How to: Create Item Templates

The steps in this topic let you create an item template by using the Export Template wizard. For information about how to manually create item templates, see How to: Manually Create Item Templates.

Note

You cannot export templates for C++ projects.

To add a custom project item template to the Add New Item dialog box

1. Create or open a project in Visual Studio.

2. Add an item to the project and modify it if you want to.

3. Modify the code file to indicate where parameter replacement should take place. For more information, see How to: Substitute Parameters in a Template.

4. On the File menu, click Export Template.

5. Click Item Template, select the project that contains the item, and click Next.

6. Select the item for which you want to create a template, and click Next.

7. Select the assembly references to include in the template, and click Next.

8. Type the icon file name, preview image, template name, and template description, and click Finish.

   The files for the template are added to a .zip file and copied to the ..\Users\username\Documents\Visual Studio 2010\Templates\ItemTemplates\ folder.

See Also

Tasks

How to: Manually Create Item Templates

How to: Create Item Templates for Specific Project Types

How to: Add References to Templates

Other Resources

Creating Project and Item Templates