Is it safe to delete "ipch" folder - Pre-compiled headers?

Question

Hello,

I was looking through the folder for an application I am working on and noticed the "ipch" folder, for my solution which has two small projects it weighs in at about 90mb+ in size.

I have found an article discussing the use for the files and was wondering if they were safe to delete? It's for an assignment hand in and I would like to keep the electronic hand in as small as possible. If I were to delete the folder will the application remain in a safe and stable state?

I apologise if this is a simple question, I have only just started using Visual Studio 2010.

 

Thanks!

Answer 1

C# FORUM MODERATOR:  Please move to C++ forum.  Thank you!

Hi Jamie - I meant to move this to the C++ forum but mistakenly clicked C#.  Unfortunately, I'm not a moderator of the C# forum and therefore can't move this to its intended location.  Your best bet is to re-post this in the C++ forum at http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vcgeneral/threads.  I'm very sorry for my error and the inconvenience.

Brittany Behrens | Program Manager | Visual Studio Platform - Editor | The Visual Studio Blog | @VSEditor on Twitter 

Answer 2

No problem! I'll do it now.

Answer 3

I'm not only a C# moderator but also a C++ user :}  The ipch directory and the many, many new files generated by the compiler can be safely deleted.  In fact they should be deleted (and probably are) for clean builds.  I teach a C++ college class myself and here is what I require my students to do.

1. In the solution folder delete all bin, obj, ipch, debug and release directories.
2. Delete any .suo files
3. Delete any .user files
4. Delete any .ncb files
5. Delete any .sbr files
6. Delete any .*log files (for VS 2010)

Zip up the entire solution directory for submission.  This ensures that the solution and project structure remain intact.

PS  I'll move the post to the C++ forums.

Michael Taylor - 5/4/2010
http://msmvps.com/blogs/p3net

 

 

 

Answer 4

Excellent, thanks!

Answer 5

Here is a search that grabs the files and folders that need to be deleted.

 

Please backup your solution before trying this.   I think it is safe, but I have not tested it over a long period of time.  It worked fine for me and is based on the post by CoolDadTx and some personal experience.

 

Windows 7 file search

"Debug" OR "Results" OR "TestResults" OR "ipch" OR ext:ipch OR ext:suo OR ext:user OR ext:ncb OR ext:sbr OR ext:log OR ext:sdf

 

I believe I use the quotation marks for exact-match safety reasons.  I once worked on a project that needed this; I think the devs had used the same folder names for other purposes).  I omitted 'bin' and 'obj' because those are in Debug and Release for my projects.  TestResults contains unit testing output.  Regarding sdf...see http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vcprerelease/thread/20fee924-e267-4c1a-b0fe-3321f86e1bb5.

 

Windows Search Advanced Query Syntax

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/desktopsearch/technicalresources/advquery.mspx

Answer 6

I too find the large support files (intellisense, pre-compiled headers) a bit disturbing. Fortunately you can change the location to which these files are stored. In Visual Studio 2010 go to Tools -> Options -> Text Editor (yeah I know, but that's the way it is) -> C/C++ -> Advanced and modify the Fallback Location section. This way:

1. The project folder itself can stay relatively small.
2. You can delete all support files in one go if necessary.

 

Answer 7

 

1. Delete any .sbr files

 

 

Looks like you can delete *.sdf files, too

 

http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vcprerelease/thread/20fee924-e267-4c1a-b0fe-3321f86e1bb5