Unresolved externals error - Visual C++ using FTD2XX.h

Question

I am fairly new to C++ programming, so please bear with me. I am writing a small application in visual studio that would be used to communicate with an FTDI module (UM232H high speed USB module). FTDI provides the D2XX drivers for this module and is readily available on their website. Right now the program I have is very simple. It is calling a function called FT_Open (ftd2xx.h) to simply open the device and top check to see if the device is connected to the computer.

However right now I keep getting the error LNK2019 , unresolved external symbol. Now I did read through the application note provide by Visual Studio website but I still can not seem to resolve my error. I think I am making a silly mistake and would like some guidance from you guys, if you guys could help me out.

I have provide my code as well as the header file (ftd2xx.h) that was provide from the FTDI website.

Main Program:

// ConsoleApplication2.cpp : Defines the entry point for the console application.
//    
#include "stdafx.h"
#include "ftd2xx.h"
#include <iostream>

using namespace std;
FT_HANDLE ftHandle;
FT_STATUS ftStatus;

int main(){     
    ftStatus =  FT_Open(0,&ftHandle);

    if (ftStatus == FT_OK) {
        cout << "hello world";
    // FT_Open OK, use ftHandle to access device
    }
    else {
    // FT_Open failed
    }
    return 0;
}


ftd2xx.h:    
#include "windows.h"    
/*#include <stdarg.h>
#include <windef.h>
#include <winnt.h>
#include <winbase.h>*/

/*++    
Copyright © 2001-2011 Future Technology Devices International Limited

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY FUTURE TECHNOLOGY DEVICES INTERNATIONAL LIMITED "AS IS"
AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES
OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL
FUTURE TECHNOLOGY DEVICES INTERNATIONAL LIMITED BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT
OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR
TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE,
EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

FTDI DRIVERS MAY BE USED ONLY IN CONJUNCTION WITH PRODUCTS BASED ON FTDI PARTS.

FTDI DRIVERS MAY BE DISTRIBUTED IN ANY FORM AS LONG AS LICENSE INFORMATION IS NOT MODIFIED.

IF A CUSTOM VENDOR ID AND/OR PRODUCT ID OR DESCRIPTION STRING ARE USED, IT IS THE
RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PRODUCT MANUFACTURER TO MAINTAIN ANY CHANGES AND SUBSEQUENT WHQL
RE-CERTIFICATION AS A RESULT OF MAKING THESE CHANGES.

Module Name:    
ftd2xx.h

Abstract:    
Native USB device driver for FTDI FT232x, FT245x, FT2232x and FT4232x devices
FTD2XX library definitions

Environment:    
kernel & user mode        
--*/


#ifndef FTD2XX_H
#define FTD2XX_H

// The following ifdef block is the standard way of creating macros
// which make exporting from a DLL simpler.  All files within this DLL
// are compiled with the FTD2XX_EXPORTS symbol defined on the command line.
// This symbol should not be defined on any project that uses this DLL.
// This way any other project whose source files include this file see
// FTD2XX_API functions as being imported from a DLL, whereas this DLL
// sees symbols defined with this macro as being exported.

#ifdef FTD2XX_EXPORTS
#define FTD2XX_API __declspec(dllexport)
#else
#define FTD2XX_API __declspec(dllimport)
#endif    

typedef PVOID   FT_HANDLE;
typedef ULONG   FT_STATUS;

//
// Device status
//
enum {
    FT_OK,
    FT_INVALID_HANDLE,
    FT_DEVICE_NOT_FOUND,
    FT_DEVICE_NOT_OPENED,
    FT_IO_ERROR,
    FT_INSUFFICIENT_RESOURCES,
    FT_INVALID_PARAMETER,
    FT_INVALID_BAUD_RATE,

    FT_DEVICE_NOT_OPENED_FOR_ERASE,
    FT_DEVICE_NOT_OPENED_FOR_WRITE,
    FT_FAILED_TO_WRITE_DEVICE,
    FT_EEPROM_READ_FAILED,
    FT_EEPROM_WRITE_FAILED,
    FT_EEPROM_ERASE_FAILED,
    FT_EEPROM_NOT_PRESENT,
    FT_EEPROM_NOT_PROGRAMMED,
    FT_INVALID_ARGS,
    FT_NOT_SUPPORTED,
    FT_OTHER_ERROR,
    FT_DEVICE_LIST_NOT_READY,
};


#define FT_SUCCESS(status) ((status) == FT_OK)    
//
// FT_OpenEx Flags
//    
#define FT_OPEN_BY_SERIAL_NUMBER    1
#define FT_OPEN_BY_DESCRIPTION      2
#define FT_OPEN_BY_LOCATION         4

//
// FT_ListDevices Flags (used in conjunction with FT_OpenEx Flags
//

#define FT_LIST_NUMBER_ONLY         0x80000000
#define FT_LIST_BY_INDEX            0x40000000
#define FT_LIST_ALL                 0x20000000

#define FT_LIST_MASK (FT_LIST_NUMBER_ONLY|FT_LIST_BY_INDEX|FT_LIST_ALL)    
//
// Baud Rates
//    
#define FT_BAUD_300         300
#define FT_BAUD_600         600
#define FT_BAUD_1200        1200
#define FT_BAUD_2400        2400
#define FT_BAUD_4800        4800
#define FT_BAUD_9600        9600
#define FT_BAUD_14400       14400
#define FT_BAUD_19200       19200
#define FT_BAUD_38400       38400
#define FT_BAUD_57600       57600
#define FT_BAUD_115200      115200
#define FT_BAUD_230400      230400
#define FT_BAUD_460800      460800
#define FT_BAUD_921600      921600    
//
// Word Lengths
//    
#define FT_BITS_8           (UCHAR) 8
#define FT_BITS_7           (UCHAR) 7    
//
// Stop Bits
//    
#define FT_STOP_BITS_1      (UCHAR) 0
#define FT_STOP_BITS_2      (UCHAR) 2    
//
// Parity
//    
#define FT_PARITY_NONE      (UCHAR) 0
#define FT_PARITY_ODD       (UCHAR) 1
#define FT_PARITY_EVEN      (UCHAR) 2
#define FT_PARITY_MARK      (UCHAR) 3
#define FT_PARITY_SPACE     (UCHAR) 4    
//
// Flow Control
//    
#define FT_FLOW_NONE        0x0000
#define FT_FLOW_RTS_CTS     0x0100
#define FT_FLOW_DTR_DSR     0x0200
#define FT_FLOW_XON_XOFF    0x0400

//
// Purge rx and tx buffers
//
#define FT_PURGE_RX         1
#define FT_PURGE_TX         2    
//
// Events
//    
typedef void (*PFT_EVENT_HANDLER)(DWORD,DWORD);    
#define FT_EVENT_RXCHAR         1
#define FT_EVENT_MODEM_STATUS   2
#define FT_EVENT_LINE_STATUS    4

//
// Timeouts
//    
#define FT_DEFAULT_RX_TIMEOUT   300
#define FT_DEFAULT_TX_TIMEOUT   300

//
// Device types
//    
typedef ULONG   FT_DEVICE;

enum {
    FT_DEVICE_BM,
    FT_DEVICE_AM,
    FT_DEVICE_100AX,
    FT_DEVICE_UNKNOWN,
    FT_DEVICE_2232C,
    FT_DEVICE_232R,
    FT_DEVICE_2232H,
    FT_DEVICE_4232H,
    FT_DEVICE_232H,
    FT_DEVICE_X_SERIES
};

//
// Bit Modes
//    
#define FT_BITMODE_RESET                    0x00
#define FT_BITMODE_ASYNC_BITBANG            0x01
#define FT_BITMODE_MPSSE                    0x02
#define FT_BITMODE_SYNC_BITBANG             0x04
#define FT_BITMODE_MCU_HOST                 0x08
#define FT_BITMODE_FAST_SERIAL              0x10
#define FT_BITMODE_CBUS_BITBANG             0x20
#define FT_BITMODE_SYNC_FIFO                0x40

//
// FT232R CBUS Options EEPROM values
//    
#define FT_232R_CBUS_TXDEN                  0x00    //  Tx Data Enable
#define FT_232R_CBUS_PWRON                  0x01    //  Power On
#define FT_232R_CBUS_RXLED                  0x02    //  Rx LED
#define FT_232R_CBUS_TXLED                  0x03    //  Tx LED
#define FT_232R_CBUS_TXRXLED                0x04    //  Tx and Rx LED
#define FT_232R_CBUS_SLEEP                  0x05    //  Sleep
#define FT_232R_CBUS_CLK48                  0x06    //  48MHz clock
#define FT_232R_CBUS_CLK24                  0x07    //  24MHz clock
#define FT_232R_CBUS_CLK12                  0x08    //  12MHz clock
#define FT_232R_CBUS_CLK6                   0x09    //  6MHz clock
#define FT_232R_CBUS_IOMODE                 0x0A    //  IO Mode for CBUS bit-bang
#define FT_232R_CBUS_BITBANG_WR             0x0B    //  Bit-bang write strobe
#define FT_232R_CBUS_BITBANG_RD             0x0C    //  Bit-bang read strobe

//
// FT232H CBUS Options EEPROM values
//    
#define FT_232H_CBUS_TRISTATE               0x00    //  Tristate
#define FT_232H_CBUS_TXLED                  0x01    //  Tx LED
#define FT_232H_CBUS_RXLED                  0x02    //  Rx LED
#define FT_232H_CBUS_TXRXLED                0x03    //  Tx and Rx LED
#define FT_232H_CBUS_PWREN                  0x04    //  Power Enable
#define FT_232H_CBUS_SLEEP                  0x05    //  Sleep
#define FT_232H_CBUS_DRIVE_0                0x06    //  Drive pin to logic 0
#define FT_232H_CBUS_DRIVE_1                0x07    //  Drive pin to logic 1
#define FT_232H_CBUS_IOMODE                 0x08    //  IO Mode for CBUS bit-bang
#define FT_232H_CBUS_TXDEN                  0x09    //  Tx Data Enable
#define FT_232H_CBUS_CLK30                  0x0A    //  30MHz clock
#define FT_232H_CBUS_CLK15                  0x0B    //  15MHz clock
#define FT_232H_CBUS_CLK7_5                 0x0C    //  7.5MHz clock

//
// FT X Series CBUS Options EEPROM values
//    
#define FT_X_SERIES_CBUS_TRISTATE           0x00    //  Tristate
#define FT_X_SERIES_CBUS_RXLED              0x01    //  Tx LED
#define FT_X_SERIES_CBUS_TXLED              0x02    //  Rx LED
#define FT_X_SERIES_CBUS_TXRXLED            0x03    //  Tx and Rx LED
#define FT_X_SERIES_CBUS_PWREN              0x04    //  Power Enable
#define FT_X_SERIES_CBUS_SLEEP              0x05    //  Sleep
#define FT_X_SERIES_CBUS_DRIVE_0            0x06    //  Drive pin to logic 0
#define FT_X_SERIES_CBUS_DRIVE_1            0x07    //  Drive pin to logic 1
#define FT_X_SERIES_CBUS_IOMODE             0x08    //  IO Mode for CBUS bit-bang
#define FT_X_SERIES_CBUS_TXDEN              0x09    //  Tx Data Enable
#define FT_X_SERIES_CBUS_CLK24              0x0A    //  24MHz clock
#define FT_X_SERIES_CBUS_CLK12              0x0B    //  12MHz clock
#define FT_X_SERIES_CBUS_CLK6               0x0C    //  6MHz clock
#define FT_X_SERIES_CBUS_BCD_CHARGER        0x0D    //  Battery charger detected
#define FT_X_SERIES_CBUS_BCD_CHARGER_N      0x0E    //  Battery charger detected inverted
#define FT_X_SERIES_CBUS_I2C_TXE            0x0F    //  I2C Tx empty
#define FT_X_SERIES_CBUS_I2C_RXF            0x10    //  I2C Rx full
#define FT_X_SERIES_CBUS_VBUS_SENSE         0x11    //  Detect VBUS
#define FT_X_SERIES_CBUS_BITBANG_WR         0x12    //  Bit-bang write strobe
#define FT_X_SERIES_CBUS_BITBANG_RD         0x13    //  Bit-bang read strobe
#define FT_X_SERIES_CBUS_TIMESTAMP          0x14    //  Toggle output when a USB SOF token is received
#define FT_X_SERIES_CBUS_KEEP_AWAKE         0x15    //  


// Driver types
#define FT_DRIVER_TYPE_D2XX     0
#define FT_DRIVER_TYPE_VCP      1

#ifdef __cplusplus
extern "C" {
#endif    

    FTD2XX_API
        FT_STATUS WINAPI FT_Open(
        int deviceNumber,
        FT_HANDLE *pHandle
        );

--Rest of the of the header file was omitted because of the limit to the number of characters I could write.

Sorry for the large amount of code I provided here, I just wanted to be sure that I provided everything that I possibly could. Let me know if I would need to provide the rest of the header file.

Answer 1

Maybe it is bit later for an answer. I got same error with old outdated ftd2xx.lib file. Afetr adding new ftd2xx.lib, ftd2xx.dll and ftd2xx.h files, cleaning and rebuilding the project a problem was solved.

Answer 2

Have you made sure to include the .lib your compiler will need to link against? Along with any header files, they probably provided a .lib and/or .dll.

Answer 3

If you use the static version of the .lib , you will have to define FTD2XX_STATIC to the preprocessor, as explained in the documentation (chapter 2.4 of Instructions on Including the D2XX Driver in a VS Express Project ).