diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 5ff570e54..ba8929909 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@ if (USE_PCH AND NOT (CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_ID MATCHES "GNU|MSVC|Clang"))
     set(USE_PCH OFF)
 endif()
 
-enable_testing()
 #need to define the version of the library
 set(MAJOR_VERSION "9")
 set(MINOR_VERSION "4")
@@ -46,9 +45,10 @@ include_directories(${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/log4tango/include)
 #source code
 add_subdirectory("log4tango")
 add_subdirectory("cppapi")
-if(NOT WIN32)
+
+if(BUILD_TESTING)
     add_subdirectory("cpp_test_suite")
-endif(NOT WIN32)
+endif()
 
 if(WIN32)
     include(configure/cmake_win.cmake)
diff --git a/INSTALL.md b/INSTALL.md
index 38b530b21..009d3559d 100644
--- a/INSTALL.md
+++ b/INSTALL.md
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
 - `-DCMAKE_VERBOSE_MAKEFILE=true`
 - `-DTANGO_USE_USING_NAMESPACE=<ON|OFF>` choose `OFF` for modern builds
 - `-DUSE_PCH=<ON|OFF>`
+- `-DBUILD_TESTING=<ON|OFF>` Build the test suite (`ON` by default)
 
 Typical output:
 
diff --git a/appveyor.yml b/appveyor.yml
index a1edcf666..25443f920 100644
--- a/appveyor.yml
+++ b/appveyor.yml
@@ -141,10 +141,10 @@ install:
   - cmd: if not defined USE_PCH set USE_PCH=OFF
   #- cmd: cmake -G "%CMAKE_GENERATOR%" -DCMAKE_WINDOWS_EXPORT_ALL_SYMBOLS=TRUE -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=TRUE .
   #- cmd: cmake -G "%CMAKE_GENERATOR%" -DCMAKE_WINDOWS_EXPORT_ALL_SYMBOLS=TRUE .
-  - cmd: cmake -G "%CMAKE_GENERATOR%" -DCMAKE_WINDOWS_EXPORT_ALL_SYMBOLS=TRUE -DIDL_BASE="%IDL_BASE%" -DOMNI_BASE="%OMNI_BASE%" -DZMQ_BASE="%ZMQ_BASE%" -DPTHREAD_WIN=%PTHREAD_WIN% -DUSE_PCH=%USE_PCH% .
+  - cmd: cmake -G "%CMAKE_GENERATOR%" -DCMAKE_WINDOWS_EXPORT_ALL_SYMBOLS=TRUE -DIDL_BASE="%IDL_BASE%" -DOMNI_BASE="%OMNI_BASE%" -DZMQ_BASE="%ZMQ_BASE%" -DPTHREAD_WIN=%PTHREAD_WIN% -DUSE_PCH=%USE_PCH% -DBUILD_TESTING=OFF .
   - cmd: cd c:/projects/debug_build
   #- cmd: cmake -G "%CMAKE_GENERATOR%" -DCMAKE_WINDOWS_EXPORT_ALL_SYMBOLS=TRUE -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=TRUE -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug .
-  - cmd: cmake -G "%CMAKE_GENERATOR%" -DCMAKE_WINDOWS_EXPORT_ALL_SYMBOLS=TRUE -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug -DIDL_BASE="%IDL_BASE%" -DOMNI_BASE="%OMNI_BASE%" -DZMQ_BASE="%ZMQ_BASE%" -DPTHREAD_WIN=%PTHREAD_WIN% -DUSE_PCH=%USE_PCH% .
+  - cmd: cmake -G "%CMAKE_GENERATOR%" -DCMAKE_WINDOWS_EXPORT_ALL_SYMBOLS=TRUE -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug -DIDL_BASE="%IDL_BASE%" -DOMNI_BASE="%OMNI_BASE%" -DZMQ_BASE="%ZMQ_BASE%" -DPTHREAD_WIN=%PTHREAD_WIN% -DUSE_PCH=%USE_PCH% -DBUILD_TESTING=OFF .
 
 clone_folder: C:\projects\cppTango