Visual Studio 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019 all support .NET 4.5 targeting. Visual Studio 2022 requires manual installation via NuGet.
While the 4.5 Developer Pack is vital for maintaining legacy infrastructure, Microsoft officially ended support for .NET Framework 4.5 in January 2016. Security patches and updates are no longer issued for this specific version.
Visit the official Microsoft Download Center or the .NET Framework download page . microsoft .net framework 4.5 developer pack download
Restart your computer if prompted to ensure all environment variables update correctly. Step 3: Verifying the Installation in Visual Studio To confirm the targeting pack is active: Open . Select Create a new project .
Starting with .NET Framework 4.5, the Client Profile has been discontinued, and only the full redistributable package is available. Installation requires administrator privileges. Visual Studio 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019 all support
If you encounter errors stating that the targeting pack is missing, you can verify if the files landed correctly on your local disk using the Windows Registry Editor: Press Win + R , type regedit , and hit Enter.
Microsoft Visual Studio (e.g., Visual Studio 2013, 2015, 2017 or newer). Security patches and updates are no longer issued
Note: As of April 2026, .NET Framework 4.5 has reached the end of support. It is highly recommended to target supported versions like .NET Framework 4.8. Key Components of the Developer Pack The Developer Pack installs the following: The .NET Framework 4.5 Runtime: Required to execute applications. Multi-Targeting Pack: