1_(You may browse this at https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/docs/EXAMPLES.md or view this file with any Markdown viewer)_ 2 3## Dear ImGui: Examples 4 5**The [examples/](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/examples) folder example applications (standalone, ready-to-build) for variety of 6platforms and graphics APIs.** They all use standard backends from the [backends/](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/backends) folder (see [BACKENDS.md](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/docs/BACKENDS.md)). 7 8The purpose of Examples is to showcase integration with backends, let you try Dear ImGui, and guide you toward 9integrating Dear ImGui in your own application/game/engine. 10**Once Dear ImGui is setup and running, run and refer to `ImGui::ShowDemoWindow()` in imgui_demo.cpp for usage of the end-user API.** 11 12You can find Windows binaries for some of those example applications at: 13 http://www.dearimgui.org/binaries 14 15 16### Getting Started 17 18Integration in a typical existing application, should take <20 lines when using standard backends. 19 20 At initialization: 21 call ImGui::CreateContext() 22 call ImGui_ImplXXXX_Init() for each backend. 23 24 At the beginning of your frame: 25 call ImGui_ImplXXXX_NewFrame() for each backend. 26 call ImGui::NewFrame() 27 28 At the end of your frame: 29 call ImGui::Render() 30 call ImGui_ImplXXXX_RenderDrawData() for your Renderer backend. 31 32 At shutdown: 33 call ImGui_ImplXXXX_Shutdown() for each backend. 34 call ImGui::DestroyContext() 35 36Example (using [backends/imgui_impl_win32.cpp](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/backends/imgui_impl_win32.cpp) + [backends/imgui_impl_dx11.cpp](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/backends/imgui_impl_dx11.cpp)): 37 38 // Create a Dear ImGui context, setup some options 39 ImGui::CreateContext(); 40 ImGuiIO& io = ImGui::GetIO(); 41 io.ConfigFlags |= ImGuiConfigFlags_NavEnableKeyboard; // Enable some options 42 43 // Initialize Platform + Renderer backends (here: using imgui_impl_win32.cpp + imgui_impl_dx11.cpp) 44 ImGui_ImplWin32_Init(my_hwnd); 45 ImGui_ImplDX11_Init(my_d3d_device, my_d3d_device_context); 46 47 // Application main loop 48 while (true) 49 { 50 // Beginning of frame: update Renderer + Platform backend, start Dear ImGui frame 51 ImGui_ImplDX11_NewFrame(); 52 ImGui_ImplWin32_NewFrame(); 53 ImGui::NewFrame(); 54 55 // Any application code here 56 ImGui::Text("Hello, world!"); 57 58 // End of frame: render Dear ImGui 59 ImGui::Render(); 60 ImGui_ImplDX11_RenderDrawData(ImGui::GetDrawData()); 61 62 // Swap 63 g_pSwapChain->Present(1, 0); 64 } 65 66 // Shutdown 67 ImGui_ImplDX11_Shutdown(); 68 ImGui_ImplWin32_Shutdown(); 69 ImGui::DestroyContext(); 70 71Please read 'PROGRAMMER GUIDE' in imgui.cpp for notes on how to setup Dear ImGui in your codebase. 72Please read the comments and instruction at the top of each file. 73Please read FAQ at http://www.dearimgui.org/faq 74 75If you are using of the backend provided here, you can add the backends/imgui_impl_xxxx(.cpp,.h) 76files to your project and use as-in. Each imgui_impl_xxxx.cpp file comes with its own individual 77Changelog, so if you want to update them later it will be easier to catch up with what changed. 78 79 80### Examples Applications 81 82[example_allegro5/](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/examples/example_allegro5/) <BR> 83Allegro 5 example. <BR> 84= main.cpp + imgui_impl_allegro5.cpp 85 86[example_android_opengl3/](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/examples/example_android_opengl3/) <BR> 87Android + OpenGL3 (ES) example. <BR> 88= main.cpp + imgui_impl_android.cpp + imgui_impl_opengl3.cpp 89 90[example_apple_metal/](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/examples/example_metal/) <BR> 91OSX & iOS + Metal example. <BR> 92= main.m + imgui_impl_osx.mm + imgui_impl_metal.mm <BR> 93It is based on the "cross-platform" game template provided with Xcode as of Xcode 9. 94(NB: imgui_impl_osx.mm is currently not as feature complete as other platforms backends. 95You may prefer to use the GLFW Or SDL backends, which will also support Windows and Linux.) 96 97[example_apple_opengl2/](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/examples/example_apple_opengl2/) <BR> 98OSX + OpenGL2 example. <BR> 99= main.mm + imgui_impl_osx.mm + imgui_impl_opengl2.cpp <BR> 100(NB: imgui_impl_osx.mm is currently not as feature complete as other platforms backends. 101 You may prefer to use the GLFW Or SDL backends, which will also support Windows and Linux.) 102 103[example_emscripten_opengl3/](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/examples/example_emscripten_opengl3/) <BR> 104Emcripten + SDL2 + OpenGL3+/ES2/ES3 example. <BR> 105= main.cpp + imgui_impl_sdl.cpp + imgui_impl_opengl3.cpp <BR> 106Note that other examples based on SDL or GLFW + OpenGL could easily be modified to work with Emscripten. 107We provide this to make the Emscripten differences obvious, and have them not pollute all other examples. 108 109[example_emscripten_wgpu/](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/examples/example_emscripten_wgpu/) <BR> 110Emcripten + GLFW + WebGPU example. <BR> 111= main.cpp + imgui_impl_glfw.cpp + imgui_impl_wgpu.cpp 112 113[example_glfw_metal/](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/examples/example_glfw_metal/) <BR> 114GLFW (Mac) + Metal example. <BR> 115= main.mm + imgui_impl_glfw.cpp + imgui_impl_metal.mm 116 117[example_glfw_opengl2/](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/examples/example_glfw_opengl2/) <BR> 118GLFW + OpenGL2 example (legacy, fixed pipeline). <BR> 119= main.cpp + imgui_impl_glfw.cpp + imgui_impl_opengl2.cpp <BR> 120**DO NOT USE THIS IF YOUR CODE/ENGINE IS USING MODERN OPENGL (SHADERS, VBO, VAO, etc.)** <BR> 121This code is mostly provided as a reference to learn about Dear ImGui integration, because it is shorter. 122If your code is using GL3+ context or any semi modern OpenGL calls, using this renderer is likely to 123make things more complicated, will require your code to reset many OpenGL attributes to their initial 124state, and might confuse your GPU driver. One star, not recommended. 125 126[example_glfw_opengl3/](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/examples/example_glfw_opengl3/) <BR> 127GLFW (Win32, Mac, Linux) + OpenGL3+/ES2/ES3 example (modern, programmable pipeline). <BR> 128= main.cpp + imgui_impl_glfw.cpp + imgui_impl_opengl3.cpp <BR> 129This uses more modern OpenGL calls and custom shaders. <BR> 130This may actually also work with OpenGL 2.x contexts! <BR> 131Prefer using that if you are using modern OpenGL in your application (anything with shaders). 132 133[example_glfw_vulkan/](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/examples/example_glfw_vulkan/) <BR> 134GLFW (Win32, Mac, Linux) + Vulkan example. <BR> 135= main.cpp + imgui_impl_glfw.cpp + imgui_impl_vulkan.cpp <BR> 136This is quite long and tedious, because: Vulkan. 137For this example, the main.cpp file exceptionally use helpers function from imgui_impl_vulkan.h/cpp. 138 139[example_glut_opengl2/](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/examples/example_glut_opengl2/) <BR> 140GLUT (e.g., FreeGLUT on Linux/Windows, GLUT framework on OSX) + OpenGL2 example. <BR> 141= main.cpp + imgui_impl_glut.cpp + imgui_impl_opengl2.cpp <BR> 142Note that GLUT/FreeGLUT is largely obsolete software, prefer using GLFW or SDL. 143 144[example_marmalade/](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/examples/example_marmalade/) <BR> 145Marmalade example using IwGx. <BR> 146= main.cpp + imgui_impl_marmalade.cpp 147 148[example_null/](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/examples/example_null/) <BR> 149Null example, compile and link imgui, create context, run headless with no inputs and no graphics output. <BR> 150= main.cpp <BR> 151This is used to quickly test compilation of core imgui files in as many setups as possible. 152Because this application doesn't create a window nor a graphic context, there's no graphics output. 153 154[example_sdl_directx11/](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/examples/example_sdl_directx11/) <BR> 155SDL2 + DirectX11 example, Windows only. <BR> 156= main.cpp + imgui_impl_sdl.cpp + imgui_impl_dx11.cpp <BR> 157This to demonstrate usage of DirectX with SDL. 158 159[example_sdl_metal/](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/examples/example_sdl_metal/) <BR> 160SDL2 (Mac) + Metal example. <BR> 161= main.mm + imgui_impl_sdl.cpp + imgui_impl_metal.mm 162 163[example_sdl_opengl2/](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/examples/example_sdl_opengl2/) <BR> 164SDL2 (Win32, Mac, Linux etc.) + OpenGL example (legacy, fixed pipeline). <BR> 165= main.cpp + imgui_impl_sdl.cpp + imgui_impl_opengl2.cpp <BR> 166**DO NOT USE OPENGL2 CODE IF YOUR CODE/ENGINE IS USING MODERN OPENGL (SHADERS, VBO, VAO, etc.)** <BR> 167This code is mostly provided as a reference to learn about Dear ImGui integration, because it is shorter. 168If your code is using GL3+ context or any semi modern OpenGL calls, using this renderer is likely to 169make things more complicated, will require your code to reset many OpenGL attributes to their initial 170state, and might confuse your GPU driver. One star, not recommended. 171 172[example_sdl_opengl3/](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/examples/example_sdl_opengl3/) <BR> 173SDL2 (Win32, Mac, Linux, etc.) + OpenGL3+/ES2/ES3 example. <BR> 174= main.cpp + imgui_impl_sdl.cpp + imgui_impl_opengl3.cpp <BR> 175This uses more modern OpenGL calls and custom shaders. <BR> 176This may actually also work with OpenGL 2.x contexts! <BR> 177 178[example_sdl_sdlrenderer/](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/examples/example_sdl_sdlrenderer/) <BR> 179SDL2 (Win32, Mac, Linux, etc.) + SDL_Renderer (most graphics backends are supported underneath) <BR> 180= main.cpp + imgui_impl_sdl.cpp + imgui_impl_sdlrenderer.cpp <BR> 181This requires SDL 2.0.17+ (expected to release November 2021) <BR> 182We do not really recommend using SDL_Renderer as it is a rather primitive API. 183 184[example_sdl_vulkan/](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/examples/example_sdl_vulkan/) <BR> 185SDL2 (Win32, Mac, Linux, etc.) + Vulkan example. <BR> 186= main.cpp + imgui_impl_sdl.cpp + imgui_impl_vulkan.cpp <BR> 187This is quite long and tedious, because: Vulkan. <BR> 188For this example, the main.cpp file exceptionally use helpers function from imgui_impl_vulkan.h/cpp. 189 190[example_win32_directx9/](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/examples/example_win32_directx9/) <BR> 191DirectX9 example, Windows only. <BR> 192= main.cpp + imgui_impl_win32.cpp + imgui_impl_dx9.cpp 193 194[example_win32_directx10/](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/examples/example_win32_directx10/) <BR> 195DirectX10 example, Windows only. <BR> 196= main.cpp + imgui_impl_win32.cpp + imgui_impl_dx10.cpp 197 198[example_win32_directx11/](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/examples/example_win32_directx11/) <BR> 199DirectX11 example, Windows only. <BR> 200= main.cpp + imgui_impl_win32.cpp + imgui_impl_dx11.cpp 201 202[example_win32_directx12/](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/blob/master/examples/example_win32_directx12/) <BR> 203DirectX12 example, Windows only. <BR> 204= main.cpp + imgui_impl_win32.cpp + imgui_impl_dx12.cpp <BR> 205This is quite long and tedious, because: DirectX12. 206 207 208### Miscallaneous 209 210**Building** 211 212Unfortunately nowadays it is still tedious to create and maintain portable build files using external 213libraries (the kind we're using here to create a window and render 3D triangles) without relying on 214third party software and build systems. For most examples here we choose to provide: 215 - Makefiles for Linux/OSX 216 - Batch files for Visual Studio 2008+ 217 - A .sln project file for Visual Studio 2012+ 218 - Xcode project files for the Apple examples 219Please let us know if they don't work with your setup! 220You can probably just import the imgui_impl_xxx.cpp/.h files into your own codebase or compile those 221directly with a command-line compiler. 222 223If you are interested in using Cmake to build and links examples, see: 224 https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/pull/1713 and https://github.com/ocornut/imgui/pull/3027 225 226**About mouse cursor latency** 227 228Dear ImGui has no particular extra lag for most behaviors, 229e.g. the value of 'io.MousePos' provided at the time of NewFrame() will result in windows being moved 230to the right spot at the time of EndFrame()/Render(). At 60 FPS your experience should be pleasant. 231 232However, consider that OS mouse cursors are typically drawn through a very specific hardware accelerated 233path and will feel smoother than the majority of contents rendered via regular graphics API (including, 234but not limited to Dear ImGui windows). Because UI rendering and interaction happens on the same plane 235as the mouse, that disconnect may be jarring to particularly sensitive users. 236You may experiment with enabling the io.MouseDrawCursor flag to request Dear ImGui to draw a mouse cursor 237using the regular graphics API, to help you visualize the difference between a "hardware" cursor and a 238regularly rendered software cursor. 239However, rendering a mouse cursor at 60 FPS will feel sluggish so you likely won't want to enable that at 240all times. It might be beneficial for the user experience to switch to a software rendered cursor _only_ 241when an interactive drag is in progress. 242 243Note that some setup or GPU drivers are likely to be causing extra display lag depending on their settings. 244If you feel that dragging windows feels laggy and you are not sure what the cause is: try to build a simple 245drawing a flat 2D shape directly under the mouse cursor! 246 247