MSBuild Reference

MSBuild is the build system for Visual Studio. The following links lead to topics that contain MSBuild reference information.

In This Section

• MSBuild Project File Schema Reference
  Describes the XML elements that make up the MSBuild file format.

• MSBuild Task Reference
  Describes some of the typical tasks that are included with MSBuild.

• MSBuild Conditions
  Describes the conditions that are available in MSBuild files.

• MSBuild Conditional Constructs
  Describes how to use the Choose, When, and Otherwise elements.

• MSBuild Reserved Properties
  Describes the MSBuild reserved properties.

• Common MSBuild Project Properties
  Describes project properties that are common to all project types, and also properties that are often used by particular project types.

• Common MSBuild Project Items
  Describes project items that are common to all project types, and also items that are often used by particular project types.

• MSBuild Command Line Reference
  Describes the arguments and switches that can be used with MSBuild.exe.

• MSBuild .Targets Files
  Describes the .Targets file that is included in MSBuild.

• MSBuild Well-known Item Metadata
  Lists the metadata that is created together with every item.

• MSBuild Response Files
  Explains the .rsp files that contain command-line switches.

• Additional Resources for MSBuild
  Provides links to MSBuild Web sites and newsgroups.

• WPF MSBuild Reference
  Contains an MSBuild targets and task reference for Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF).

• Special Characters to Escape
  Lists the characters that may have to be "escaped" to be interpreted correctly. An escape sequence is a series of characters that signifies that what follows is an alternative interpretation.

Related Sections

• MSBuild
  Introduces MSBuild and provides links to topics that explain how to use it to build projects.

• General Reference for the .NET Framework
  Contains reference information about the .NET Framework.

• Microsoft.Build.Conversion
  Contains the Conversion namespace reference

• Microsoft.Build.Evaluation
  Contains the Evaluation namespace reference

• Microsoft.Build.Execution
  Contains the Execution namespace reference

• Microsoft.Build.Framework
  Contains the Framework namespace reference

• Microsoft.Build.Logging
  Contains the Logging namespace reference

• Microsoft.Build.Tasks
  Contains the Tasks namespace reference

• Microsoft.Build.Utilities
  Contains the Utilities namespace reference