Formatting the output of a custom build step or build event

If the output of a custom build step or build event is formatted correctly, users get the following benefits:

• Warnings and errors appear in the Output window.
• Warnings and errors appear in the Error List window.
• Clicking on the output in the Output or Error List windows displays the appropriate location.
• F1 help is enabled in the Error List and Output windows.

Output format

The format of the output should be:

{ filename(line-number[,column-number]) | tool-name } : [ any-text ] {error | warning} code-type-and-number : localizable-string [ any-text ]

Don't include a space between the comma and the column number. Use filename(1,2) instead of filename(1, 2) to ensure that selecting the output navigates to the correct location from both the Error List and Output windows.

Where:

• { a | b } is a choice of either a or b,
• [ item ] is an optional string or parameter,
• text represents a literal.

For example:

C:\sourcefile.cpp(134) : error C2143: syntax error : missing ';' before '}'

LINK : fatal error LNK1104: cannot open file 'some-library.lib'

See also

Understanding custom build steps and build events