Creating a Visual C++ 2008 Project Shell

1. Start Visual C++ 2008 or Visual Studio 2008. Go the File menu and choose New Project...
2. In the dialog box, choose Visual C++ (if using Visual Studio). On the left side click "Win 32" and then click "Win32 Console Application" in the list on the right.
3. On the bottom, give your project a name and location. The project name can be generic. You can re-use this one project shell for many different programs. Click the OK button at the bottom.
4. DO NOT click the Finish button on the next dialog box. Instead, click "Next >", to see more options.
5. Select "Console Application" and "Empty Project". Now click "Finish".
6. In the Project menu, choose "Add New Item..."
7. In the dialog box, click "C++ File (*.cpp)" in the list, and then give a name and location to the file. The location you choose for this step should be on YOUR disk or flash drive. The C++ file will hold YOUR WORK. The project you created in steps 1 to 5 is just a container for your C++ file.
8. You are ready to start writing C++!

Unless your project folder gets deleted, you can use it over and over. For each new program, you will only have to remove the previous source file from the project and repeat steps 6 and 7. If your project directory gets erased or changed, or if you work on a different computer, you will have to repeat all steps.