We used FXCOP code analysis ("legacy") a lot in our solution. We are turning on many Microsoft rules, and also have written a large set of our own FXCOP-style analyzers for aspects of code that we wanted to have checked. And it all worked quite well in the "old" style Visual Studio C# projects, aimed at various .NET Framework versions (currently 4.7.2).
When, however, the same project is ported to the new "SDK-style" format, and made to target .NET Framework 4.7.2 by having net472, and we enable the code analysis by adding true, we run into a problem. Our custom FXCOP rules appear to still work well and output their warnings, but in the Error List window, there are no file names under the "File" column, and there is always line 1 under the "Line" column. Consequently, we can see the warning messages, but it is impossible to double-click on the warning and figure out the location in the source code the warning related to - which makes the whole code analysis useless. When I switch to the Output/Build window, I can also see the warnings there line by line, but the file name/line number information is missing here as well.
I am aware of the followings facts:
That Microsoft has ported many or all their FXCOP rules to Roslyn (".NET Analyzers") and they can/should now be used. However I need to use our own rules, not just the Microsoft rules. Rewriting our rules to Roslyn may be the right solution in the long run, but it would be a huge undertaking in short- or mid-term.
That FXCOP (legacy) analysis is not supported in .NET Core and .NET Standard projects in VS (as per https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/code-quality/static-code-analysis-for-managed-code-overview?view=vs-2022 ). My project is not, however, for .NET Core or .NET Standard, as I described above. It is for .NET Framework 4.7.2 - the problem seems to be in the fact that it is the SDK-style. And the reason I need it in this format is because it is the format that I will then use to port to .NET Core/.NET 6+.
I have a found a partial solution to the problem. The reason FxCopCmd (which is used by this) does not emit file names and line numbers is because by default, in SDK-style projects, the PDB file format is set to portable. FxCopCmd does not understand the portable PDB. The solution is in Visual Studio project properties, set the "Debug symbols" to "PDB file, current platform". The corresponding setting in the .csproj file is
After making this change, the file names and lines numbers appear in the text output, and in their columns in Error List, and it is possible to click on warnings in the output or Error List, and you will be taken to the right place in the source.
What does not work yet: The "Suppress..." contextual menu commands in the Error List still do not appear.