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Project gets unloaded when opening with Visual Studio 2019

I am trying to open a solution using Visual studio 2019 and visual studio 2017. All the projects in the solution are loading except for one. When trying to load the unloaded project i get an error in the output window as
TakstMVC.csproj : error : The imported project
"....build\MSBuild.Community.Tasks.targets" was not found. Confirm
that the expression in the Import declaration
"TakstMVC\.....build\MSBuild.Community.Tasks.targets" is correct,
and that the file exists on disk. TakstMVC\FluentMigrator.targets
When i tried to open using VS 2017 i saw a migration report which said
TakstMVC.csproj: The application which this project type is based on
was not found. Please try this link for further information:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=299083&projecttype=E3E379DF-F4C6-4180-9B81-6769533ABE47
Part of the .csproj of the project is as below:
<Project ToolsVersion="4.0" DefaultTargets="Build" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
<Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\$(MSBuildToolsVersion)\Microsoft.Common.props" Condition="Exists('$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\$(MSBuildToolsVersion)\Microsoft.Common.props')" />
<PropertyGroup>
<Configuration Condition=" '$(Configuration)' == '' ">Debug</Configuration>
<Platform Condition=" '$(Platform)' == '' ">AnyCPU</Platform>
<ProductVersion>
</ProductVersion>
<SchemaVersion>2.0</SchemaVersion>
<ProjectGuid>{A4354F5C-ECF5-4621-AA9E-B91FE543F096}</ProjectGuid>
<ProjectTypeGuids>{E3E379DF-F4C6-4180-9B81-6769533ABE47};{349c5851-65df-11da-9384-00065b846f21};{fae04ec0-301f-11d3-bf4b-00c04f79efbc}</ProjectTypeGuids>
<OutputType>Library</OutputType>
<AppDesignerFolder>Properties</AppDesignerFolder>
<RootNamespace>TakstMVC</RootNamespace>
<AssemblyName>TakstMVC</AssemblyName>
<TargetFrameworkVersion>v4.0</TargetFrameworkVersion>
<MvcBuildViews>false</MvcBuildViews>
<UseIISExpress>true</UseIISExpress>
<SccProjectName>SAK</SccProjectName>
<SccLocalPath>SAK</SccLocalPath>
<SccAuxPath>SAK</SccAuxPath>
<SccProvider>SAK</SccProvider>
<FileUpgradeFlags>
</FileUpgradeFlags>
<UpgradeBackupLocation>
</UpgradeBackupLocation>
<OldToolsVersion>4.0</OldToolsVersion>
<IISExpressSSLPort />
<IISExpressAnonymousAuthentication />
<IISExpressWindowsAuthentication />
<IISExpressUseClassicPipelineMode />
<MvcProjectUpgradeChecked>true</MvcProjectUpgradeChecked>
<NuGetPackageImportStamp>
</NuGetPackageImportStamp>
</PropertyGroup>
I have the following installed in my computer
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.7.1 SDK
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.7.1 SDK Targeting Pack (ENU)
Microsoft .NET Core 3.1.1 - Windowsserver hosting
Microsoft .NET Core SDK 3.1.101 (x64)
Microsoft .NET Core SDK 2.2.207 (x64)
Microsoft .NET Core Runtime - 3.1.1
Microsoft .NET Core Runtime - 2.2.8
I tried to install dotnetfx35.exe but it doesnt even run when executed (not even a message or error).
The windows feature are as below:
How can I identify the target framework of the project and load it in visual studio successfully ? appreciate some advise on this.

The error is clear that you did not import the MSBuild.Community.Tasks.targets correctly on your local area. The reason is that you did not install MSBuild.Community.Tasks.targets on your PC or the import path from csproj file is incorrect.
You should check this document to install the right target.
First, remove xml node under csproj file like these:
<Import Project="..\build\MSBuild.Community.Tasks.targets" Condition="Exists('..\build\MSBuild.Community.Tasks.targets')" />
<Target Name="EnsureNuGetPackageBuildImports" BeforeTargets="PrepareForBuild">
<PropertyGroup>
<ErrorText>This project references NuGet package(s) that are missing on this computer. Use NuGet Package Restore to download them. For more information, see http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=322105. The missing file is {0}.</ErrorText>
</PropertyGroup>
<Error Condition="!Exists('..\build\MSBuild.Community.Tasks.targets')" Text="$([System.String]::Format('$(ErrorText)', '..\build\MSBuild.Community.Tasks.targets'))" />
</Target>
Second, install the msi file.
then, add these under the csproj file:
<Import Project="C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\MSBuildCommunityTasks\MSBuild.Community.Tasks.Targets"/>
Besides, you could also use nuget function. First, uninstall the nuget package if you have a old version on the project. Then, use the first suggestion to remove any previous import projects="xxx\MSBuildTasks.targets". After that, install the MSBuildTasks nuget package. That is the same.
Update
Try to You should change ..\..\ to ..\. Use the right path.
Or use this command under Tools-->Nuget Package Manager-->Package Manager Console
update-package -reinstall
Answer from the Customer
embarrassingly enough the whole issue was with the solution path where my solution was located in my local computer. I had a long path including a folder having two words as well. After trying everything else I moved the solution folder to C:\temp folder and the issue was no longer there. The error showed in VS was quite misleading. What a waist of time. Thank you for your efforts !

Build target used by Visual Studio to do Incremental Build via msbuild command line

I created a task in our C# Projects to auto-version projects when they are built (changes are made) in release mode. The versioning part works perfectly. However, all the projects are being built regardless if the project actually changed when done from command line. This causes projects to be versioned unnecessarily. Building in Visual Studio works, unchanged projects are not built, however we made a tool to do automated build using msbuild.exe and are using this as a temporary fix while we work on Bamboo and that method always does a blind build, even if there are no changes to the project. I need to be able to identify if changes were made to the project.
Something like
'$(wasSourceUpdated)' == 'true' or some kind of target condition to use on my custom versioning target.
Here is a sample of my versioning task in our projects
<Import Project="..\..\DXT.BuildTasks\Targets\DXTAutoIncrementVersion.targets" Condition="Exists('..\..\DXT.BuildTasks\Targets\DXTAutoIncrementVersion.targets') And '$(Configuration)|$(Platform)' == 'Release|AnyCPU' And '$(DeployOnBuild)' != 'true'" />
I also checked this and this articles to no avail.
EDIT
I need the task to run before the build is actually executed in order to stamp the generated assemblies with the new versions
EDIT 2
What I'm really looking for is the condition to run CoreCompile or to run CoreCompile again when I detect that the assembly was updated
What I've tried so far:
<Project>
<PropertyGroup>
<RunPostBuildEvent>OnOutputUpdated</RunPostBuildEvent>
</PropertyGroup>
<PropertyGroup>
<_AssemblyTimestampBeforeCompile>%(IntermediateAssembly.ModifiedTime)</_AssemblyTimestampBeforeCompile>
</PropertyGroup>
<PropertyGroup>
<_AssemblyTimestampAfterCompile>%(IntermediateAssembly.ModifiedTime)</_AssemblyTimestampAfterCompile>
</PropertyGroup>
<PropertyGroup>
<_ProjectVersioned Condition="'$(_ProjectVersioned)'==''">false</_ProjectVersioned>
</PropertyGroup>
<Target Name="IncrementVersionBeforeBuild" AfterTargets="CoreCompile" Condition="'$(_AssemblyTimestampBeforeCompile)'!='$(_AssemblyTimestampAfterCompile)' and '$(_ProjectVersioned)' == 'false'">
<Message Text="Before $(_AssemblyTimestampBeforeCompile) After $(_AssemblyTimestampAfterCompile)" Importance="High"/>
<IncrementVersion
ProjectPath="$(MSBuildProjectFullPath)"
VersionRule="3.3.0.+"
FileName="Properties\AssemblyInfo.cs">
</IncrementVersion>
</Target>
<PropertyGroup>
<TaskPath>$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)..\Tasks\AutoVersionTask\AutoVersionTask\bin\Debug</TaskPath>
</PropertyGroup>
<!-- Sample import for projects
<Import Project="..\..\DXT.BuildTasks\Targets\DXTAutoIncrementVersion.targets" Condition="Exists('..\..\DXT.BuildTasks\Targets\DXTAutoIncrementVersion.targets') And '$(Configuration)|$(Platform)' == 'Release|AnyCPU' And '$(DeployOnBuild)' != 'true'" />
-->
<UsingTask AssemblyFile="$(TaskPath)\AutoVersionTask.dll" TaskName="AutoVersionTask.IncrementVersion" />
<PropertyGroup>
<_ProjectVersioned>true</_ProjectVersioned>
</PropertyGroup>
Thanks in advance

So Thanks to Lance for getting me to understand MSBuild to the point that I understand the issue way better.
After a long time researching the default task, I ran upon this question that had the perfect solution to my issue. After applying the fix the versioning task now only runs when changes are made to the msbuild code.
The inputs and outputs are the same as the CoreCompile target and ensures that the task is only run if there were changes to the source
Here is the target I ran that works:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Project>
<PropertyGroup>
<CoreCompileDependsOn>
$(CoreCompileDependsOn);
IncrementVersionBeforeBuild
</CoreCompileDependsOn>
</PropertyGroup>
<Target Name="IncrementVersionBeforeBuild"
Inputs="$(MSBuildAllProjects);
#(Compile);
#(_CoreCompileResourceInputs);
$(ApplicationIcon);
$(AssemblyOriginatorKeyFile);
#(ReferencePath);
#(CompiledLicenseFile);
#(EmbeddedDocumentation);
$(Win32Resource);
$(Win32Manifest);
#(CustomAdditionalCompileInputs)"
Outputs="#(DocFileItem);
#(IntermediateAssembly);
#(_DebugSymbolsIntermediatePath);
$(NonExistentFile);
#(CustomAdditionalCompileOutputs)"
>
<Message Text="Version Task running" Importance="High"/>
<IncrementVersion
ProjectPath="$(MSBuildProjectFullPath)"
VersionRule="3.3.0.+"
FileName="Properties\AssemblyInfo.cs">
</IncrementVersion>
</Target>
<PropertyGroup>
<TaskPath>$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)..\Tasks\AutoVersionTask\AutoVersionTask\bin\Debug</TaskPath>
</PropertyGroup>
<UsingTask AssemblyFile="$(TaskPath)\AutoVersionTask.dll" TaskName="AutoVersionTask.IncrementVersion" />
<PropertyGroup>
<_ProjectVersioned>true</_ProjectVersioned>
</PropertyGroup>
</Project>

Normaly, we can add the script below into .csproj file:
<PropertyGroup>
<RunPostBuildEvent>OnOutputUpdated</RunPostBuildEvent>
</PropertyGroup>
<Target Name="AutoVersionWhenBuild" AfterTargets="CoreBuild"
Condition="'$(_AssemblyTimestampBeforeCompile)'!='$(_AssemblyTimestampAfterCompile)'">
<Message Importance="high" Text="Auto-version begins when changes are made!"/>
<!--<AutoVersionTask>Do your auto-version task here.</AutoVersionTask>-->
</Target>
It will be called during the build when changes are really made to the project. See this similar issue.
As for your situation:
It seems your tasks and target comes from the targets file DXTAutoIncrementVersion.targets,you can open that file and change the target in it to the format above.
In addition: Please check the relationship between tasks, targets and .targets file.
1.MSBuild uses tasks to perform these actions.
2.Targets group tasks together.
3.MSBuild includes several .targets files that contain items, properties, targets, and tasks for common scenarios.
So you can either modify your auto-version target in the xx.targets file, or use the script above, and call the auto-version task in the AutoVersionWhenBuild target. Hope it helps:)

C# how to install Windows.Media.Transcoding

In my current project I need to use the Windows Media Transcoding API. However, I can't manage to install it.
Here you can see I'm using the correct namespace.
using System.Windows.Media.Transcoding;
I looked around on NuGet, but couldn't find it there. I read the Microsoft page about it, but that only told me the namespace. I also couldn't find it's Assembly. Could someone please help me install it.

You can follow these instructions:
Modify the target platform by opening your .csproj file with an external editor and add the line
<TargetPlatformVersion>8.0</TargetPlatformVersion>
as for this example
<PropertyGroup>
<Configuration Condition=" '$(Configuration)' == '' ">Debug</Configuration>
<Platform Condition=" '$(Platform)' == '' ">AnyCPU</Platform>
<ProjectGuid>{6D41F51D-5A85-4826-9868-14FB3591F280}</ProjectGuid>
<OutputType>WinExe</OutputType>
<AppDesignerFolder>Properties</AppDesignerFolder>
<RootNamespace>WindowsFormsApplication1</RootNamespace>
<AssemblyName>UseWindowsMediaTranscodingAPI</AssemblyName>
<TargetFrameworkVersion>v4.6.1</TargetFrameworkVersion>
<FileAlignment>512</FileAlignment>
<AutoGenerateBindingRedirects>true</AutoGenerateBindingRedirects>
<TargetPlatformVersion>8.0</TargetPlatformVersion>
</PropertyGroup>
Reload the solution and add a reference to Windows Core Media DLL
This should already compile.
Additionally to be able handle events and async methods mapping you should add the reference to the system dll:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework.NETCore\v4.5\System.Runtime.InteropServices.WindowsRuntime
Remember that the application will work only on Windows 10.
Source: https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/cdndevs/2013/10/02/using-windows-8-winrt-apis-in-net-desktop-applications/

Conditional project path variables in VisualStudio solutions

We have a big C# program that is split into 2 major groups: Kernel libraries and (Customer) specific applications & services.
Our TFS structure (simplified) is like this:
Kernel
DLVP
Release 1
Release 2
Release 3
...
CustomerA
DLVP
Release
CustomerB
DLVP
Release
We used nugets to compile and distribute our kernel code and include it into the Customer applications. So we can easily move to a new version/release. However, we are not content with only dll's. We want to have the full debugging and editing experience everywhere.
You can include kernel projects in the customer solutions, but they will have a reference to Release X, so if we want to move to a new release, we have to change every solution and project file for every costumer, which is a lot (N customers x M services/programs = a lot)
I read that you can use Environment variabels to change some values in the .sln & .csproj files, but we would like to have something that is more controllable across all developers. I prefer referencing a shared variable that can also be stored in TFS.
I've made a small .sln file to clarify:
Microsoft Visual Studio Solution File, Format Version 11.00
# Visual Studio 2010
Project("{FAE04EC0-301F-11D3-BF4B-00C04F79EFBC}") = "ConsoleApp", "ConsoleApp\ConsoleApp.csproj", "{B6B9AE41-99ED-47CE-B35C-F693C5F5F736}"
EndProject
Project("{FAE04EC0-301F-11D3-BF4B-00C04F79EFBC}") = "LibKernel", "..\..\Release 1\LibKernel\LibKernel\LibKernel.csproj", "{439BD82B-340D-4D69-B367-E52E0DF27983}"
EndProject
I want to change this part:
"LibKernel", "....\ Release 1 \LibKernel\LibKernel\LibKernel.csproj", "{439B....}"
into
"LibKernel", "....\ {CustomerA.CurrentRelease} \LibKernel\LibKernel\LibKernel.csproj", "{439B....}"
Something like that (and also for .csproj files), but if they are better approaches, I'm glad to hear them.
Thx a lot

We use this kind of idea for referencing the assemblies located in particular location per as user needs.
First you need to save an external file with content as shown below..
Suppose filename is buildpath.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003" >
<PropertyGroup>
<AssemblyDirLocation>C:\inetpub\wwwroot\SiteInstance\Website</AssemblyDirLocation>
</PropertyGroup>
</Project>
Next we import this config in .csproj. I believe it shall work in .sln files also
For proper understanding I have included some surrounding text here from .csproj file
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Project ToolsVersion="12.0" DefaultTargets="Build" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
<Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\$(MSBuildToolsVersion)\Microsoft.Common.props" Condition="Exists('$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\$(MSBuildToolsVersion)\Microsoft.Common.props')" />
<Import Project="..\build\buildpath.xml" Condition="Exists('..\build\buildpath.xml')" />
<PropertyGroup>
<Configuration Condition=" '$(Configuration)' == '' ">Debug</Configuration>
<!-- more text -->
Notice following line from above text
<Import Project="..\build\buildpath.xml" Condition="Exists('..\build\buildpath.xml')" />
Usage:
In .csproj or .sln file where you would have imported above file, you can write below macro to replace the value. Notice the tag name matches the macro written i.e. $(AssemblyDirLocation).
<ItemGroup>
<Reference Include="Site.Kernel">
<HintPath>$(AssemblyDirLocation)\bin\Site.Kernel.dll</HintPath>
<Private>False</Private>
</Reference>
</ItemGroup>
Whenever you make changes in buildpath.xml external file you need to reload the referencing project.
I hope that was clear and will be helpful.

handwritten msbuild ignores rootnamespace for c# dll

I am working on an automated c# build that requires me to write/generate the csproj file and then compile it using the command line. For some reason while the dll is created without issue, the class it contains is dumped into the global namespace instead of the one I have specified in . Does anyone have any idea what might be going on here?
<Project ToolsVersion="4.0" DefaultTargets="Build" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
<PropertyGroup>
<OutputType>Library</OutputType>
<RootNamespace>SimpleDependency.Test</RootNamespace>
<AssemblyName>simpledependency.test</AssemblyName>
<TargetFrameworkVersion>v4.0</TargetFrameworkVersion>
<FileAlignment>512</FileAlignment>
</PropertyGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<Compile Include="*.cs" />
</ItemGroup>
<PropertyGroup Condition=" '$(Configuration)|$(Platform)' == 'Release|AnyCPU' ">
<DebugType>pdbonly</DebugType>
<Optimize>true</Optimize>
<OutputPath>Bin\Release\</OutputPath>
<DefineConstants>TRACE</DefineConstants>
<ErrorReport>prompt</ErrorReport>
<WarningLevel>4</WarningLevel>
</PropertyGroup>
<Import Project="$(MSBuildToolsPath)\Microsoft.CSharp.targets" />
</Project>
I have msbuild set to .net 4.0, and am running this command on the command line:
msbuild /property:Configuration=Release /property:Platform=AnyCPU
I know that it generates the dll successfully because I then have another dependent project that uses the class I have defined in this project, but if I include:
using SimpleDependency.Test;
in that code, I get compile errors saying it cannot find namespace 'SimpleDependency'. Without this using statement, it compiles fine and works. Anyone have any thoughts?

Run MSBuild using the /preprocess:flattened.proj flag. Then load up the resulting file in an XML editor. My recent experience is that when properties are not being seen, it's overwritten someplace later (e.g. setting rather than appending to it) or something about conditions. That's a good start. You might also try getting MSBuildExplorer3 and see if that turns up anything. I'm not familiar with C# projects, but I think you should find where $(RootNamespace) is actually used for its effect, and trace backwards: is it ignored due to a condition, not getting the target variation you expected, etc. Once you know the lay of the land, run MSBuild with /verbosity:diag and grep through that for the target where it's (supposed to be) used, and see what it was thinking.

Copying the feedback from Pierre-Luc into an answer: The rootnamespace appears to only be a suggestion to the IDE to inject whenever creating classes. If the .cs files do not have a namespace specified, rootnamespace will not become the namespace for those classes. More information about that problem in this question.