I have installed .NET Framework 4.5.2 on Windows 8.1. But in Visual Studio 2013 I do not see the .NET Framework 4.5.2 option (see screenshot). How do I target my project for .NET 4.5.2?
2 Answers
You need to install the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5.2 Developer Pack
This contains the following components (emphasis added by me):
.NET Framework 4.5.2
.NET Framework 4.5.2 Multi-Targeting Pack: Contains the reference assemblies needed to build apps that target the .NET Framework 4.5.2
.NET Framework 4.5.2 Language Packs
.NET Framework 4.5.2 Multi-Targeting Pack Language Packs: Contains the IntelliSense files to display help while building apps that target the .NET Framework 4.5.2 through Visual Studio and third party IDEs.
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4Make sure you use the download package (as per the link), rather than the web installer. The latter will not install the multi-targeting pack--even if you have Visual Studio 2013 installed. – osoviejo May 20 '14 at 07:23
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This didn't work for me, I can't understand why, and how to solve it. This is my VS asset: Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2013 Version 12.0.31101.00 Update 4 Microsoft .NET Framework Version 4.5.51209 Any clue ? – NinjaCross Dec 02 '14 at 12:19
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Bizarre, I reinstalled it and now it works... thanks anyway :) – NinjaCross Dec 02 '14 at 14:16
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1All my projects show as incompatible even after installing from that link. Has anyone had this problem? – Jamie Jul 14 '15 at 18:01
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@jlg have you tried to restart your machine? Sometimes the install needs an extra restart... – nemesv Jul 14 '15 at 18:40
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Yeah, I just did. They still show up as incompatible. – Jamie Jul 14 '15 at 19:29
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1It looks like it is because of Windows 8. Apparently I'm supposed to run Visual Studio as administrator to get it to work. I just got the new OS yesterday and it's already making me want to rip my hair out! – Jamie Jul 14 '15 at 20:53
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Do I need the multilinual packages? – BlueWizard Oct 22 '15 at 06:05
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1I had to restart Visual Studio before it picked up on 4.5.2. Make sure you do that after installing the Multi-Targeting pack. – AlphaKilo Mar 17 '16 at 18:04
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1Incidentally, this same pattern repeats for the issue when trying to target 4.6.1 – JosephStyons Jun 16 '16 at 20:26
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@JosephStyons, I would like to suggest you to install the 'Developer Pack' and not the 'runtime' version. – Luis Gouveia Jul 20 '16 at 10:11
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I have this issue on VS2017 on Windows 10, but the provided link doesn't specify Windows 10. Any help is welcome. – fernacolo Aug 10 '17 at 21:03
I had the same problem. The point was that I have installed DevPack only for my language.
NDP462-DevPack-KB3151934-RUS.exe
as the result the appropriate folder here
C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework
contained only one folder "ru", while the folder 4.6.1 was full of files.
In the end, installing
NDP462-DevPack-KB3151934-ENU.exe
solved the problem.

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