The version of Qt installed on your system. This is the Qt version for theqmakecommand found in yourPATH.
Default Qt
The version of Qt configured inTools -> Options -> Qt 4 -> Default Qt Version. This is the Qt version used by your new projects. It defaults to Auto-detected Qt.
Project Qt
The version of Qt configured inBuild&Run -> Build Settings -> Build Configurations. This is the Qt version that is actually used by a particular project. It defaults to Default Qt.
Shadow Build
Shadow building means building a project in a separate directory, thebuild directory. The build directory is different from the source directory. One of the benefits of shadow building is that it keeps your source directory clean. Shadow building is the best practice if you need many build configurations for a single set of source.