将 Qt 集成到现有的 VS 项目中以替换 WinAPI

Question

I'm using VS2019 and Qt 5.12.9, and I have an old C++ project that currently uses WinAPI for its UI elements. I would like to gradually replace this with UI implemented in Qt, at first targeting specific windows, and eventually phasing out WinAPI altogether. To this end, I have two questions:

1. How do I modify the VS project files so the project will perform all the necessary build operations (.moc files, etc.)?
2. Is it possible to have Qt and WinAPI UI "side-by-side"? In other words, the main window would still use the Windows message loop and window procedures, but for specific windows, I would instantiate Qt objects.

Please keep in mind that the setup described in 2) is a temporary solution. I don't intend to juggle the two forever, the project is just too large to completely replace the UI right away.

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

So based on the recommendations of @IInspectable in the comments, I decided to try upgrading the app using WinUI instead of Qt. The issues I ran into there will require their own separate question, so for now, I'll post my own conclusions here:

1. If you want to use Qt, the most reliable option is to start an entirely new VS project (and maybe port over some of your backend code). Mixing Qt with WinAPI is just too complicated and unreliable.
2. If you want to use WinUI, keep in mind that your application will only run on Windows 10 . If that isn't a concern, but you are working with legacy code, you may also need to untangle a lot of old configurations (Windows version defines, etc.) that are necessary for WinUI to work.