title: Setting up external libraries in Visual Studio (C++)
body: <p>I'm currently setting up an external library (zlib) in Visual Studio. It's got a bin folder that has a .dll file, an include folder that has header files to include in my program, a lib folder that has .lib files, and a few other files that I'm not sure are relevant to this process. What steps should I take to be able to use this library in my program? I've done research on this already but if I'm not doing this right, please let me know.</p>
  
  <p>First I went into project properies, went over to C/C++, and added the main directory of the library (containing the aforementioned subfolders) to the Additional Include Directories.</p>
  
  <p>Then I went over to the Linker, and attempted to add the .lib directory under "Additional Dependencies" but it looked like a free-form text entry field and not a place where I can actually select a folder or a file so I wasn't sure what to do there so I skipped it.</p>
  
  <p>Lastly, I went ahead and did an #include of the main header file of the library using its full path.</p>
  
  <p>Is this all I have to do for the library to be ready for use? And is it required for the library directory to be inside my main program's directory?</p>
  
  <p>Thanks!</p>