How to see MSBuild output generated during project loading?

Question

I noticed that when Visual Studio 2012 loads / initializes projects (when opening a solution or when changing platforms / configurations), it can fulfill some of the goals of MSBuild - those that are listed as InitialTargets(do not always do this - sometimes it waits until you have it don’t build, I can’t understand exactly when, but this is another question).

In any case, these targets may generate some output in the form of MSBuild messages. If the goals were executed as part of the assembly, these messages went to the Visual Studio output window (and possibly a log file). These "load time targets" do not seem to send their output to the output window.

How can I view or register the output of MSBuild targets that run outside of the build time and, in particular, during initialization?

Answer 1

The best of the MSBuild team at Microsoft that I can find is dated (2005), but may be relevant if no one can come up with the latest information:

The load logger is used when opening projects. It discards all messages logged during project opening, puts warnings in the error list, and displays any errors in the message box for the user. The displayed errors are quite detailed and useful for diagnosing problems with formatting project files.