# Specifying a Base Platform Toolset with the Intel® C++ Compiler Classic

By default, when your project uses the Intel® C++ Compiler Classic, the Base Platform Toolset property is set to use that compiler with the build environment. This environment includes paths, libraries, included files, etc., of the toolset specific to the version of Microsoft Visual Studio* you are using.

You can set the general project level property Base Platform Toolset to use one of the non-Intel installed platform toolsets as the base.

For example, if you are using Microsoft Visual Studio 2017, and you selected the Intel® C++ Compiler Classic in the Platform Toolset property, then the Base Platform Toolset uses the Microsoft Visual Studio 2017 environment (v141). If you want to use other environments from Microsoft Visual Studio along with the Intel® C++ Compiler Classic, set the Base Platform Toolset property to:

- v141 for Microsoft Visual Studio 2017
- v142 for Microsoft Visual Studio 2019

This property displays all installed toolsets, not including Intel toolsets.

To set the Base Platform Toolset:

- Using property pages:
  1. Select the project and open Project > Properties.
  2. In the left pane, select Configuration Properties > General.
  3. In the right pane, find Intel Specific > Base Platform Toolset.
  4. Select a value from the pop-up menu.
- Using the msbuild.exe command line tool, use the /p:PlatformToolset and /p:BasePlatformToolset options.
  Example: When the Platform Toolset property is already set to use the Intel® C++ Compiler Classic, to build a project using the Microsoft Visual Studio 2017 environment use the following command:

      Msbuild.exe myproject.vcxproj /p:BasePlatformToolset=v141

  Example: To set the Platform Toolset property to use the Intel® C++ Compiler Classic and build a project using the Microsoft Visual Studio 2017 environment use the following command:

      Msbuild.exe myproject.vcxproj /p:PlatformToolset="Intel C++ Compiler 2021" /p:BasePlatformToolset=v141

  For possible values for the /p:BasePlatformToolset property, see the properties described above.

The next time you build your project with the Intel® C++ Compiler Classic, the option you selected is used to specify the build environment.
Parent topic: Using Microsoft Visual Studio*