FXC : error X3501: 'main': entrypoint not found

Question

I am following an example book called: Introduction to 3D Game Programming with DirectX 11

It is all written in VS2010. I would like to try using VS2013... It is an example project for Windows Desktop Program

I have a program with the following in it (including some other files as part of common use):

color.fx

//***************************************************************************************
// color.fx by Frank Luna (C) 2011 All Rights Reserved.
//
// Transforms and colors geometry.
//***************************************************************************************

cbuffer cbPerObject
{
    float4x4 gWorldViewProj; 
};

struct VertexIn
{
    float3 PosL  : POSITION;
    float4 Color : COLOR;
};

struct VertexOut
{
    float4 PosH  : SV_POSITION;
    float4 Color : COLOR;
};

VertexOut VS(VertexIn vin)
{
    VertexOut vout;

    // Transform to homogeneous clip space.
    vout.PosH = mul(float4(vin.PosL, 1.0f), gWorldViewProj);

    // Just pass vertex color into the pixel shader.
    vout.Color = vin.Color;

    return vout;
}

float4 PS(VertexOut pin) : SV_Target
{
    return pin.Color;
}

technique11 ColorTech
{
    pass P0
    {
        SetVertexShader( CompileShader( vs_5_0, VS() ) );
        SetGeometryShader( NULL );
        SetPixelShader( CompileShader( ps_5_0, PS() ) );
    }
}

BoxDemo.cpp

//***************************************************************************************
// BoxDemo.cpp by Frank Luna (C) 2011 All Rights Reserved.
//
// Demonstrates rendering a colored box.
//
// Controls:
//      Hold the left mouse button down and move the mouse to rotate.
//      Hold the right mouse button down to zoom in and out.
//
//***************************************************************************************

#include "d3dApp.h"
#include "d3dx11Effect.h"
#include "MathHelper.h"

struct Vertex
{
    XMFLOAT3 Pos;
    XMFLOAT4 Color;
};

class BoxApp : public D3DApp
{
public:
    BoxApp(HINSTANCE hInstance);
    ~BoxApp();

    bool Init();
    void OnResize();
    void UpdateScene(float dt);
    void DrawScene(); 

    void OnMouseDown(WPARAM btnState, int x, int y);
    void OnMouseUp(WPARAM btnState, int x, int y);
    void OnMouseMove(WPARAM btnState, int x, int y);

private:
    void BuildGeometryBuffers();
    void BuildFX();
    void BuildVertexLayout();

private:
    ID3D11Buffer* mBoxVB;
    ID3D11Buffer* mBoxIB;

    ID3DX11Effect* mFX;
    ID3DX11EffectTechnique* mTech;
    ID3DX11EffectMatrixVariable* mfxWorldViewProj;

    ID3D11InputLayout* mInputLayout;

    XMFLOAT4X4 mWorld;
    XMFLOAT4X4 mView;
    XMFLOAT4X4 mProj;

    float mTheta;
    float mPhi;
    float mRadius;

    POINT mLastMousePos;
};

int WINAPI WinMain(HINSTANCE hInstance, HINSTANCE prevInstance,
                   PSTR cmdLine, int showCmd)
{
    // Enable run-time memory check for debug builds.
#if defined(DEBUG) | defined(_DEBUG)
    _CrtSetDbgFlag( _CRTDBG_ALLOC_MEM_DF | _CRTDBG_LEAK_CHECK_DF );
#endif

    BoxApp theApp(hInstance);

    if( !theApp.Init() )
        return 0;

    return theApp.Run();
}


BoxApp::BoxApp(HINSTANCE hInstance)
: D3DApp(hInstance), mBoxVB(0), mBoxIB(0), mFX(0), mTech(0),
  mfxWorldViewProj(0), mInputLayout(0), 
  mTheta(1.5f*MathHelper::Pi), mPhi(0.25f*MathHelper::Pi), mRadius(5.0f)
{
    mMainWndCaption = L"Box Demo";

    mLastMousePos.x = 0;
    mLastMousePos.y = 0;

    XMMATRIX I = XMMatrixIdentity();
    XMStoreFloat4x4(&mWorld, I);
    XMStoreFloat4x4(&mView, I);
    XMStoreFloat4x4(&mProj, I);
}

BoxApp::~BoxApp()
{
    ReleaseCOM(mBoxVB);
    ReleaseCOM(mBoxIB);
    ReleaseCOM(mFX);
    ReleaseCOM(mInputLayout);
}

bool BoxApp::Init()
{
    if(!D3DApp::Init())
        return false;

    BuildGeometryBuffers();
    BuildFX();
    BuildVertexLayout();

    return true;
}

void BoxApp::OnResize()
{
    D3DApp::OnResize();

    // The window resized, so update the aspect ratio and recompute the projection matrix.
    XMMATRIX P = XMMatrixPerspectiveFovLH(0.25f*MathHelper::Pi, AspectRatio(), 1.0f, 1000.0f);
    XMStoreFloat4x4(&mProj, P);
}

void BoxApp::UpdateScene(float dt)
{
    // Convert Spherical to Cartesian coordinates.
    float x = mRadius*sinf(mPhi)*cosf(mTheta);
    float z = mRadius*sinf(mPhi)*sinf(mTheta);
    float y = mRadius*cosf(mPhi);

    // Build the view matrix.
    XMVECTOR pos    = XMVectorSet(x, y, z, 1.0f);
    XMVECTOR target = XMVectorZero();
    XMVECTOR up     = XMVectorSet(0.0f, 1.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f);

    XMMATRIX V = XMMatrixLookAtLH(pos, target, up);
    XMStoreFloat4x4(&mView, V);
}

void BoxApp::DrawScene()
{
    md3dImmediateContext->ClearRenderTargetView(mRenderTargetView, reinterpret_cast<const float*>(&Colors::LightSteelBlue));
    md3dImmediateContext->ClearDepthStencilView(mDepthStencilView, D3D11_CLEAR_DEPTH|D3D11_CLEAR_STENCIL, 1.0f, 0);

    md3dImmediateContext->IASetInputLayout(mInputLayout);
    md3dImmediateContext->IASetPrimitiveTopology(D3D11_PRIMITIVE_TOPOLOGY_TRIANGLELIST);

    UINT stride = sizeof(Vertex);
    UINT offset = 0;
    md3dImmediateContext->IASetVertexBuffers(0, 1, &mBoxVB, &stride, &offset);
    md3dImmediateContext->IASetIndexBuffer(mBoxIB, DXGI_FORMAT_R32_UINT, 0);

    // Set constants
    XMMATRIX world = XMLoadFloat4x4(&mWorld);
    XMMATRIX view  = XMLoadFloat4x4(&mView);
    XMMATRIX proj  = XMLoadFloat4x4(&mProj);
    XMMATRIX worldViewProj = world*view*proj;

    mfxWorldViewProj->SetMatrix(reinterpret_cast<float*>(&worldViewProj));

    D3DX11_TECHNIQUE_DESC techDesc;
    mTech->GetDesc( &techDesc );
    for(UINT p = 0; p < techDesc.Passes; ++p)
    {
        mTech->GetPassByIndex(p)->Apply(0, md3dImmediateContext);

        // 36 indices for the box.
        md3dImmediateContext->DrawIndexed(36, 0, 0);
    }

    HR(mSwapChain->Present(0, 0));
}

void BoxApp::OnMouseDown(WPARAM btnState, int x, int y)
{
    mLastMousePos.x = x;
    mLastMousePos.y = y;

    SetCapture(mhMainWnd);
}

void BoxApp::OnMouseUp(WPARAM btnState, int x, int y)
{
    ReleaseCapture();
}

void BoxApp::OnMouseMove(WPARAM btnState, int x, int y)
{
    if( (btnState & MK_LBUTTON) != 0 )
    {
        // Make each pixel correspond to a quarter of a degree.
        float dx = XMConvertToRadians(0.25f*static_cast<float>(x - mLastMousePos.x));
        float dy = XMConvertToRadians(0.25f*static_cast<float>(y - mLastMousePos.y));

        // Update angles based on input to orbit camera around box.
        mTheta += dx;
        mPhi   += dy;

        // Restrict the angle mPhi.
        mPhi = MathHelper::Clamp(mPhi, 0.1f, MathHelper::Pi-0.1f);
    }
    else if( (btnState & MK_RBUTTON) != 0 )
    {
        // Make each pixel correspond to 0.005 unit in the scene.
        float dx = 0.005f*static_cast<float>(x - mLastMousePos.x);
        float dy = 0.005f*static_cast<float>(y - mLastMousePos.y);

        // Update the camera radius based on input.
        mRadius += dx - dy;

        // Restrict the radius.
        mRadius = MathHelper::Clamp(mRadius, 3.0f, 15.0f);
    }

    mLastMousePos.x = x;
    mLastMousePos.y = y;
}

void BoxApp::BuildGeometryBuffers()
{
    // Create vertex buffer
    Vertex vertices[] =
    {
        { XMFLOAT3(-1.0f, -1.0f, -1.0f), (const float*)&Colors::White   },
        { XMFLOAT3(-1.0f, +1.0f, -1.0f), (const float*)&Colors::Black   },
        { XMFLOAT3(+1.0f, +1.0f, -1.0f), (const float*)&Colors::Red     },
        { XMFLOAT3(+1.0f, -1.0f, -1.0f), (const float*)&Colors::Green   },
        { XMFLOAT3(-1.0f, -1.0f, +1.0f), (const float*)&Colors::Blue    },
        { XMFLOAT3(-1.0f, +1.0f, +1.0f), (const float*)&Colors::Yellow  },
        { XMFLOAT3(+1.0f, +1.0f, +1.0f), (const float*)&Colors::Cyan    },
        { XMFLOAT3(+1.0f, -1.0f, +1.0f), (const float*)&Colors::Magenta }
    };

    D3D11_BUFFER_DESC vbd;
    vbd.Usage = D3D11_USAGE_IMMUTABLE;
    vbd.ByteWidth = sizeof(Vertex) * 8;
    vbd.BindFlags = D3D11_BIND_VERTEX_BUFFER;
    vbd.CPUAccessFlags = 0;
    vbd.MiscFlags = 0;
    vbd.StructureByteStride = 0;
    D3D11_SUBRESOURCE_DATA vinitData;
    vinitData.pSysMem = vertices;
    HR(md3dDevice->CreateBuffer(&vbd, &vinitData, &mBoxVB));


    // Create the index buffer

    UINT indices[] = {
        // front face
        0, 1, 2,
        0, 2, 3,

        // back face
        4, 6, 5,
        4, 7, 6,

        // left face
        4, 5, 1,
        4, 1, 0,

        // right face
        3, 2, 6,
        3, 6, 7,

        // top face
        1, 5, 6,
        1, 6, 2,

        // bottom face
        4, 0, 3, 
        4, 3, 7
    };

    D3D11_BUFFER_DESC ibd;
    ibd.Usage = D3D11_USAGE_IMMUTABLE;
    ibd.ByteWidth = sizeof(UINT) * 36;
    ibd.BindFlags = D3D11_BIND_INDEX_BUFFER;
    ibd.CPUAccessFlags = 0;
    ibd.MiscFlags = 0;
    ibd.StructureByteStride = 0;
    D3D11_SUBRESOURCE_DATA iinitData;
    iinitData.pSysMem = indices;
    HR(md3dDevice->CreateBuffer(&ibd, &iinitData, &mBoxIB));
}

void BoxApp::BuildFX()
{
    DWORD shaderFlags = 0;
#if defined( DEBUG ) || defined( _DEBUG )
    shaderFlags |= D3D10_SHADER_DEBUG;
    shaderFlags |= D3D10_SHADER_SKIP_OPTIMIZATION;
#endif

    ID3D10Blob* compiledShader = 0;
    ID3D10Blob* compilationMsgs = 0;
    HRESULT hr = D3DX11CompileFromFile(L"FX/color.fx", 0, 0, 0, "fx_5_0", shaderFlags, 
        0, 0, &compiledShader, &compilationMsgs, 0);

    // compilationMsgs can store errors or warnings.
    if( compilationMsgs != 0 )
    {
        MessageBoxA(0, (char*)compilationMsgs->GetBufferPointer(), 0, 0);
        ReleaseCOM(compilationMsgs);
    }

    // Even if there are no compilationMsgs, check to make sure there were no other errors.
    if(FAILED(hr))
    {
        DXTrace(__FILE__, (DWORD)__LINE__, hr, L"D3DX11CompileFromFile", true);
    }

    HR(D3DX11CreateEffectFromMemory(compiledShader->GetBufferPointer(), compiledShader->GetBufferSize(), 
        0, md3dDevice, &mFX));

    // Done with compiled shader.
    ReleaseCOM(compiledShader);

    mTech    = mFX->GetTechniqueByName("ColorTech");
    mfxWorldViewProj = mFX->GetVariableByName("gWorldViewProj")->AsMatrix();
}

void BoxApp::BuildVertexLayout()
{
    // Create the vertex input layout.
    D3D11_INPUT_ELEMENT_DESC vertexDesc[] =
    {
        {"POSITION", 0, DXGI_FORMAT_R32G32B32_FLOAT, 0, 0, D3D11_INPUT_PER_VERTEX_DATA, 0},
        {"COLOR",    0, DXGI_FORMAT_R32G32B32A32_FLOAT, 0, 12, D3D11_INPUT_PER_VERTEX_DATA, 0}
    };

    // Create the input layout
    D3DX11_PASS_DESC passDesc;
    mTech->GetPassByIndex(0)->GetDesc(&passDesc);
    HR(md3dDevice->CreateInputLayout(vertexDesc, 2, passDesc.pIAInputSignature, 
        passDesc.IAInputSignatureSize, &mInputLayout));
}

When I goto compile it it throws the error:

FXC : error X3501: 'main': entrypoint not found

What is the entry point of my shader file from the examples? and how do I set that in the shader compiler properties? do I also have to set it to shader 5 considering it is mentioning vs_5_0 in the shader file?

I have tried a variation of the following article: http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/windowsapps/en-US/51859322-fc36-4946-b4cb-b5971fcaa9e5/fxc-error-x3501-main-entrypoint-not-found?forum=wingameswithdirectx but just can't get it to run.

Answer 1

The option below only works on Visual Studio 2012 or later version.

If you compile a .fx file, you can set the shader type to "fx" as below:

1. Right click your project in VS and select properties

2. Expand the HLSL compiler option, select "Effect(/fx)" for Shader Type, you can also specify a entry point function for Entrypoint Name.

Answer 2

since VS2012 microsoft decided to include a HLSL compiler (that's where the error comes from), but you don't need it since you are loading and compiling the .fx file at runtime using the D3DX11CompileFromFile() function. So just exclude the .fx file from the build, right-click on the file in the solution explorer and choose properties->configuration properties->general->excluded from build->yes.

Answer 3

rekotc answer is good, but in Microsoft DirectX examples https://github.com/Microsoft/DirectXTK, "configuration properties->general->Item Type->Does not participate in build" is used instead "configuration properties->general->excluded from build->yes". That also works.