Copying .dlls into target directory

JKSH

The answers in your link were complicated because the asker wanted everything done automatically. This is not strictly necessary (but it does save you a minute or so each time you want to deploy)

From the Windows command line, do this:

Navigate to the folder which contains your Qt DLLs
Add the MinGW directory to your PATH
Run the deployment tool, tell it where to find your built executable (see http://doc.qt.io/qt-5/windows-deployment.html)

Example: (Assumes that you installed Qt into C:\Qt, that you're using Qt 5.6.2,, and that you have compiled your app into D:\Projects\MyApp\build-MyApp-Desktop_Qt_5_6_2_MinGW_32bit-Release\release)

> cd C:\Qt\5.6\mingw49_32\bin
> set path=%path%;C:\Qt\Tools\mingw492_32\bin
> windeployqt.exe D:\Projects\MyApp\build-MyApp-Desktop_Qt_5_6_2_MinGW_32bit-Release\release

VRonin

as an altrenative, in your .pro file just add to INSTALLS the libraries you want and calling make install will copy them over

mzimmers

Thank you both.

I think I prefer the solution proposed by VRonin, mainly because I understand it better. Unfortunately, I'm getting this error when I try to build:

:-1: warning: C:/Qt/5.7/mingw53_32/bin\libgcc_s_dw2-1.dll.path is not defined: install target not created

The path is definitely there, and the file exists. What am I doing wrong?

Thanks...

VRonin

Could you post the content of the pro file?

Maybe just running qmake again is enough to fix this problem

mzimmers

Hi, Vronin -

I fixed that problem by following the syntax used in the examples I posted above (with the .path and the .files).

Now I get no errors, but the file still doesn't move to the target directory (in this case, the debug directory).

.pro file:

TEMPLATE = app
CONFIG += CONSOLE
CONFIG -= qt
TARGET = storefile
SOURCES += \
	storefile_client.cpp

#win32:QMAKE_CXXFLAGS += /MD

HEADERS += \
	storefile_client.h \

win32:LIBS += "C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\8.0\Lib\win8\um\x86\ws2_32.lib"

INCLUDEPATH += "../ARM/inc/"

win32 {
    libsto_copy.files += $$QMAKE_LIBDIR_QT/libgcc_s_dw2-1.dll
}
libs_to_copy.path = $$OUT_PWD/$$OUTDIR
INSTALLS += libs_to_copy
#INSTALLS += $$[QT_INSTALL_BINS]\libgcc_s_dw2-1.dll
#INSTALLS += C:\Qt\5.7\mingw53_32\bin\libgcc_s_dw2-1.dll

Thank you.

mzimmers

fixed the typo; still doesn't work:

TEMPLATE = app
CONFIG += CONSOLE
CONFIG -= qt
TARGET = storefile
SOURCES += \
	storefile_client.cpp

#win32:QMAKE_CXXFLAGS += /MD

HEADERS += \
	storefile_client.h \

win32:LIBS += "C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\8.0\Lib\win8\um\x86\ws2_32.lib"

INCLUDEPATH += "../ARM/inc/"

libs_to_copy.files = $$QMAKE_LIBDIR_QT/libgcc_s_dw2-1.dll
libs_to_copy.path = $$OUT_PWD/$$OUTDIR
INSTALLS += libs_to_copy
#INSTALLS += $$[QT_INSTALL_BINS]\libgcc_s_dw2-1.dll
#INSTALLS += C:\Qt\5.7\mingw53_32\bin\libgcc_s_dw2-1.dll

Oddly enough, it's copying the .o file, but not the .dll I want.

mrjj

Hi
Im wondering if mixing

/ and  \ is ok?
 C:/Qt/5.7/mingw53_32/bin\libgcc_s_dw2-1.dll. 
                         ^

mzimmers

@mrjj said in copying .dlls into target directory:

Hi
Im wondering if mixing

/ and  \ is ok?
 C:/Qt/5.7/mingw53_32/bin\libgcc_s_dw2-1.dll. 
                         ^

Good question. In my hard-coded tests, I tried it with all "/" and all "" and get the same error, though.

Does qmake have some kind of echo function where I can output the value of variables?

Thanks.

mrjj

Ok, was just a thought.
You can outout with

message($$VAR)

mzimmers

Well, I'm still stuck on this. The problem appears to be in this area:

DESTDIR = $$(OUT_PWD)
extra_libs.files = MY_LIB_FILES
extra_libs.path = $$(DESTDIR)

## Tell qmake to add the moving of them to the 'install' target
INSTALLS += extra_libs

I get this error (warning):

:-1: warning: extra_libs.path is not defined: install target not created

OUT_PWD appears to be OK. I don't really know what I'm doing with the variable "extra_lib" as that was just yanked from an example above. I assumed the .files and .path were properties of the variable, but now I'm questioning what I'm doing.

Anyone able to shed some light onto this?

Thanks.

UPDATE:

I just clicked on the "see more replies" part of the answer I was trying to copy -- someone claims that INSTALLS doesn't work on Windows. Can anyone confirm or deny this? I don't find anything about this limitation in the docs. I tried invoking the make from the command line, and got this:

C:\Qt\Tools\mingw530_32\bin>.\mingw32-make.exe install
mingw32-make: *** No rule to make target 'install'.  Stop.

So I guess it is true...?

JKSH

Try using hard-coded paths first and see if you can get that to work. After you succeed, replace the hard-coded paths with variables.

(I haven't used INSTALLS before and don't currently have access to a computer to try it myself)

mzimmers

Now using:

C:\Qt\5.7\mingw53_32\bin

Same results.

mrjj

well I was under the impression that make install was a unix thing as doc mentioned but
then i read that mingw-make does have "install". I have however never tried it.

But the plugandpaint example has

target.path = $$[QT_INSTALL_EXAMPLES]/widgets/tools/plugandpaint
INSTALLS += target
which maps to
C:/Qt/Examples/Qt-5.7/widgets/tools/plugandpaint
But nothing is copied there so Im not sure it does work.

kshegunov

@mrjj said in copying .dlls into target directory:

well I was under the impression that make install was a unix thing as doc mentioned but

No, it's a make thing. Any self-respecting make implementation (including MS's nmake) should provide the install target out of the box. :)

But the plugandpaint example has

Well, how did you install? Did you call make install (or equivalent) from the Qt source's base path? If not, you've erred, because there's a chain of pro files (and mkspecs and other goodies that get included and ultimately the QT_INSTALL_EXAMPLES is set for you). But anyway, that's another matter altogether.

@mzimmers

I suggest you run qmake manually with -d or -d -d to get some debug info back. It is possible that the qmake's makefile generator doesn't respect the INSTALLS variable (although I see no reason it shouldn't).

Kind regards.

mzimmers

@kshegunov - thank you for the suggestion. I tried this and got ~6700 error messages; I'm not sure I did it correctly.

I do have another question: my build steps are to run make first, then qmake. If qmake is a "meta-make" tool, shouldn't the order be 1) qmake and 2) make?

Thank you.

jsulm

@mzimmers Yes qmake should be the first one

mzimmers

Well, somehow they got switched (I probably fat-fingered it). I put them in the correct order (qmake, make, make install) and still it doesn't copy the files. Here's the compiler output:

08:42:17: Running steps for project storefile_client...
08:42:17: Configuration unchanged, skipping qmake step.
08:42:17: Starting: "C:\Qt\Tools\mingw530_32\bin\mingw32-make.exe" 
C:/Qt/Tools/mingw530_32/bin/mingw32-make -f Makefile.Debug
mingw32-make[1]: Entering directory 'C:/Users/mzimmers/Wideband/Peninsula/build-storefile_client-Desktop_Qt_5_7_0_MinGW_32bit-Debug'
g++ -c -pipe -fno-keep-inline-dllexport -g -std=gnu++11 -frtti -Wall -Wextra -fexceptions -mthreads -DUNICODE -DQT_QML_DEBUG -I..\storefile_client -I. -I..\ARM\inc -IC:\Qt\5.7\mingw53_32\mkspecs\win32-g++  -o debug\storefile_client.o ..\storefile_client\storefile_client.cpp
g++ -Wl,-subsystem,console -mthreads -o debug\storefile.exe debug/storefile_client.o  "C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\8.0\Lib\win8\um\x86\ws2_32.lib" 
mingw32-make[1]: Leaving directory 'C:/Users/mzimmers/Wideband/Peninsula/build-storefile_client-Desktop_Qt_5_7_0_MinGW_32bit-Debug'
08:42:18: The process "C:\Qt\Tools\mingw530_32\bin\mingw32-make.exe" exited normally.
08:42:18: Starting: "C:\Qt\Tools\mingw530_32\bin\mingw32-make.exe" install
C:/Qt/Tools/mingw530_32/bin/mingw32-make -f Makefile.Debug install
mingw32-make[1]: Entering directory 'C:/Users/mzimmers/Wideband/Peninsula/build-storefile_client-Desktop_Qt_5_7_0_MinGW_32bit-Debug'
**mingw32-make[1]: Nothing to be done for 'install'.**
mingw32-make[1]: Leaving directory 'C:/Users/mzimmers/Wideband/Peninsula/build-storefile_client-Desktop_Qt_5_7_0_MinGW_32bit-Debug'
08:42:19: The process "C:\Qt\Tools\mingw530_32\bin\mingw32-make.exe" exited normally.
08:42:19: Elapsed time: 00:02.

To my layman eyes, it's looking more like the make that comes with mingw doesn't honor installs?

kshegunov

Honestly, I have no idea. Could you attach the make file and the pro you're currently using?

mzimmers

@kshegunov : I don't know how to attach files, so I uploaded them to here.

You should be able to view and/or download from there. If not, please let me know.

Thanks...

kshegunov

I don't know how to attach files

That's what I meant - upload and post the link.

From what I can see in the makefile your install target is empty (FORCE goes to the end):

install:  FORCE

And there's something suspicious about the .pro, you've commented INSTALLS += libs_to_copy and used INSTALLS += C:\Qt\5.7\mingw53_32\bin\libgcc_s_dw2-1.dll instead.

I suggest setting a hard path (not through a var) for the libs_to_copy contents and trying with INSTALLS += libs_to_copy. After modifying the file, don't forget to run qmake and then make, make install.