New Project Dialog Preferred Language

Menu:  Tools -> Import and Export Settings
Command:  Tools.ImportandExportSettings
Versions:  2008,2010
Published:  9/23/2010
Code:  vstipEnv0041

 

When examining the items that can be exported you may come across the "New Project Dialog Preferred Language" option under the General Settings:

 

 

You may wonder what this means.  The best way to illustrate is to show you and see a little bit more about the inner-workings of Visual Studio.  When you install VS you may recall choosing your development settings:

 

 

If you choose "General Development Settings" you have no preferred language in the New Project dialog so you see this:

 

 

Notice that all the languages are seen in their own node so you can select the one you want easily.  However, if you choose a particular language, say VB, then this is what you see in the New Project dialog:

 

Now Visual Basic is the preferred language.  Notice that it has its own node and then there is just an "Other Languages" node where the other languages are represented:

 

To come full circle, when you export the "New Project Dialog Preferred Language" it essentially saves this structure for you which can be imported later if desired.