Error - could not find al.exe using sdkToolsPath

Question

I migrated a Visual Studio 2012 solution to Visual Studio 2015. I'm working on Windows 10. The target .NET Framework of my solution is 4.5. I want to continue using that version. So I thought I have to uninstall the .NET framework 4.6.

Error Message: Task could not find "AL.exe" using the SdkToolsPath "" or the registry key "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SDKs\NETFXSDK\4.6\WinSDK-NetFx40Tools-x86". Make sure the SdkToolsPath is set and the tool exists in the correct processor specific location under the SdkToolsPath and that the Microsoft Windows SDK is installed.

The solution doesn't compile because of the error above. I think it has to do with the uninstallation of .NET 4.6. Then I tried to reinstall .NET 4.6, but under Windows 10 it is impossible.

So now I don't know how to fix this problem. Do you know where I can find the al.exe and how to set the right path?

Solution

You don't have to reinstall the .NET Framework, but the Windows 10 SDK, which include the tools you want. (the file usually can be found in C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v10.0A\bin\NETFX 4.6 Tools)

As a general guideline: the .NET Framework you are building for and the .NET Frameworks installed on your PC don't relate to each other. You can build for .NET 4.5 with .NET 4.6 installed.