IDL Compile Order

To display the IDL Compile Order page, right-click on a project folder in the Project Explorer View, then select Properties. In the Properties dialog, select IDL Compile Order.

Changing the Compile Order and Excluding Files from the Build

Although you can have any number of files physically residing in your project folder, you do not have to include all of those files in the project build. For the subset of files you do want to include, you can choose the order in which they are compiled. In certain circumstances, the file build order can determine the success or failure of the build (see Building IDL Projects).

Including or excluding files from the project build means setting a build exclusion value that is attached to the file. You can do this on the IDL Compile Order page of the Project Properties dialog, or by right-clicking a file in the Project Explorer View and selecting Toggle Exclude from Build.

IDL Compile Order Page

The project PRO and SAVE files are displayed in a list. A check mark next to the file means that the file will be included in the build, and an unselected file will be excluded from the build. For long file lists, you can save time by using the Select All and Deselect All buttons. The SAVE file generated by the build process (specified on the IDL Build Properties page) is not displayed in this list.

Toggling a file’s inclusion status on the IDL Compile Order page changes the file’s icon in the Project Explorer View. Files excluded from the project build are marked by a red circle with slash through it.

How Files are Ordered in the List

The first time you open the Compile Order page for a particular project, all PRO and SAVE files within the project are listed in alphabetical order.

After the project compile order has been modified and saved, new files will be added to the bottom of the list, in alphabetical order.

If a project is built before any changes have been saved in the IDL Compile Order page, the files will be compiled or restored in alphabetical order. If the compile order is set, and files are added to the project without also editing the compile order, the new files will be compiled in alphabetical order after all of the other project files have been compiled or restored.

Moving Files in the List

To change the compile order of the project, select a file (only one file may be selected at a time) and use the Move buttons on the right-hand side of the page to move the file up or down in the list.