Question

Is there a way to convert something like this:

#define ERROR_LOG_LEVEL 5

Into something that msbuild via command line will pass to its projects?

msbuild.exe {???}ERROR_LOG_LEVEL=5 target

I’ve read the responses to similar questions, and it looks like the answer is no, just want to double-check in case some genius has found a workaround.

Answer 1

Macros may be defined by passing the /D option to the compiler. You can specify the /D option from MSBuild using the AdditionalOptions of ClCompile:

<ItemDefinitionGroup>
    <ClCompile>
        <AdditionalOptions>/DERROR_LOG_LEVEL=5 %(AdditionalOptions)</AdditionalOptions>
    </ClCompile>
</ItemDefinitionGroup>

If you want to be able to pass the value for the macro via a call to msbuild.exe, you can easily do that too:

<ItemDefinitionGroup Condition="'$(ErrorLogLevel)' != ''">
    <ClCompile>
        <AdditionalOptions>/DERROR_LOG_LEVEL=$(ErrorLogLevel) %(AdditionalOptions)</AdditionalOptions>
    </ClCompile>
</ItemDefinitionGroup>

with msbuild.exe invoked as:

msbuild /p:ErrorLogLevel=5 MyProject.vcxproj