Before you can use GNATbench you must install the required environments and tools.
You must install Eclipse, the CDT, and the AdaCore compilation toolset, in that order, before installing the GNATbench plug-in. With GNATbench 2.1.0 version Eclipse 3.3 or greater is required. For the CDT, version 4.0.2 or greater is required. If these tools are not installed, with those versions, and in that order, behavior is generally unpredictable.
You must also install the 'make' utility before using GNATbench. This utility is available from a number of web sites, including ours.
Windows users should take the following steps to get the file from the AdaCore web site. (Other supported operating systems will very likely have 'make' already installed.) First, from the home page, log in to GNAT Tracker using your account number and password. Then select the "x86-windows" platform and the version number of the compiler you are using. Then expand the "Tools" category, under which you will see a file named "gnumake-version-number-nt.exe" that you can download. Download it, rename it to "make.exe", and place it somewhere on your path.
If you do not have a 'make' utility installed you will get an error popup dialog similar to the one below when attempting to use the compiler and associated tools:
In all probability, you must remove or completely disable any other Ada development plug-in that includes the functionality that GNATbench provides. In particular, any plug-in that defines a project builder for Ada source code will likely prevent correct operation of GNATbench, and vice versa.