How can I load 3ds files in my Visual C++ 2010 project (OpenGL)?

Question

I try to figure out how to load 3ds files into my project. After hours of research I found lib3ds. But I still dont know what to do with the source files in there.

What do I have to do to obtain the usual .h and .lib files to copy them in my Visual C++ folder?

Answer 1

When looking at the lib3ds sources, I see a lib3ds.sln in the distribution. Have you tried building the library using this? You should then be able to use the lib3ds.h in your source, and link to the .lib file you built.

Edit

To clarify - double-click on the .sln file to load it into visual studio (if it asks about upgrading the project, let it go ahead and do it.) You can then build the project. After that, if you look in your 3ds output folder tree you'll find a Debug or Release folder (depending on how you built the library).

Back in your application, you can now add a line to #include "lib3ds.h" in your code (you'll need to add the path to the lib3ds code in your project settings/Include directories)

Then, in your build/link settings, add an "additional library" that points to the library you built, e.g. something like c:\mySource\lib3ds\Debug\bin\lib3ds.lib