# Project root folder CMakeLists file being ignored when trying to build Windows desktop app

**URL:** <https://discourse.cmake.org/t/project-root-folder-cmakelists-file-being-ignored-when-trying-to-build-windows-desktop-app/15228>\
**Category:** Code\
**Tags:** os:windows\
**Created:** [October 8, 2025, 12:44pm UTC](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/project-root-folder-cmakelists-file-being-ignored-when-trying-to-build-windows-desktop-app/15228 "2025-10-08T12:44:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 2

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**Author:** ![LegalizeAdulthood](https://discourse.cmake.org/user_avatar/discourse.cmake.org/legalizeadulthood/32/5282_2.png) [@LegalizeAdulthood](https://discourse.cmake.org/u/LegalizeAdulthood)\
**Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 3:21pm UTC](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/project-root-folder-cmakelists-file-being-ignored-when-trying-to-build-windows-desktop-app/15228/2 "2025-10-08T15:21:25Z")

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If you are using the built-in CMake support in Visual Studio, you need to do “Open Folder” on the root folder of your project, not the `src` folder.

Personally, I find this experience inferior to generating project files and opening the generated project. If you want to do that, then:

```auto
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ../root

```

…asssuming your project root folder is called “root”. I don’t like having the build directory inside the source directory, so I always locate it as a peer to my source directory. I don’t remember where VS decides to put the build directory when you use the built-in CMake support, probably somewhere inside your top-level source directory.

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_[View the full topic](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/project-root-folder-cmakelists-file-being-ignored-when-trying-to-build-windows-desktop-app/15228)._