Leap Motion and C++ - How to setup C++ and Leap Motion SDK?

[atzaaa]

Hello,

Is there any basic steps how to setup C++ and Leap Motion SDK? I have done some basic C++/C coding in the past and the syntax feels safe for me to code something.

I just find a bunch of files after I unzip the .zip -file. How to start writing a program? Any steps to take? Do I need to move the files or how to get started on a "blank page" to write a program?

Also how to make an executable would be good to know that runs on background on Windows.

I would like to use Visual Studio 2010 and I am using Windows 7.

Thank you very much!

[zars15]

Here is a quite detailed guide on how to set up compiler or visual studio, to develope with leap motion: https://developer.leapmotion.com/documentation/Languages/C++/Guides/Leap_C++_Development.html

Also, not sure why you have Python mentioned in title.

[atzaaa]

I was first going to go with Python, but decided to change to C++. Apparently the change of topic was not saved when I swapped the language.

So... I have tried your guide before your answer, it is somewhat good, but not as specific as needed, because I am not familiar with Visual Studio 2010 Express.

Following parts confuses me a little bit:

• Make a LEAP_SDK system environment variable to point to your Leap Motion SDK folder. This step is optional, but does simplify creating references to the SDK files in your projects. (As a reminder, you can create and change system environment variables from the Windows System Properties dialog.) - How to make this environment variable?

• In the properties pane, add the SDK include directory to the
  Additional Include Directories field by adding:
  $(LEAP_SDK)\include - Does this mean you browse the folders and accept include -folder in here? Or just add this suggested thing?

• In the properties pane, add the SDK lib\x86 directory (or lib\x64 for 64-bit configurations) to the Additional Library Directories field by adding:
  $(LEAP_SDK)\lib\x86 - Again, does this mean you brose the the folders and accept lib\x86 -folder in here or just add what is suggested?

• Select Linker > Input
  Add Leapd.lib to the Additional Dependencies field. - Just add this? Not the folder where it is?

• Edit the Command Line field to copy the libraries, adding:
  xcopy $(LEAP_SDK)\lib\x86\Leapd.dll "$(TargetDir)"
  xcopy $(LEAP_SDK)\lib\x86\msvcp100d.dll "$(TargetDir)"
  xcopy $(LEAP_SDK)\lib\x86\msvcr100d.dll "$(TargetDir)"

The msvcp100d.dll and msvcr100d.dll libraries are only needed for debugging configurations. For release configurations, copy only Leap.dll. - Again, just like this, copy and paste? If I release (I think means doing a final .exe) two last can be removed?

• Set up a Release configuration:
  Choose the Release configuration.
  Add the SDK include directory as shown above.
  Add references to the Leap Motion libraries as shown above, except using Leap.lib (not Leapd.lib).
  Add a Post-Build Event to copy Leap.dll to the target executable directory. - And this last was tricky.

So all in all, it is tricky, because I am not sure if everything is done correctly and how to do the parts which are hard to find.

Also is there any way to notice, I have done things correctly? Somehow check it.

Thank you if anyone can help.

[zars15]

I hadn't used visual studio that much too, though I managed to get it working nicely.

1. Right click 'My computer' > Properties > Advanced system settings > Enviroment variables > New(under system variables)

Variable name: LEAP_SDK
Variable value: Path to the folder, where you have extracted leap SDK.

1. Since you have already defined LEAP_SDK, all you need to write is '$(LEAP_SDK)\include'.

2. Same as 2. In case you have 64bit machine, you can still go with x86, in case you want to make a software compitable with both - 32bit and 64bit.

3. Yes, only that. You already gave additional folder in previous step, it will look through it and detect Leap.lib.

4. It says to write that, but for some reason it didn't work for me. Just copy required DLLs to folder, that contains compiled code. Remember to use Leapd.dll for debug, and Leap.dll for release, just as it said.

5. It's same as 5. just for release binnary. Remember that for release you only need leap.dll, other 2 aren't nescessarry.

To see if you've done things properly, write a sample code and try to compile it, until debugger doesn't throw errors at you.

Yeah, gotta agree, setting up C++ libraries and other stuff is usually really confusing and tricky proccess, but gotta keep patience and remember it's all trial and error.

Hope you manage to set it up!

[Joe_Ward]

Make a LEAP_SDK system environment variable to point to your Leap Motion SDK folder. This step is optional, but does simplify creating references to the SDK files in your projects. (As a reminder, you can create and change system environment variables from the Windows System Properties dialog.) - How to make this environment variable?

I don't have a copy of Windows 7 handy so I suggest you do a little homework. It should be easily findable on the Internet. Or just skip it for now -- which means you have to replace $(LEAP_SDK) with the actual path in the steps below.

In the properties pane, add the SDK include directory to the
Additional Include Directories field by adding:
$(LEAP_SDK)\include - Does this mean you browse the folders and accept include -folder in here? Or just add this suggested thing?

The $(LEAP_SDK) part is the environment variable you created earlier. You can also browse directly to the folder.

In the properties pane, add the SDK lib\x86 directory (or lib\x64 for 64-bit configurations) to the Additional Library Directories field by adding:
$(LEAP_SDK)\lib\x86 - Again, does this mean you brose the the folders and accept lib\x86 -folder in here or just add what is suggested?

Same as above.

Select Linker > Input
Add Leapd.lib to the Additional Dependencies field. - Just add this? Not the folder where it is?

The folder is specified in the Additional Library Directories entry you just created.

Edit the Command Line field to copy the libraries, adding:
xcopy $(LEAP_SDK)\lib\x86\Leapd.dll "$(TargetDir)"
xcopy $(LEAP_SDK)\lib\x86\msvcp100d.dll "$(TargetDir)"
xcopy $(LEAP_SDK)\lib\x86\msvcr100d.dll "$(TargetDir)"

The msvcp100d.dll and msvcr100d.dll libraries are only needed for debugging configurations. For release configurations, copy only Leap.dll. - Again, just like this, copy and paste? If I release (I think means doing a final .exe) two last can be removed?

Yes, but copy/paste requires the environment variable defined earlier. These steps can also be done manually. They copy the libraries to the folder containing your .exe. For a release configuration, do not include the last two libraries.

Add a Post-Build Event to copy Leap.dll to the target executable directory. - And this last was tricky.

It is the same procedure as above for your debug configuration.

Note that I've only tested this on a few of the many versions of Visual Studio in use. But the steps are essentially the same as those you would use with any code library:

1. Reference the header files
2. Set the linking dependencies
3. Put the .dlls in the right place so they can be found at runtime

[atzaaa]

Thank you all for the answers. I hope this helps other users too that are not familiar with Visual Studio software.

I will setup things tomorrow to get started moving forward.

[Aatoz]

To whom it may concern, please note that there was an error in the documentation. It is present in Joe_Ward's latest post; specifically, it is the instructions for using xcopy.

The syntax there is wrong. The first parameters (Starting with $(LEAP_SDK)) are missing quotations, and also the command does not bypass the prompt to overwrite.

For more information, please see this more recent most.

[yankees]

its not helping me
please upload a video step by step
i.e how to setup leap motion in visual studio(so i can do my programing to develop something that will shock you)

[Aatoz]

Perhaps the utility in this post will help you.

[Joe_Ward]

Note that these are common steps to using ANY library in Visual Studio.

[rohiti346]

Hello All,
I tried configuring Leap sdk for Windows environment . Everytin is taken care as per the documentation mentioned.
Even am able to include LeapC.h but when i add namespace "using namespace Leap;" am getting error that Leap namespace is not found .

Not sure what am doing wrong here. Any help is appreciated .

[AlexColgan]

Are you using the version 4 software? It's important to note that the C++ implementation for version 4 was removed in favour of LeapC. It can be reimplemented using this method: https://github.com/leapmotion/LeapCxx