Can't build Assembly Language program in Visual Studio

Question

I am trying to build an assembly language in Visual Studio 2013 using MASM. If I import an .asm file, it initially builds. However, the second I go to make changes to that file, most of the code is highlighted red. Visual Studio is treating this assembly program as a C++ file or similar. Even though I have the MASM box selected in Build Customization, the program will not build because it does not recognize the syntax.

Can anyone help?

Answer 1

Visual Studio includes ML.EXE (32 bit) and ML64.EXE (64 bit). I generally create a custom build step for each .asm file in a project. For VS 2015, I right click on source file name, ..., choose custom build tool, and I also set "excluded from build" to "No" , for all configurations. The options for custom build tool or custom build step are:

Example debug build:

Command Line: ml /c /Zi /Fo$(OutDir)\example.obj example.asm

Outputs: $(OutDir)\example.obj

Example release build:

Command Line: ml /c /Fo$(OutDir)\example.obj example.asm

Outputs: $(OutDir)\example.obj

If building a 64 bit program, use ML64 instead of ML.