Question

I’ve installed Code::Blocks with MinGW and OpenCV 2.4.3. I want to compile this simple program:

#include <opencv2/highgui/highgui.hpp>
#include <iostream>

using namespace cv;
using namespace std;

int main()
{
  Mat im = imread("c:/path/to/lena.jpg");
  if (im.empty()) {
    cout << "Cannot open image!" << endl;
    return 1;
  }
  imshow("Image", im);
  waitKey(0);
}

How to properly setup CodeBlocks for compiling the code above?

I have installed OpenCV in c:\opencv.

Answer 1

To use OpenCV with CodeBlocks, you need to tell CodeBlocks:

1. The directory which contains the OpenCV header files → c:\opencv\build\include
2. List of OpenCV libraries needed for linking → c:\opencv\build\x86\mingw\libs\libopencv_*.dll.a

---

1. Add the OpenCV header files directory

Open Settings → Compiler and debugger… → Search directories tab → Compiler tab

Click add button for adding a new entry. In the popup dialog, type c:\opencv\build\include,

and click Ok.

---

2. Add the OpenCV libraries needed for linking

Open Settings → Compiler and debugger… → Linker settings tab.

Click add for adding new entries and open a popup dialog.

Click the “…” button to open the File Open Dialog. Go to c:\opencv\build\x86\mingw\lib directory and select all files by pressing Ctrl-A.

Click Open to add the files,

Click Ok to save all settings.

---

Now that you’ve set the include directory and the libraries for linking, you can compile
and run your project by pressing F9 key.