VS2017 : Target framework drop down does not show .NET Core 2.1 option

Question

I have already installed VS2017 Enterprise 15.6.4. Recently installed .NET Core 2.1.101 SDK from official site

I was expecting .NET Core

Answer 1

Make sure dotnet PATH variables are in correct order

If you have installed an SDK for a different system architecture (e.g., if you installed 32-bit/x86 SDK on a 64-bit computer), then a new entry in the PATH variable would have been created for that specific location (e.g., C:\Program Files\dotnet or C:\Program Files (x86)\dotnet).

The problem is that Visual Studio, when searching for installed frameworks, will stop at the first PATH variable entry it finds that contains an SDK. So, if the first version you installed used an incorrect architecture, then you'll have to adjust the position of those entries before any of the correct SDKs will appear in the Target Framework drop down.

Source: this absurdly-hard-to-find comment within issue #8309.

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TL;DR: Make sure the first "C:\Program Files\dotnet\" entry in your path variable you see in the list matches your system architecture:

• 64-bit = C:\Program Files\dotnet\
• 32-bit = C:\Program Files (x86)\dotnet\