Can't use Microsoft.Build.Evaluation in VS2017

Question

I built a Web Forms website using VS2015 where I user Microsoft.Build.Evaluation so that I can grammatically go through the files in my project. When using VS2017 I get this error:

Microsoft.Build.Exceptions.InvalidProjectFileException: 'The imported project "C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v15.0\WebApplications\Microsoft.WebApplication.targets" was not found. Confirm that the path in the declaration is correct, and that the file exists on disk. C:\Users\MyUser\Source\Workspaces\MyProject TFVC2\Gemstar\MyProject.csproj'

Here is my code:

using Microsoft.Build.Evaluation;

Project project = new Project();
if (ProjectCollection.GlobalProjectCollection.GetLoadedProjects(mPath + "MyProject.csproj").Count == 0)
{
    project = new Project(mPath + "MyProject.csproj");
}
else
{
    project = ProjectCollection.GlobalProjectCollection.GetLoadedProjects(mPath + "MyProject.csproj").FirstOrDefault();
}

I want to mention that I installed BuildTools for VS2017 from https://www.visualstudio.com/thank-you-downloading-visual-studio/?sku=BuildTools&rel=15

Did you confirm the `Microsoft.WebApplication.targets` file exists on disk? — NightOwl888, Feb 14 '18 at 02:09
@boruchsiper, `When using VS2017 I get this error`--Have you installed VS2017 on your build server? If yes, why you installed build tools? Besides, the import path for `Microsoft.WebApplication.targets` should be incorrect. It exists in the path `C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\BuildTools\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v15.0` or `C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\Enterprise\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v15.0`. — Leo Liu, Feb 14 '18 at 02:24

Gaurav Sharma · Answer 1 · 2020-10-13T13:51:52.570

2

Mac OS -
I resolved it by installing the latest version of Mono.

Installing Mono on macOS.
Search "omnisharp" in settings (command + ',').
Changed the setting Omnisharp: Use Global Mono to always.
Reload the vscode.

edited Oct 13 '20 at 13:51

answered Aug 25 '20 at 15:26

Gaurav Sharma

573
1
4
26

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 14 '18 at 04:48

Can't use Microsoft.Build.Evaluation in VS2017

It seems the old value of MSBuildExtensionsPath32 set in the Microsoft.Build.Evaluation.

According to the error info:

The imported project "C:\Program Files(x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v15.0\WebApplications\Microsoft.WebApplication.targets" was not found.

The import path for Microsoft.WebApplication.targets is not correct.

In the project file .csproj, we notice following import:

  <PropertyGroup>
    <VisualStudioVersion Condition="'$(VisualStudioVersion)' == ''">10.0</VisualStudioVersion>
    <VSToolsPath Condition="'$(VSToolsPath)' == ''">$(MSBuildExtensionsPath32)\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v$(VisualStudioVersion)</VSToolsPath>
  </PropertyGroup>
  <Import Project="$(MSBuildBinPath)\Microsoft.CSharp.targets" />
  <Import Project="$(VSToolsPath)\WebApplications\Microsoft.WebApplication.targets" Condition="'$(VSToolsPath)' != ''" />

So the value for MSBuildExtensionsPath32 is C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild in the Microsoft.Build.Evaluation, which is not correct for Visual Studio 2017.

The value of MSBuildExtensionsPath32 for Visual Studio 2017 should be:

BuildTool Installed:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\BuildTools\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v15.0

Visual Studio Installed:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\Enterprise\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v15.0

To resolve this issue, you could verride the value in your project file:

<PropertyGroup>
    <MSBuildExtensionsPath32>C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\BuildTools\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v15.0</MSBuildExtensionsPath32>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <PropertyGroup>
    <VisualStudioVersion Condition="'$(VisualStudioVersion)' == ''">10.0</VisualStudioVersion>
    <VSToolsPath Condition="'$(VSToolsPath)' == ''">$(MSBuildExtensionsPath32)\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v$(VisualStudioVersion)</VSToolsPath>
  </PropertyGroup>
  <Import Project="$(MSBuildBinPath)\Microsoft.CSharp.targets" />
  <Import Project="$(VSToolsPath)\WebApplications\Microsoft.WebApplication.targets" Condition="'$(VSToolsPath)' != ''" />
  <Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath32)\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v10.0\WebApplications\Microsoft.WebApplication.targets" Condition="false" />

See the similar issue for some more details.

Hope this helps.

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 06 '19 at 16:52

0

Install Wix Toolset Visual Studio 2017 Extension.

answered Jun 06 '19 at 16:52

Tomas Kubes

23,880
18
111
148

Can't use Microsoft.Build.Evaluation in VS2017

3 Answers3