Managing Projects

To set up a project, you first have to decide what kind of an application you want to develop: whether you want a user interface based on Qt Quick, Qt widgets, or HTML5. For a Qt Quick or HTML5 project, you must also choose the language to implement the application logic: C++ or JavaScript. You can also create other kinds of projects, such as Qt console applications, shared or static C++ libraries, or subprojects.

You can use wizards to create and import projects. The wizards prompt you to enter the settings needed for that particular type of project and create the necessary files for you. You can add your own custom wizards to standardize the way subprojects and classes are added to a project.

The wizards set up projects to use the Qt build tool, qmake. It is a cross-platform system for build automation that helps simplify the build process for development projects across different platforms. qmake automates the generation of build configurations so that only a few lines of information are needed to create each configuration. For more information about qmake, see the qmake Manual.

You can modify the build and run settings for qmake projects in the Projects mode.

Alternatively, you can use the CMake build automation system and set up the projects manually. In addition, you can import generic projects that do not use qmake or CMake. This allows you to use Qt Creator as a code editor. For generic projects, Qt Creator ignores your build system.

To develop applications for Symbian devices, you use qmake and the local Symbian compiler (on Windows) or qmake and a compilation service at Nokia Developer (on Linux and Mac OS) to build the applications for the Symbian devices target. The interface to the compilation service, Remote Compiler, is installed as a part of the Qt SDK. For more information, see Building with Remote Compiler.

You can install Maemo, MeeGo Harmattan, and Symbian targets as parts of the Qt SDK. The build and run settings for the selected targets are set up automatically. However, you need to install and configure some additional software on the devices to be able to connect to them from the development PC.

You can use sessions to store personal data, such as bookmarks and breakpoints that are usually not of interest to other developers working on the same projects. Sessions allow you to quickly switch between projects when you work on several projects.

The following sections describe how to manage projects:

• Creating a Project
• Opening a Project
• Adding Libraries to Projects
• Connecting Maemo Devices
• Connecting MeeGo Harmattan Devices
• Connecting Generic Linux Devices
• Connecting Symbian Devices
• Managing Sessions

For advanced options, see the following topics:

• Adding New Custom Wizards
• Setting Up a CMake Project
• Setting Up a Generic Project