When I build a project in vs 2017, I can get errors like this:
1>------ Build started: Project: TortoiseGitMerge, Configuration: Debug Win32 ------
1>Performing Custom Build Tools
1>The system cannot find the path specified.
1>C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\Community\Common7\IDE\VC\VCTargets\Microsoft.CppCommon.targets(171,5): error MSB6006: "cmd.exe" exited with code 3.
1>Done building project "TortoiseMerge.vcxproj" -- FAILED.
========== Build: 0 succeeded, 1 failed, 10 up-to-date, 0 skipped ==========
In this error message, there is no information leading me closer to a solution. Which path was specified?
How do I find out? What is the exact reason that the path in question was not written in that error message?
Performing Custom Build Tools
That isn't enough to know what is going on. You'll want to jack up the build verbosity so you can see these custom build commands getting executed. Finding the one that failed then gives you a shot at diagnosing the mishap.
Use Tools > Options > Projects and Solutions > Build and Run, "MSBuild project build output verbosity" = Detailed. The build trace you now see in the Output window gets a lot more chatty and should show the actual command that fell over.