If you use MSBuild to run your build tasks, here is how to get it to write to a text file when it runs:

msbuild mybuildroutines.msbuild /p:Desitination=WebServer /t:DeployAndTestWebServerBuild /l:FileLogger,Microsoft.Build.Engine;logfile=c:\temp\DeployAndTestWebServerBuild.log

Thanks to Miles for discovering this incredibly useful feature.

1)      1) Add this registry key (no line break in the key):

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VisualStudio\8.0\Editors\
{412B8852-4F21-413B-9B47-0C9751D3EBFB}\Extensions]“msbuild”=dword:00000029

2)      Create a file called “test.msbuild” and then try to open it.  Choose “Select program from list” and browse to VS2005 devenv.exe and check “Always use the selected”.  Click ok.  Once Visual Studio opens, you should have it!  (Since the XSD for MSBuild is already “known” by Visual studio.  Fyi – the file is located here:

\windows\Microsoft.NET\framework\v2.0.50727\Microsoft.Build.xsd

and

\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\xml\Schemas\1033

there.

If you don’t like using the .msbuild extension, you can change it.  Just modify the registry key, changing “msbuild” to whatever extension you would like to use.