java – M2E in Eclipse (Maven Integration): how to see actual Maven output and customize builds?

I might be missing something fundamental here, but if I need to debug a Maven Project in Eclipse, I’m used to simply select Project -> Clean or Build Project, then look to the Errors view to find and fix all the issues and then debug. But I never saw actual Maven build output of m2eclipse (M2E), like how it downloads dependencies, compiles modules, etc. How can I see that? Also, how can I customize such a build, like by adding a custom variable or specifying custom location for settings.xml using –settings flag?

I know I can “run” a pom.xml as Maven build and specify various parameters, but doing so does not affect the errors list, i.e. it does not seem to be the same as “Project -> Clean…”, so I can’t debug an app that way. I also know I can chose a global/user settings.xml file from preferences, but I need a project-specific one.

I have found some info on that on the m2eclipse FAQ page, but it seems to be for running apps, not compiling. Also, it’s confusing because images don’t show up in that article.

Thank you in advance.