[drewnoakes]

Summary

Removes the MSBuildImportedProject item element from Microsoft.Build.CommonTypes.xsd.

MSBuildImportedProject items (added in #13681) are synthesized by the engine purely for tooling to consume when MSBuildProvideImportedProjects is set — they are never authored by users. Listing the item in the schema surfaces it in IntelliSense as though it were an authorable item, which is misleading.

Context

This is a follow-on from #14389, where the equivalent synthesized MSBuildItemGlob item was deliberately kept out of the XSD (only the opt-in MSBuildProvideItemGlobs property is documented there). This change brings MSBuildImportedProject in line with that decision.

Details

• Removes only the MSBuildImportedProject item element.
• Keeps the MSBuildProvideImportedProjects property, which is user-settable and belongs in IntelliSense (mirroring how Expose item glob patterns via MSBuildProvideItemGlobs #14389 keeps MSBuildProvideItemGlobs).

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

This PR updates the MSBuild IntelliSense schema (Microsoft.Build.CommonTypes.xsd) to stop advertising the synthesized MSBuildImportedProject item type as authorable XML, aligning it with the prior decision to omit the similarly synthesized MSBuildItemGlob item from the XSD.

Changes:

• Removed the MSBuildImportedProject <xs:element> from the XSD so it no longer appears as an authorable item in IntelliSense.
• Kept the MSBuildProvideImportedProjects property in the XSD (still user-settable and useful for discovery).

[github-actions]

MSBuild Expert Review

✅ 22/24 dimensions clean.

This is a well-targeted, focused change that removes the MSBuildImportedProject item element from the XSD schema, consistent with the approach taken for MSBuildItemGlob in #14389.

#	Dimension	Verdict
4	Test Coverage	🟡 1 NIT
18	Documentation Accuracy	🟡 1 NIT

✅ 22/24 dimensions clean.

Findings

[NIT] Test Coverage — There is no test asserting that MSBuildImportedProject is absent from the XSD file. The existing tests in ProjectInstance_ImportedProjectItems_Tests.cs verify the engine synthesizes the items correctly, but do not validate schema content. This is a very minor gap; schema tests are uncommon in this codebase and consistent with how MSBuildItemGlob (from #14389) was handled.

[NIT] Documentation Accuracy — documentation/Built-in-Properties.md documents MSBuildImportedProject thoroughly but does not mention that it is intentionally absent from the XSD schema (since it is engine-synthesized, not user-authored). Adding a sentence such as "Note: MSBuildImportedProject is not listed in the XSD schema because it is synthesized by the engine and not intended to be authored in project files." would make the design intent explicit for future contributors.

Summary

The change is correct, minimal, and follows established precedent. The MSBuildProvideImportedProjects property correctly remains in the XSD. No ChangeWave is needed — this is a schema/tooling change, not a behavioral engine change. No backwards compatibility concern: users cannot author MSBuildImportedProject items and the engine still synthesizes them at runtime.

• (Optional) Add note to documentation/Built-in-Properties.md that MSBuildImportedProject is excluded from XSD intentionally

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Generated by Expert Code Review (on open) for #14659 · sonnet46 · 48.1 AIC · ⌖ 5.22 AIC · ⊞ 5.2K

[rainersigwald]

Thanks!