# COMPILE_PDB_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY

Added in version 3.1.

Output directory for the MS debug symbol `.pdb` file generated by the compiler while building source files.

This property specifies the directory into which the MS debug symbols will be placed by the compiler.

Added in version 3.12: The property value may use `generator expressions`. Multi-configuration generators append a per-configuration subdirectory to the specified directory unless a generator expression is used.

This property is initialized by the value of the `CMAKE_COMPILE_PDB_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY` variable if it is set when a target is created.

Note

The compiler-generated program database files are specified by the `/Fd` compiler flag and are not the same as linker-generated program database files specified by the `/pdb` linker flag. Use the `PDB_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY` property to specify the latter.