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Visual C++ provides several options you can use to set and search the directories for the files you need for your project. You can change the directory paths that are searched for certain file types or edit the search order.
Visual C++ searches directories in the order in which they appear in the Directories list. Directory information is stored in registry entries, but you can change the paths or search order within Visual C++.
The Setup program determines the initial directory paths for several file types and updates the Directories list with these paths. The file types are:
| File type | Path contents |
| Executable files | Specifies where the build utilities, such as NMAKE, CL, LINK, and BSCMAKE, reside. |
| Include files | Specifies where the compiler should look for include files (for example, #include <stdio.h>). |
| Library files | Specifies where the linker should look for libraries to resolve external references. |
| Source files | Specifies where the debugger should look for default source files, such as the Microsoft Foundation Class Library and the Microsoft run-time library. |