I would like to create a feature that allows me to automatically add a few related files to my C# project. I want to create a new form based on a template, and create an XML file and add it to a separate sub-directory within the project. How would I go about doing this? I see that there are wizards, add-ins, macros, etc. available in Visual Studio 2008, but I do not know which is most appropriate for my needs. I thought a wizard would work, but that may be overkill. I just want to remove the repetitiveness of copying from an existing set of files within the same project.
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1 Answer
You can export individual project items as zipped templates using the menu File|Export Template... in VS2010. To create a template with multiple files, you can export the first item, then add additional items to the resulting template zip. You'll also need to edit the .vstemplate file in the zip to include the additional items.
As an example, I exported a form from a existing project and then added an xml file. The resulting zip file contains the files
__TemplateIcon.ico
Form1.cs
Form1.Designer.cs
Form1.resx
MyTemplate.vstemplate
xmldata.xml
The .vstemplate file contains the following xml:
<VSTemplate Version="3.0.0" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/vstemplate/2005" Type="Item">
<TemplateData>
<DefaultName>TwoFileTemplate</DefaultName>
<Name>TwoFileTemplate</Name>
<Description>Test template</Description>
<ProjectType>CSharp</ProjectType>
<SortOrder>10</SortOrder>
<Icon>__TemplateIcon.ico</Icon>
</TemplateData>
<TemplateContent>
<References />
<ProjectItem SubType="" TargetFileName="xml\$fileinputname$.xml" ReplaceParameters="true">xmldata.xml</ProjectItem>
<ProjectItem SubType="Form" TargetFileName="$fileinputname$.cs" ReplaceParameters="true">Form1.cs</ProjectItem>
<ProjectItem SubType="" TargetFileName="$fileinputname$.Designer.cs" ReplaceParameters="true">Form1.Designer.cs</ProjectItem>
<ProjectItem SubType="" TargetFileName="$fileinputname$.resx" ReplaceParameters="true">Form1.resx</ProjectItem>
</TemplateContent>
</VSTemplate>
Once you've updated the zip file, move it to the folder ...\Visual Studio 2010\Templates\ItemTemplates.
The new template should now show up in the Add New Item dialog in VS2010. It will add the form and xml file with whatever name you specify when adding the new item to the project and will put the xml file in a directory named 'xml'. If you want a fixed name for one or the other of the files you can replace $fileinputnam$ in the .vstemplate file with the desired name.
Edit - If you want a fixed item name for a form or other class file you'll also need to open the code templates and replace $safeitemname$ with the desired name.
7 Comments
gonzobrains
This works, but it doesn't like when I try to select the XML file along with the form in the wizard. Why does this need to be done through manual editing?
gonzobrains
When I try to manually edit the template file to include an XML file it no longer shows up in the "Add" dialog. All I did was add an extra line for the XML file as you did in your example. What am I doing wrong?
gonzobrains
I got it to work. I don't know what the problem was but, instead of unzipping the file created by VS and creating a new zip, I simply editing the template file in the original ZIP and copied my XML file into that original ZIP. It works fine now. Mad props for this solution!
WarrenG
There are other parameters you can substitute in the template files, so depending on your needs, you may be able to get the output you want. Check the MSDN article on parameter substitution. The 'Template Parameters' link toward the bottom of the page takes you to a list of available parameters.
WarrenG
To have a method name incorporate the filename entered by the user, you could do something like this: in the template filed, define the method name as
void DoSome$safeitemname$Action(){}, then if the user uses the template to add a class named 'Person', the resulting class added to the project would have a method named void DoSomePersonAction(){} |