The path to include header files

Question

Assuming there is C:\somelib\headerfromsomelib.h . I used to put on my project.pro the following

INCLUDEPATH += C:\somelib

And on file.cpp I will put

#include "headerfromsomelib.h" 

Then hitting F2 over it will led me to that header file.

In another approach I can, instead, add C:\somelib to the INCLUDE environment variable. So its not necessary to add anything to the pro file. And it still builds. I found this approach interesting since it adds flexibility, in a project with multiple developers everyone will be able to have somelib in a different path.

However hitting F2 on the include line on QtCreator will not led me to the header file anymore. Am I missing something or this is a downside of the this approach?

Answer 1

A more reliable way of using environment variables for library paths is to create environment variables for each library. Eg create an environment variable SOMELIB_PATH then you can do:

INCLUDEPATH += $$(SOMELIB_PATH)

This can be extended for libraries you need to link to as well:

INCLUDEPATH += $$(SOMELIB_PATH)/include
LIBS += -L$$(SOMELIB_PATH)/lib -lsomelib