- Qt Creator Documentation
- Parse files
- Qt Creator 18.0.2

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# Parse files

When you open a project, Qt Creator parses the source files in the project and performs a semantic analysis to build up the information that it needs for code editing services, such as navigation and finding usages.

## Select parse context

Code might be interpreted differently in different contexts. A file can be used by different projects or subprojects with different defines, or it can be included in the context of C, C++, Objective-C, or Objective-C++.

To change the active parse context, select an available parse context on the Edit mode toolbar in #. The button is visible only when several parse contexts are available.

To reset the parse context, go to # > Clear Preferred Parse Context.

If the information needed for parsing the project is still incomplete or incorrect, go to Additional Preprocessor Directives to add preprocessor directives.

## Reparse externally changed files

If source files are modified from outside Qt Creator, the open files (1) are reparsed automatically. To update other files, go to Tools > C++ > Reparse Externally Changed Files to update the code model.

See also How To: Edit Code, Edit Mode, Clang Code Model, and Code Model.