diff --git a/scripts/buildsystems/msbuild/applocal.ps1 b/scripts/buildsystems/msbuild/applocal.ps1
index 425c34961cf..932ba11cd72 100644
--- a/scripts/buildsystems/msbuild/applocal.ps1
+++ b/scripts/buildsystems/msbuild/applocal.ps1
@@ -5,6 +5,12 @@ $g_searched = @{}
 # Note: installedDir is actually the bin\ directory.
 $g_install_root = Split-Path $installedDir -parent
 
+# Ensure we create the copied files log, even if we don't end up copying any files
+if ($copiedFilesLog)
+{
+    Set-Content -Path $copiedFilesLog -Value "" -Encoding Ascii
+}
+
 # Note: this function signature is depended upon by the qtdeploy.ps1 script introduced in 5.7.1-7
 function deployBinary([string]$targetBinaryDir, [string]$SourceDir, [string]$targetBinaryName) {
     if (Test-Path "$targetBinaryDir\$targetBinaryName") {