00:00

Images associated with previous instructions -

Step 2 Delete subfolders in lib

Step 3 wxWidgets solution build

Step 6 Create Empty Project

Step 7 Add source file

Step 8 Change Linker property

Step 9 Paste "Hello World" sample into source file

Step 10 After adding the wxwidgets property sheet to project

Step 12 Environment variable for path to wxwidgets DLL folder

Step 13 Runing "Hello world" wxwidgets sample
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Bryan Kelly 486 Reputation points

2022-07-22T15:50:23.78+00:00

Wow. You put a lot of effort into your reply.
I struggle with clinical depression and have been getting frustrated at my inability to get something working.

And sometimes when clicking Post Your Answer, a new page opens stating that my request could not be performed. I will watch for that next time, screen capture, and post in the right forum.

Just wanted to let you know I am working your reply and will post again soon.
Thank you for your time and thank you for your patience.
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RLWA32 49,536 Reputation points

2022-07-22T15:59:09.41+00:00

I empathize with you about the frustrating behavior of the Q&A site. I did a little venting and provided some feedback at https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/idea/938133/massive-waste-of-time-creating-answers-that-this-s.html.

Anyway,, I hope you find success by going slow and step by step.
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Build fails in release mode

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