diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index ed25302..c9c6db9 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -19,11 +19,6 @@ option(OJPH_ENABLE_TIFF_SUPPORT "Enables input and output support for TIFF files
 option(OJPH_BUILD_TESTS "Enables building test code" OFF)
 option(OJPH_BUILD_EXECUTABLES "Enables building command line executables" ON)
 
-## specify the top directory for TIFF library (only for Microsoft Visual Studio)
-if (MSVC)
-  set(TIFF_PATH "C:\\Program Files\\tiff")
-endif()
-
 ## Setting some of the options if EMSCRIPTEN is the compiler
 if(EMSCRIPTEN)
   set(OJPH_DISABLE_INTEL_SIMD ON)
@@ -52,6 +47,7 @@ endif()
 message(STATUS "Building ${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}")
 
 ## C++ version and flags
+# C++14 is needed for gtest, otherwise, C++11 is sufficient for the library
 set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 14)
 if (MSVC)
   add_compile_options(-D_CRT_SECURE_NO_WARNINGS)
diff --git a/src/apps/CMakeLists.txt b/src/apps/CMakeLists.txt
index acc1670..b3ef06d 100644
--- a/src/apps/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/apps/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -3,29 +3,16 @@
 ############################################################
 if( OJPH_ENABLE_TIFF_SUPPORT )
 
-  if( MSVC )
-
-    set(TIFF_INCLUDE_DIR "${TIFF_PATH}\\include" CACHE PATH "the directory containing the TIFF headers")
-    set(TIFF_LIBRARY_DEBUG   "${TIFF_PATH}\\lib\\tiffd.lib" CACHE FILEPATH "the path to the TIFF library for debug configurations")
-    set(TIFF_LIBRARY_RELEASE "${TIFF_PATH}\\lib\\tiff.lib"  CACHE FILEPATH "the path to the TIFF library for release configurations")
-    set(TIFFXX_LIBRARY_DEBUG  "${TIFF_PATH}\\lib\\tiffxxd.lib" CACHE FILEPATH "the path to the TIFFXX  library for debug configurations")
-    set(TIFFXX_LIBRARY_RELEASE "${TIFF_PATH}\\lib\\tiffxx.lib" CACHE FILEPATH "the path to the TIFFXX  library for release configurations")
-
-    message( STATUS "WIN32 detected: Setting CMakeCache TIFF values as follows, use CMake-gui Advanced to modify them" )
-    message( STATUS "   TIFF_INCLUDE_DIR : \"${TIFF_INCLUDE_DIR}\"  " )
-    message( STATUS "   TIFF_LIBRARY_DEBUG : \"${TIFF_LIBRARY_DEBUG}\"  " )
-    message( STATUS "   TIFF_LIBRARY_RELEASE : \"${TIFF_LIBRARY_RELEASE}\"  " )
-    message( STATUS "   TIFFXX_LIBRARY_DEBUG : \"${TIFFXX_LIBRARY_DEBUG}\"  " )
-    message( STATUS "   TIFFXX_LIBRARY_RELEASE : \"${TIFFXX_LIBRARY_RELEASE}\"  " )
-
-  endif( MSVC )
-
   FIND_PACKAGE( TIFF )
 
   if( TIFF_FOUND )
     set(USE_TIFF TRUE CACHE BOOL "Add TIFF support")
     include_directories( ${TIFF_INCLUDE_DIR} ) 
     add_definitions(-DOJPH_ENABLE_TIFF_SUPPORT)
+  elseif(MSVC)
+    message(STATUS "TIFF support has been enabled by no path to the TIFF library "
+    "has been specified; please configure with -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=<TIFF library directory>, "
+    "or disable TIFF support using -DOJPH_ENABLE_TIFF_SUPPORT=OFF.")
   endif( TIFF_FOUND )
 
 endif() 
diff --git a/tests/CMakeLists.txt b/tests/CMakeLists.txt
index 03ac41c..48c8f67 100644
--- a/tests/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/tests/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -59,13 +59,10 @@ if (MSVC)
     COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E copy "./\$(Configuration)/mse_pae.exe" "./"
   )
   if (MSVC AND OJPH_ENABLE_TIFF_SUPPORT)
-    if (CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE MATCHES "Release")
-      file(COPY "${TIFF_PATH}\\bin\\tiff.dll" DESTINATION "./")
-      file(COPY "${TIFF_PATH}\\bin\\tiffxx.dll" DESTINATION "./")
-    elseif(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE MATCHES "Debug")
-      file(COPY "${TIFF_PATH}\\bin\\tiffd.dll" DESTINATION "./")
-      file(COPY "${TIFF_PATH}\\bin\\tiffxxd.dll" DESTINATION "./")
-    endif()
+      file(COPY "${TIFF_INCLUDE_DIR}\\..\\bin\\tiff.dll" DESTINATION "./")
+      file(COPY "${TIFF_INCLUDE_DIR}\\..\\bin\\tiffxx.dll" DESTINATION "./")
+      file(COPY "${TIFF_INCLUDE_DIR}\\..\\bin\\tiffd.dll" DESTINATION "./")
+      file(COPY "${TIFF_INCLUDE_DIR}\\..\\bin\\tiffxxd.dll" DESTINATION "./")
   endif() 
 else()
   add_custom_command(TARGET test_executables POST_BUILD