Qt 5.0.2 for Windows 32-bit (MinGW 4.7) Offline Installer: A Complete Guide for Qt Development on Windows
Introduction: What is Qt and why use it for Windows development?
Qt is a cross-platform application development framework that enables you to create high-performance, native-looking applications for desktop, mobile, embedded, and web platforms using C++ or QML languages. Qt provides a comprehensive set of modularized C++ library classes and APIs to simplify your application development.
Qt 5.0.2 For Windows 32-bit (MinGW 4.7) Offline Installer Download
Qt also comes with a powerful integrated development environment (IDE) called Qt Creator, which lets you edit, manage, build, and test your projects. Qt Creator supports code completion, syntax highlighting, refactoring, debugging, version control, and many other features that make coding easier and more productive.
If you are developing applications for Windows, you can benefit from using Qt for several reasons:
Qt is compatible with various Windows platforms, such as Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8.1, and Windows 7.
Qt supports multiple compilers for Windows, such as MSVC, MinGW, and Clang.
Qt offers native look and feel for Windows applications, as well as custom styles and themes.
Qt enables you to create applications that can run on other platforms with minimal changes.
Qt provides many examples and tutorials to help you get started with Qt development.
Qt framework features and benefits
The Qt framework contains a comprehensive set of highly intuitive and modularized C++ library classes and is loaded with APIs to simplify your application development. Some of the features and benefits of the Qt framework are:
Qt Essentials: These are the core modules that define the foundation of Qt on all platforms. They include Qt Core, Qt GUI, Qt Multimedia, Qt Network, Qt Quick, and Qt SQL.
Qt Add-Ons: These are additional modules that provide functionality for specific domains or tasks. They include Qt OpenGL, Qt Wayland Compositor, Qt Sensors, Qt WebView, Qt Safe Renderer, Qt SCXML, and many others.
Qt Tools: These are tools that help you develop, build, debug, test, deploy, and document your applications. They include Qt Designer, Qt Help, Qt Linguist, qmake, CMake, makeqpf, and others.
Cross-platform compatibility: You can use the same code base to create applications for different desktop, mobile, embedded, and web platforms or browsers.
High performance and small footprint: You can create applications that run fast and consume less memory and disk space.
Readable, maintainable, and reusable code: You can write clear and concise code that follows the object-oriented paradigm and supports signals and slots mechanism for communication between objects.
Declarative UI design: You can use QML language to create dynamic user interfaces with custom components and animations.
Open-source license: You can use the open-source version of Qt under the terms of GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL) version 3 or GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2 or 3, depending on your project requirements.
Qt Creator IDE features and benefits
Qt Creator is a cross-platform integrated development environment (IDE) that lets you edit, manage, build, and test your Qt projects. Qt Creator supports code completion, syntax highlighting, refactoring, debugging, version control, and many other features that make coding easier and more productive. Some of the features and benefits of Qt Creator are:
Project management: You can create, open, import, and export various types of projects, such as Qt Quick projects, Qt widget projects, CMake projects, Qbs projects, and plain C++ projects.
Code editor: You can write QML or C++ code in a powerful editor that supports code completion, syntax highlighting, code folding, indentation, snippets, bookmarks, and other features.
Design mode: You can use Qt Designer or Qt Quick Designer to create user interfaces with drag-and-drop functionality and preview them in different styles and resolutions.
Debug mode: You can use the integrated debugger to inspect and modify the state of your application during runtime. You can set breakpoints, watch expressions, view stack traces, and use various debugging tools.
Analyze mode: You can use the integrated tools to analyze the performance and memory usage of your application. You can use Valgrind, Callgrind, Memcheck, QML Profiler, Clang-Tidy, Clazy, and other tools.
Test mode: You can use the integrated tools to write and run unit tests for your application. You can use QTestLib, Google Test, Boost.Test, CTest, and other frameworks.
Help mode: You can access the online documentation for Qt and Qt Creator from within the IDE. You can also search for topics, keywords, classes, functions, and properties.
Extensibility: You can customize the appearance and behavior of Qt Creator by changing the settings, themes, keyboard shortcuts, editor styles, and plugins.
Downloading and installing Qt 5.0.2 for Windows 32-bit (MinGW 4.7): How to get and set up Qt on your Windows machine?
If you want to use Qt 5.0.2 for Windows 32-bit (MinGW 4.7) on your Windows machine, you need to download and install it from the official Qt website. Here are the steps to do so:
Choosing the right Qt package and license model
The first step is to choose the right Qt package and license model for your project. There are two main options:
Qt Online Installer: This is a small executable file that downloads and installs the latest version of Qt and its components on your machine. You can choose which components you want to install and update them later. This option requires an internet connection during installation and a Qt account to log in.
Qt Offline Installer: This is a large executable file that contains a specific version of Qt and its components for a specific platform. You can install it without an internet connection or a Qt account. However, you cannot update or modify the components later.
In this article, we will use the Qt Offline Installer for Windows 32-bit (MinGW 4.7), which is compatible with Windows 7 or later. You can download it from this link: Qt 5.0.2 for Windows 32-bit (MinGW 4.7) Offline Installer Download. The file size is about 395 MB.
The next step is to choose the right license model for your project. There are two main options:
Open-source license: This option allows you to use the open-source version of Qt under the terms of GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL) version 3 or GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2 or 3, depending on your project requirements. This option requires you to comply with the license obligations, such as disclosing your source code, providing attribution notices, linking dynamically with Qt libraries, and others.
Commercial license: This option allows you to use the commercial version of Qt under a paid subscription plan that grants you more rights and flexibility than the open-source license. This option does not require you to disclose your source code or comply with any license obligations. However, it requires you to pay a monthly or annual fee, depending on the plan you choose.
In this article, we will use the open-source license option for Qt 5.0.2 for Windows 32-bit (MinGW 4.7). You can read more about the license terms and conditions here: Qt Licensing.
Running the Qt online installer and selecting the components
The second step is to run the Qt offline installer and select the components you want to install on your machine. Here are the steps to do so:
Double-click the downloaded executable file (qt-windows-opensource-5.0.2-mingw47_32-x86-offline.exe) to launch the Qt offline installer.
Click Next to proceed with the installation.
Read and accept the license agreement and click Next.
Choose the installation folder and click Next. The default folder is C:\Qt\Qt5.0.2.
Select the components you want to install and click Next. The minimum components you need are Qt 5.0.2 for Desktop (MinGW 4.7) and Qt Creator 2.6.1.
Click Install to start the installation process.
Wait for the installation to finish and click Finish.
Congratulations! You have successfully installed Qt 5.0.2 for Windows 32-bit (MinGW 4.7) on your machine.
Checking the build and run settings in Qt Creator
The third step is to check the build and run settings in Qt Creator to make sure that everything is configured correctly. Here are the steps to do so:
Launch Qt Creator from the Start menu or from the installation folder.
Go to Tools > Options > Build & Run > Kits.
Select Desktop (default) as the active kit and check that it has the following settings:
Device type: Desktop
Device: Local PC
Compiler: MinGW 4.7 32bit
Debugger: GDB
Qt version: Qt 5.0.2 MinGW 32bit
If any of these settings are missing or incorrect, you can edit them by clicking on the Manage button next to each setting.
Click OK to save the changes and close the Options dialog.
You have successfully checked the build and run settings in Qt Creator.
Using Qt 5.0.2 for Windows 32-bit (MinGW 4.7): How to create, build, run, and deploy Qt applications for Windows?
If you want to use Qt 5.0.2 for Windows 32-bit (MinGW 4.7) to create, build, run, and deploy Qt applications for Windows, you need to follow some steps in Qt Creator. Here are the steps to do so:
Creating a Qt Quick project or a Qt widget project
The first step is to create a new project in Qt Creator. You can choose between two types of projects: a Qt Quick project or a Qt widget project.
A Qt Quick project is a project that uses QML language to create dynamic user interfaces with custom components and animations.
A Qt widget project is a project that uses C++ language and Qt widgets library to create traditional user interfaces with standard widgets and layouts.
Here are the steps to create a new project in Qt Creator:
Go to File > New File or Project.
Select either Qt Quick Application - Empty or Qt Widgets Application under the Application category and click Choose.
Enter a name and a location for your project and click Next.
Select Desktop (default) as the kit and click Next.
For a Qt Quick project, select the QML file template and click Next. For a Qt widget project, select the class name, base class, and header file for your main window and click Next.
Review the project summary and click Finish.
You have successfully created a new project in Qt Creator.
Writing QML or C++ code in Qt Creator
The second step is to write QML or C++ code in Qt Creator. You can use the code editor to write your code and the design mode to create your user interface.
Here are some tips to write QML or C++ code in Qt Creator:
Use the code completion feature to insert keywords, properties, functions, and signals. Press Ctrl+Space to activate it.
Use the syntax highlighting feature to distinguish different types of code elements. You can change the color scheme in Tools > Options > Text Editor > Fonts & Colors.
Use the code folding feature to collapse or expand blocks of code. Click on the arrow next to the line number to toggle it.
Use the indentation feature to align your code properly. Press Tab or Shift+Tab to indent or unindent selected lines of code.
Use the snippets feature to insert predefined code templates. Press Ctrl+K to activate it and select a snippet from the list.
Use the bookmarks feature to mark lines of code that you want to revisit later. Press Ctrl+M to toggle a bookmark and Ctrl+, or Ctrl+. to navigate between bookmarks.
Here are some tips to create your user interface in Qt Creator:
Use the Qt Designer or Qt Quick Designer tool to drag and drop components from the library onto the canvas. You can switch between them by clicking on the Design button on the left sidebar.
Use the property editor to change the properties of the selected component. You can also use the text editor to edit the QML or C++ code directly.
Use the states editor to define different states of your user interface and switch between them. You can also use transitions and animations to create dynamic effects.
Use the preview tool to see how your user interface looks and behaves in different styles and resolutions. You can also run your application in debug mode or release mode by clicking on the green triangle or hammer buttons on the bottom left corner.
Building and running an example application
The third step is to build and run an example application in Qt Creator. You can use one of the many examples that come with Qt 5.0.2 for Windows 32-bit (MinGW 4.7) or create your own application from scratch.
Here are the steps to build and run an example application in Qt Creator:
Go to File > Open File or Project.
Navigate to C:\Qt\Qt5.0.2\5.0.2\mingw47_32\examples and select an example folder that you want to open, such as analogclock, calculator, or flickable.
Select Desktop (default) as the kit and click Configure Project.
Click on the Build button on the bottom left corner to build your project.
Click on the Run button on the bottom left corner to run your project.
You have successfully built and run an example application in Qt Creator.
Deploying a Qt application to Windows
The fourth step is to deploy a Qt application to Windows. You can use one of the following methods:
Static linking
This method involves linking your application with static versions of Qt libraries, so that you don't need any external dependencies. However, this method requires you to comply with the license obligations of Qt, such as disclosing your source code and providing attribution notices. Here are the steps to use this method:
Go to C:\Qt\Qt5.0.2\5.0.2\Src\qtbase\mkspecs and open the file qconfig.pri in a text editor.
Change the line that says CONFIG += shared to CONFIG += static.
Save and close the file.
Go to C:\Qt\Qt5.0.2\5.0.2\Src and run the configure.bat file with the -static option.
Run the mingw32-make command to build the static Qt libraries.
Go to your Qt project folder and open the .pro file in a text editor.
Add the line CONFIG += static to the file.
Save and close the file.
Rebuild your project in Qt Creator.
You have successfully linked your application with static Qt libraries.
Dynamic linking
This method involves linking your application with dynamic versions of Qt libraries, so that you need to distribute them along with your application. However, this method does not require you to comply with the license obligations of Qt, as long as you link dynamically with Qt libraries. Here are the steps to use this method:
Build your project in Qt Creator as usual.
Go to C:\Qt\Qt5.0.2\5.0.2\mingw47_32\bin and run the windeployqt.exe file with the path to your application executable as an argument.
This will create a folder named after your application in the same directory as your executable, containing all the necessary Qt libraries and plugins.
Copy this folder to any location you want to deploy your application.
You have successfully linked your application with dynamic Qt libraries.
Conclusion: Summarize the main points of the article and provide some resources for further learning.
In this article, we have learned how to use Qt 5.0.2 for Windows 32-bit (MinGW 4.7) to create, build, run, and deploy Qt applications for Windows. We have covered the following topics:
What is Qt and why use it for Windows development?
How to download and install Qt 5.0.2 for Windows 32-bit (MinGW 4.7) on your machine?
How to check the build and run settings in Qt Creator?
How to create a Qt Quick project or a Qt widget project in Qt Creator?
How to write QML or C++ code in Qt Creator?
How to build and run an example application in Qt Creator?
How to deploy a Qt application to Windows using static or dynamic linking?
We hope that this article has helped you get started with Qt development for Windows and that you have enjoyed reading it. If you want to learn more about Qt, you can visit the following resources:
Qt Documentation: The official documentation for Qt and Qt Creator, containing guides, tutorials, examples, references, and FAQs.
Qt Forum: The official forum for Qt users and developers, where you can ask questions, share tips, and get help from other members of the community.
Qt Blog: The official blog for Qt, where you can read about the latest news, updates, events, and stories related to Qt.
FAQs: Answer some common questions about Qt 5.0.2 for Windows 32-bit (MinGW 4.7).
Q: What is MinGW and why do I need it for Qt development?
A: MinGW is a set of tools that allows you to use GCC (GNU Compiler Collection) on Windows platforms. GCC is a widely used compiler for C and C++ languages that supports many features and standards. You need MinGW for Qt development because it is one of the supported compilers for Windows by Qt.
Q: What are the differences between Qt 5.0.2 and the latest version of Qt?
A: Qt 5.0.2 is an older version of Qt that was released in February 2013. The latest version of Qt at the time of writing this article is Qt 6.2.1, which was released in October 2021. There are many differences between these two versions, such as:
Qt 6.2.1 is based on C++17 standard, while Qt 5.0.2 is based on C++98 standard.
Qt 6.2.1 has a new modular structure, with core modules, essential modules, and add-on modules, while Qt 5.0.2 has only core modules and add-on modules.
Qt 6.2.1 has a new graphics architecture, with Qt RHI (Rendering Hardware Interface) as the abstraction layer for different graphics APIs, such as Vulkan, Metal, DirectX, and OpenGL.
Qt 6.2.1 has a new unified 3D API, called Qt Quick 3D, which integrates Qt Quick and Qt 3D Studio.
Qt 6.2.1 has a new model-view framework, called Qt ModelViews, which replaces the legacy Qt Widgets and Qt Quick models and views.
Qt 6.2.1 has many new features and improvements, such as Qt Quick Ultralite, Qt Lottie Animation, Qt State Machine Framework, Qt Shader Tools, Qt PDF, Qt Multimedia, and others.
You can read more about the differences between Qt 5 and Qt 6 here: What's New in Qt 6.
Q: How can I update my Qt version to the latest one?
A: If you have installed Qt using the online installer, you can update your Qt version to the latest one by following these steps:
Launch the online installer from the Start menu or from the installation folder.
Log in with your Qt account credentials.
Select Update components from the menu on the left side.
Select the components you want to update and click Next.
Click Update to start the update process.
Wait for the update to finish and click Finish.
If you have installed Qt using the offline installer, you canno