Opening .h and .cpp files from folders other than the sketch folder

Question

My team has a C++ program from another microcontroller that we are moving to Arduino, which is currently divided into two main folders, the sketch and libraries. We want to be able to open some of the library files in the Arduino IDE along with the sketch, something it will do automatically if they are in the same folder, but not allow otherwise. The files in question are referenced from the other libraries though, which means moving just a few of them results in compilation errors. We don't want to move them all to the sketch folder, since that defeats the purpose, but a few of my teammates are vehemently opposed to having to edit them using another IDE.

So is there a way to have these files open in the Arduino IDE with the sketch? Or do I have to tell my teammates to suck it up and use a second editor if they want to make changes?

Alternatively, a way to get the libraries able to reference files in the sketch folder would also work.

Answer 1

I don't recommend this

A) Because the arduino editor is pretty bad for serious coding

B) Because you will need to have a header guard on all library code that doesn't have one already (even in .cpp's)

But, if you really have to, the only way I can think of is to make a symbolic link to the library file in the sketch directory. It works, but the file gets compiled twice, so you need those header guards on everything.