Nios programming with .sof file

Hello

please correct me if this is not the correct forumn for this question.

I am working on a project on a max10 fpga, and am trying to learn the various ways to program the NIOS on the fpga.

One process I have is Quartus>Confgigure fpga with .sof> Eclipse > program as NIOS hardware.

But, I've heard there is a way to compile the eclipse code into a hex file, and then quartus compile a .sof file that includes the hex file?

Can anyone advice me how to do this, or direct me to the correct documentation?

Thank you for any advice.