# Building on Windows with Visual Studio 2015

* Get the required dependencies from

  http://windows.php.net/downloads/php-sdk/deps/vc14/ and

  http://windows.php.net/downloads/pecl/deps/, respectively. Choose the x86 or

  x64 packages depending on your needs.

  * freetype

  * libiconv

  * libjpeg

  * libpng

  * libtiff

  * libwebp

  * libxpm

  * zlib

* Unpack all dependency packages into the same folder.

* Open the VS2015 x86 or x64 Native Tools Command Prompt.

* Set the environment variable `WITH_DEVEL` to the path where you have unpacked

  the dependencies. `WITH_DEVEL` defaults to `..\deps`.

* If you want a debug build, do

````

set DEBUG=1

````

* `cd` into the libgd source folder.

* To build the libraries, do:

```

nmake /f windows\Makefile.vc

```

* To build and run the tests, do:

````

nmake /f windows\Makefile.vc check

````

* To build the executable programs, do:

````

nmake /f windows\Makefile.vc build_progs

````

* After a successful build, you find the libraries and test executables in

  `..\gdbuild`. You can change the build folder by setting the environment

  variable `WITH_BUILD` to the desired path.

* Before rebuilding, you may have to run:

```

nmake /f windows\Makefile.vc clean

```