Why can't I run my OpenGL program outside of Visual Studio?

Question

I have an OpenGL-program using GLSL, that I can run just fine with the Play-button in Visual Studio (2008) -- both in the standard Release and Debug configurations.

However, when I try to run the executable from Explorer, all I get is a flashing cmd-prompt with no text in it to indicate any kind of failure loading something.

I have tried copying the required DLL-files (glut32.dll, glew.dll, etc.) to the same folder as the executable is located in, but that didn't make a difference. I also tried copying the GLSL-files to the same folder, but that didn't help either.

What do I need to do, to make the program run without Visual Studio?

Answer 1

Have you tried checking the paths of any external resources. The run button in Visual Studio will by default run the program with a different working directory than if you use explorer.

The other thing you should do is try adding some logging, (even just writing text to stderr at critical points). That way you can see, for example, if you application ever got to the main function.