Speed Up with Project Templates Using Visual Studio 2005

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Speed Up with Project Templates Using Visual Studio 2005 - Part 2

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by Ameet Phadnis
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Article Contents:

vsTemplate File

The vstemplate is made up of the following.

· TemplateData - Stores information on how to display the template information in New Project or Add New Item Dialog box. Important elements of TemplateData are the following.

· Name: The name that gets displayed in the New Project / Item dialog box.

· Description: The description of the template that gets displayed on the New Project / Item dialog box after the Name has been selected.

· Icon: The images file to be displayed with the Template in the New Project / Item dialog box.

· ProjectType: Used to categorize the Project Template so it appears in the specified group in the New Project or Add New Item. The ProjectType can have the following values.

· CSharp: For Visual C# project / Items

· VisualBasic: For Visual Basic Project / Items

· JSharp: For Visual J# Project / Items

· Web: The template used to create Web Projects. If this ProjectType is selected, then to specify the language you need to specify the ProjectSubType element.

· TemplateContent - This specifies all the template contents. Elements of TemplateContent are the following.

· ProjectCollection: Used to define the organization and contents of multi-project templates.

· Project: Specifies all the Items, like files and folders, which are included in the project. Elements are either Folder or ProjectItem.

· References: Specifies all the assembly references required for the project.

· ProjectItem: The file that has to be included with the Project Template.

· CustomParameters: Used with Wizard Templates. The custom parameters are passed to the template wizard to make parameter replacements.

· WizardExtension - Contains the registration information for customizing the template Wizard. It will contain the assembly information and the full class name.

· WizardData - This is custom XML string that is passed to the custom wizard extension.

This article will focus on the first two elements. WizardExtension and WizardData are out of scope of this article. I will try to publish another article which will deal with WizardExtension and WizardData in the near future.

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User Comments

Title: Urgent requirement
Name: Arijit chakraborty
Date: 2009-02-18 12:36:19 AM
Comment:
dear Ameet,

I am a final year B.Tech student on a project of Online Examination System(ASP.Net).We r facing very problem when we r trying 2 import downloaded templates in our project.

If u kindly help us 2 do so,it will b great for us.Hope 2 hear u soon.

Thanks-
Arijit Chakraborty
mail_arijitchakraborty@rediffmail.com

Title: Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!
Name: Dave
Date: 2008-06-13 3:38:31 PM
Comment:
Thank you for taking the time to put this information together. This info is exactly what I needed and I didn't have to figure it out from piecing together tidbits of information spread across multiple poorly linked MS documentation and kb articles. Your efforts on this article are greatly appreciated!

Title: Location field missing in templates
Name: Cheryl
Date: 2008-04-06 10:59:03 PM
Comment:
Help!!! Like Jai, the location field is hidden on all my pre-existing templates. How does this happen and how do I fix it?

thx,

Cheryl

Title: Thanks, it helps
Name: elena
Date: 2007-08-01 8:20:28 PM
Comment:
Thanks for the tutorial, it expalined very well, though I am looking to create template for solution with few projects. Initially I read microsoft article and it was crap. Yours - great.

Title: Great Tutorial!
Name: Ashley
Date: 2007-07-16 5:34:52 PM
Comment:
You're tutorial was very helpful! The "Personal Web Site Starter Kit" option was a nice find! I've always developed my sites from scratch! Very nicely written!

Thank you!
Ashley

Title: My Export Wizard is grayed out
Name: Dannyhut
Date: 2007-06-26 6:52:13 PM
Comment:
Hi,

I have created a template but when I select the File Menu, my Export Wizard Menu Item is there but is grayed out and I can not select it. Please can any one help.

Thanks
Dannyhut

Title: Customizing the project template
Name: AP
Date: 2007-06-20 5:33:07 PM
Comment:
Check this article and it should help you out http://aspalliance.com/1001_Speed_Up_with_Project_Templates_Using_Visual_Studio_2005__Part_3

Title: Customizing the project template
Name: Moupiya
Date: 2007-06-20 1:22:00 AM
Comment:
HI Ameet
Nice article.It ehlped me to know many things.I have a query.I created a project template.Now i want when the user selects my project template then he is asked for whats all things he wants to select from the project template.
Like while i created the template project i added different folders.But the user may/may not need all the things.So when he selects my project template he is asked for the options
Thanks in advance
Moupiya

Title: Thank you
Name: DKB
Date: 2007-01-26 8:12:13 PM
Comment:
Thankyou for all your efforts in giving us this project to use. Is there somwhere in this site that helps with design of a web template know that would compliment these instructions just great

Title: Doubt
Name: Thiyagarajan.N
Date: 2006-12-11 11:45:30 PM
Comment:
Hi, I have a doubt while create the Project template.I want to create a Project template for 3-Tier web application in a single template.It should contains one Presentation layer,BLL and DAL of solutions. How can i do that?

thanks
Thiyagarajan.N

Title: Missing Templates Problem
Name: AS
Date: 2006-11-15 8:51:30 AM
Comment:
Well, this seems to be a known "hairy" problem. I have not found a solution to my problem just yet, but at least I know that it is a problem and some people have tried to solve it. I hope this link helps if you are experiencing it:

http://geekswithblogs.net/ehammersley/archive/2005/11/08/59451.aspx

Title: Still have a question
Name: AS
Date: 2006-11-15 8:38:48 AM
Comment:
Good article, thanks!

I have tried the steps that you mention.
However, when I go to create a new project I do not see the template that I just created. I can see the zip file that was created, but I do not see the specific template that I just created. I also tried re-setting, as suggested by Mike before, but it does not work. Any suggestions? I'd like to use templates to work with C# Windows applications - not web apps. Thank you again for your time!

Title: Thank you buddy
Name: Murat YILMAZ
Date: 2006-11-07 2:41:04 AM
Comment:
Hey,
Thank you buddy for your article.

Title: Edit item template
Name: Firoz
Date: 2006-10-06 4:36:28 AM
Comment:
A very good explanation of templates. Thanks.

One question though, can one edit an existing item (or project) template?

Title: very helpful
Name: Amanda
Date: 2006-10-05 3:54:56 PM
Comment:
Your article answered all of my questions and then some that I hadn't even thought of asking - thanks!

Title: Thank You!
Name: Jeffrey
Date: 2006-09-29 11:52:12 AM
Comment:
Thank you so much for this article and the way it was written. As a fairly new user, I was totally lost on the use of templates until I read your article. Few if any of the books that I have purchased ever even discussed templates. Thank uou once again.

Title: My Templates? (Got it!)
Name: S10
Date: 2006-09-27 11:04:37 AM
Comment:
The templates are under the Visual Basic root node in the New Project selection UI. I was looking under Windows and Starter kits and Other Project Types!

Title: My Templates?
Name: S10
Date: 2006-09-27 10:49:48 AM
Comment:
I've created a template for a DLL project instead of a Web Site. The Zip file has been created and is placed in the same directory as referred to by the Tools -> Options -> General -> User templates location directory.

However when I create a new project and use the newly created template, I do not seem to be given the "My Templates" bit of the UI! I've tried going into "Other Project Types"->Visual studio solutions as well, but the "My Templates" doesn't appear.

I've used VB.net to create the template. Does this matter?

Title: Export Template option
Name: Ameet
Date: 2006-09-16 2:43:09 PM
Comment:
Follow these steps. Its taken from the article itself

Please note: Some users might not see the Export Template option in their File Menu. You might need to add that option by following these steps.

· Right Click on the toolbar and select Customize.

· Click on the Commands tab.

· Under Categories, select File.

· Under Commands Select Export Template and drag the command under File Menu.

Title: Reset Import and Export Settings
Name: Mike
Date: 2006-09-16 9:23:30 AM
Comment:
If your Export Template Option is not visible, I just made if visible by Resetting all settings in the Import and Export Settings Wizard.
Tools->Import and Export Settings ->Reset all Settings
I can see the option now!

Title: Click File -> Export Templates
Name: Mike
Date: 2006-09-16 8:37:24 AM
Comment:
Any hint on how to make the Export Template option visible?
I'm using VS 2005 Professional.

Title: Gud
Name: MZH
Date: 2006-08-29 1:44:52 AM
Comment:
Very Very gud

Title: Excellent
Name: Harry K
Date: 2006-08-19 11:20:39 AM
Comment:
Now I know how to create a project and item template of my own. Many thanks for the concise step by step illustration.

Title: Location Field
Name: Jai
Date: 2006-08-18 12:48:05 PM
Comment:
when i created a project template and tried to use it the location field was hidden and i couldnt create my site at a different location, could you help me as to why it happens.

its a great time saver to work new projects this way.

thanks.
jai

Title: Well put together...
Name: Yogesh R
Date: 2006-08-18 10:47:22 AM
Comment:
your article is well put together. Since create best practices and templates are prone to change as we identify new standards and requirements, is there a way to change an existing custom template or Do we just need to create new projects from existing templates and create new templates from them?

Title: Thanks
Name: AD
Date: 2006-08-07 8:34:41 AM
Comment:
Very useful -- many thanks for the information.

Title: Nice!
Name: Tony A
Date: 2006-08-05 11:42:51 AM
Comment:
Nice article Ameet: Well and concisely written together with good illustrations: A great help:

Thanks and keep up the good work:

Regards

Tony A

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