Windows Requirements
The STEP Tools® development stack supports Windows 10 and is available in 64bit or 32bit versions. It supports C++ development with Visual Studio 2022 (VC17), Visual Studio 2019 (VC16), Visual Studio 2017 (VC15), Visual Studio 2015 (VC14), Visual Studio 2013 (VC12), or Visual Studio 2012 (VC11).
The STEP Tools® development stack of libraries and tools is spread across several installers. The Core SDK installer contains software needed for all types of data, with separate STEP and IFC Stacks that covers applications based on those models.
Install Procedure
You must install the software using an account with administrator privileges. After the installation is complete, you can run the tools under any user account.
- Remove any earlier version of the development tools. Go to
Add/Remove Programs under the Windows Control Panels and select
the older software from the list of packages.
- If you have been given a URL for the Core SDK installer, download the MSI to your local disk. If you have a CD/DVD, insert the disk into your drive. Double click on the MSI file to begin the installation.
- The installer will guide you through the installation process. To omit parts of the software or specify where it is installed, select a custom installation when prompted, otherwise select typical installation.
- Request a license key. Select STEP Tools | Request License Key on the Start menu. This will open a web request form and fill in the host identifier. We will send the key by e-mail and you can install it as described in Software License Keys.
- Install the STEP or IFC software stack as required.
Visual Studio and Environment Settings
The installer sets several environment variables to help Visual Studio and makefiles find libraries and header files. See the instructions for setting up Visual Studio Projects.
To check these values, open the Environment tab of the System control panel or type set from a command prompt. The values set by the installer should be fine, but you may need to change ROSE_LIB and ROSE_CONFIG if you are using makefiles rather than Visual Studio projects.
The SDK libraries are built for different Visual C++ versions using the multi-thread, dynamic (/MD flag) link convention. These are kept in separate directories as shown below:
64bit Windows: <install-dir>\lib\x64_win64_vc17_md Visual Studio 2022 with /MD <install-dir>\lib\x64_win64_vc16_md Visual Studio 2019 with /MD <install-dir>\lib\x64_win64_vc15_md Visual Studio 2017 with /MD <install-dir>\lib\x64_win64_vc14_md Visual Studio 2015 with /MD <install-dir>\lib\x64_win64_vc12_md Visual Studio 2013 with /MD <install-dir>\lib\x64_win64_vc11_md Visual Studio 2012 with /MD 32bit Windows: <install-dir>\lib\i86_win32_vc17_md Visual Studio 2022 with /MD <install-dir>\lib\i86_win32_vc16_md Visual Studio 2019 with /MD <install-dir>\lib\i86_win32_vc15_md Visual Studio 2017 with /MD <install-dir>\lib\i86_win32_vc14_md Visual Studio 2015 with /MD <install-dir>\lib\i86_win32_vc12_md Visual Studio 2013 with /MD <install-dir>\lib\i86_win32_vc11_md Visual Studio 2012 with /MD
The ROSE_LIB variable usually points to the libraries for the most recent compiler version. Sample project files point to the appropriate version for their compiler.
If you write code that executes in multiple threads, be aware that unless otherwise noted the libraries are not reentrant. You must ensure that only one thread calls a library function at any point in time.