In my C++ project, `Test.wcxproj`, I have the following configurations defined: ``` Debug Win32 Debug x64 Release Win32 Release x64 ``` Then I have the problematic import of the default C++ properties: ``` ``` When my build server builds my M…

VCTargetsPath is wrong when building with MSBuild on build server

msbuild, tfs, visual-studio-2013

Solution

In my case, my build definition was configured to build my `.sln` file instead of my `.proj` file. I remember configuring it to build the MSBuild project, but somehow it seems to have reverted to the Solution.

Anyway, I found two solutions to the problem:

- Make sure to build the `.proj` file (where the tools version is indeed set to `12.0`).

- Explicitly set the VCTargetsPath.

Problem

In my C++ project, `Test.wcxproj`, I have the following configurations defined: ``` <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <Project DefaultTargets="Build" ToolsVersion="12.0" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003"> <ItemGroup Label="ProjectConfigurations"> <ProjectConfiguration Include="Debug|Win32"> <Configuration>Debug</Configuration> <Platform>Win32</Platform> </ProjectConfiguration> <ProjectConfiguration Include="Debug|x64"> <Configuration>Debug</Configuration> <Platform>x64</Platform> </ProjectConfiguration> <ProjectConfiguration Include="Release|Win32"> <Configuration>Release</Configuration> <Platform>Win32</Platform> </ProjectConfiguration> <ProjectConfiguration Include="Release|x64"> <Configuration>Release</Configuration> <Platform>x64</Platform> </ProjectConfiguration> </ItemGroup> ``` Then I have the problematic import of the default C++ properties: ``` <Import Project="$(VCTargetsPath)\Microsoft.Cpp.Default.props" /> ``` When my build server builds my MSBuild project file (configuration is `Release` and platform is `Any CPU`), I get this error: ``` error MSB4019: The imported project "C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft.Cpp\v4.0\V110\Microsoft.Cpp.Default.props" was not found. Confirm that the path in the <Import> declaration is correct, and that the file exists on disk. ``` The relevant parts of my `MSBuild` project file look like this: ``` <ItemGroup> <ProjectFiles Include="$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\**\*.csproj" /> <ProjectFiles Include="$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\**\*.vcxproj" /> </ItemGroup> <PropertyGroup> <Configuration>Release</Configuration> <Platform>x64</Platform> <OutputFolder>$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\BuildOutput\$(Configuration)</OutputFolder> <SolutionDir Condition="$(SolutionDir) == '' Or $(SolutionDir) == '*Undefined*'">$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)</SolutionDir> </PropertyGroup> ... <Target Name="Compile"> <MSBuild Projects="@(ProjectFiles)" Targets="Build" Properties="Configuration=$(Configuration);Platform=$(Platform);OutputPath=$(OutputFolder)\$(MSBuildProjectName);SolutionDir=$(SolutionDir)\" /> </Target> ``` The problem In my `MSBuild` project file, I am using `ToolsVersion="12.0"`. `Visual Studio 2013` is indeed installed, so I don't understand why it chooses to use `v4.0\v110`. Are my project configurations for some reason skipped by `MSBuild`? I guess I could somehow override this folder using the `/p` switch, but I want my `.proj` file to be self-contained.

Original source