Is there an easier way to get Visual Studio Code to compile c++?

Question

I have watched videos on this, and usually my one problem is there is supposed to be a green squiggly line with a light bulb that opens a special file when you click #include <iostream>, and I don't have that light bulb, but that's beside the point. I want to know if there is an all around easier way to get VSC to compile c++. I really like the software's layout and it has cool features, but I cant use it yet. If anyone has a brief guide or knows why the thing with the light bulb doesn't work, any help is appreciated, thanks. Also feel free to ask any follow up questions you have

Answer 1

I'm assuming you've seen this https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/languages/cpp? I use VS Code for Python but I don't use C++ so I can't really help, but I notice that besides the C++ VS Code extension, you also have to install a C++ compiler (like mingw-min64 for Windows http://www.mingw-w64.org/doku.php) and make sure its executable is in your PATH.

Answer 2

I have seen that and added the necessary extensions to my path. I have also modified c_cpp_properties.json and tasks.json, yet neither work. I think I really need to just watch the video completely from scratch and start again. Thanks for your response though