Why does MSBuild look in C:\ for Microsoft.Cpp.Default.props instead of c:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild? ( error MSB4019)

I got this problem when publishing a cocos2d-x application using their command line tool, which calls MSBuild. I'm using Win 7 64-bit, VS2013 express, cocos2d-x version 3.3, .NET Framework 4.5 installed.

I fixed the problem by setting the following before running the cocos.py publish command:

SET VCTargetsPath=C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft.Cpp\v4.0\V120

For those who didn't follow the MS proscribed order (see Xv's answer) you can still fix the problem.

MSBuild uses the VCTargetsPath to locate default cpp properties but cannot because the registry lacks this String Value.

Check for the String Value

• Launch regedit
• Navigator to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSBuild\ToolsVersions\4.0
• Inspect VCTargetsPath key. The value should = "$(MSBuildExtensionsPath32)\Microsoft.Cpp\v4.0\"

To fix

• Launch regedit Navigator to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSBuild\ToolsVersions\4.0
• Add String Value VCTargetsPath
• Set Value to "$(MSBuildExtensionsPath32)\Microsoft.Cpp\v4.0\"

Note: HKLM stands for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.