Nios II flash programming of custom .sof

Hi all,

I have a stratix II development board that I am able to flash program with various reference .elf files using Nios II flash programmer. The .elf files programmed so far are designed to execute on the target hardware SOPC design provided with the development kit.

I now have a custom .sof design that I would like to program into flash so that the config config controller can load it into the device at power-up; as with the .elf examples. The help documentation for the flash programmer contains the following statement:

"Note: [/B][/B]To run the flash programmer, the files to program into flash must reside in a Nios II C/C++ application project. The associated SOPC Builder system must include flash memory."

Does anyone know how to go about this?. i.e. how to include the .sof in a Nios II C/C++ application project?

Many thanks.

NGL.