Use Visual Studio Code for C++

1. Install MinGW

1. Download MinGW from https://sourceforge.net/projects/mingw/
2. After installing, open the MinGW Installation Manager
3. Under Basic Setup, right click mingw32-gcc-g++ and click on Mark for Installation
4. Go to the tab Installation at the top and click on Apply Changes then apply.

2. Add MinGW to PATH

Windows 10

1. Find Edit Environment Variables Window.
   • Method 1
     1. Open the start menu and search for Edit Environment Variables
     2. Under the Advanced tab, click on Environment Variables.
   • Method 2
     1. Press Windows Logo + Pause Break
     2. Under the Advanced tab, click on Environment Variables.
   • Method 3
     1. Right click My Computer in the start menu and press on Properties.
     2. In the new window, find the Advanced System Settings in the pane at the left.
     3. Under the Advanced tab, click on Environment Variables.
2. Choose either User Variables or System Variables and find Path
3. Click on the entry and press Edit
4. Click on New in the new window and add C:\MinGW\bin (Depending on where you installed MinGW)
5. Make sure gcc is properly added to path by running a terminal (cmd) and type in gcc

Windows 7

1. Find Edit Environment Variables Window.
   • Method 1
     1. Press Windows Logo + Pause Break
     2. Under the Advanced tab, click on Environment Variables.
   • Method 2
     1. Right click My Computer in the start menu and press on Properties.
     2. In the new window, find the Advanced System Settings in the pane at the left.
     3. Under the Advanced tab, click on Environment Variables.
2. Choose either User Variables or System Variables and find Path
3. Click on the entry and press Edit
4. Add ;C:\MinGW\bin at the end. Make sure that there isn't two semicolons and that you put a semicolon if there isn't already.
5. Make sure gcc is properly added to path by running a terminal (cmd) and type in gcc

3. Install Git

1. Download Git from https://git-scm.com/

2. Install and make sure to check Install on PATH

   • If Git is already installed but isn't on PATH, then follow the instructions on adding MinGW to path, but instead add %USERPROFILE\AppData\Local\GitHubDesktop\bin or C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\GitHubDesktop\bin

3. Make sure Git is properly added to path by running a terminal (cmd) and type in git

4. Install Visual Studio Code

1. Download VSCode from https://code.visualstudio.com/
2. Install the following extensions:
   1. C/C++: ms-vscode.cpptools
   2. C/C++ Compile Run: danielpinto8zz6.c-cpp-compile-run

   • Method 1

     1. Open Quick Open Ctrl + P
     2. Type in ext install <extension identifier>
     3. Extension codes are provided above.

     

   • Method 2

     1. Open Extensions Ctrl + Shift + X or at the left side usually at the last.
     2. Search for the name or extension identifier.

5. Running your code

1. Open your file in VSCode, either by dropping it in the window or opening it in the File tab above. (Opening a folder is best.)
   • Make sure your file does not have a space in it, or it will fail to compile.
2. Press F6 in order to Compile and Run or Open the Command Palette and type Compile and Run.
3. If your code ran, then congratulations. If not, make sure the steps you followed are correct and make sure there aren't any errors. (Can be opened by doing Ctrl + Shift + M or pressing the icon with ❌ at the bottom.)

6. Optional Extensions & Settings

Optional Extensions I use

1. Code Spell Checker: streetsidesoftware.code-spell-checker
2. Dark+ Material: vangware.dark-plus-material
   • Open Command Palette Ctrl + Shift + P and type in Color Theme and then find Dark+ Material.
3. Gremlins: nhoizey.gremlins
4. Snake Trail: richie5um2.snake-trail

Optional Settings I use

1. Open settings Ctrl + ,
2. Edit your settings.json file to the following items

{
    "window.titleBarStyle": "custom",
    "files.autoSave": "afterDelay",
    "files.trimFinalNewlines": true,
    "files.trimTrailingWhitespace": true,
    "editor.cursorBlinking": "phase",
    "editor.cursorStyle": "block",
    "editor.formatOnPaste": true,
    "editor.formatOnSave": true,
    "editor.formatOnType": true,
    "editor.wordWrap": "on",
    "editor.smoothScrolling": true,
    "editor.fontLigatures": true,
    "editor.mouseWheelZoom": true,
    "workbench.statusBar.visible": true,
    "workbench.activityBar.visible": true,
    "cSpell.allowCompoundWords": true,
}