Targeting Windows XP with Visual C++ 2013

Build apps using Visual C++ 2013 that target Windows XP, special steps are needed.

Environment Variables to Set

The following codes is quoted from this blog.

set INCLUDE=%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\7.1A\Include;%INCLUDE%
set PATH=%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\7.1A\Bin;%PATH%
set LIB=%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\7.1A\Lib;%LIB%
set CL=/D_USING_V110_SDK71_;%CL%

For building x64 version, change LIB to this one.

set LIB=%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\7.1A\Lib\x64;%LIB%

For x86 console/windows applications, set /SUBSYSTEM accordingly:

:: for console application
set LINK=/SUBSYSTEM:CONSOLE,5.01 %LINK%
:: for gui application
set LINK=/SUBSYSTEM:WINDOWS,5.01 %LINK%

For x64 console/windows applications:

:: for console application
set LINK=/SUBSYSTEM:CONSOLE,5.02 %LINK%
:: for gui application
set LINK=/SUBSYSTEM:WINDOWS,5.02 %LINK%

Work with CMake

In CMake there is a WIN32 parameter for add_executable command. It works like this:

add_executable(MyExe WIN32 main.cpp) # this exe will link with /SUBSYSTEM:WINDOWS
add_executable(AnotherExe main.cpp)  # this one will link with /SUBSYSTEM:CONSOLE

When we not target Windows XP, it works correctly. But when we target Windows XP, obviously the link flags are not correct. To fix that, we need add a file to override make rules in CMake. CMAKE_USER_MAKE_RULES_OVERRIDE_CXX is for that purpose.

In your project file, add the following code.

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 2.8)
set(CMAKE_USER_MAKE_RULES_OVERRIDE_CXX your_path/overrides.cmake)

# please make sure the variable is set before the `project` command.
# project(MyApp) 

Then in overrides.cmake, add the following codes.

if(WIN32)
    # if target winxp
    if(TARGETING_XP_64)
        SET(CMAKE_CREATE_WIN32_EXE /SUBSYSTEM:WINDOWS,5.02)
        SET(CMAKE_CREATE_CONSOLE_EXE /SUBSYSTEM:CONSOLE,5.02)
    elif(TARGETING_XP)
        SET(CMAKE_CREATE_WIN32_EXE /SUBSYSTEM:WINDOWS,5.01)
        SET(CMAKE_CREATE_CONSOLE_EXE /SUBSYSTEM:CONSOLE,5.01)
    endif()
endif()

Now, to build targetting Windows XP, you could run cmake like the folowing.

cmake -G "YourGenerator" -DTARGETING_XP=On path_to_your_project.cmake

And the following for XP x64.

cmake -G "YourGenerator" -DTARGETING_XP_64=On path_to_your_project.cmake