Description element (Visual Studio templates)
Applies to: 
Visual Studio 
Visual Studio for Mac
Note
This article applies to Visual Studio 2017. If you're looking for the latest Visual Studio documentation, see Visual Studio documentation. We recommend upgrading to the latest version of Visual Studio. Download it here
Specifies the description of the template as it appears in either the New Project or Add New Item dialog box.
<VSTemplate> <TemplateData> <Description>
Syntax
<Description>
Template Description
</Description>
<Description Package="{PackageID}" ID="ResourceID" />
Attributes and elements
The following sections describe attributes, child elements, and parent elements.
Attributes
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
Package |
Optional attribute, for advanced user scenarios. A GUID that specifies the Visual Studio package ID. |
ID |
Optional attribute, for advanced user scenarios. Specifies the Visual Studio resource ID. |
Child elements
None.
Parent elements
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| TemplateData | Required element. Categorizes the template and defines how it displays in either the New Project or the Add New Item dialog box. |
Text value
A text value is required unless the Package and ID attributes are used.
The text provides a description of the template.
Remarks
Description is a required child element of the TemplateData element.
Example
The following example shows the metadata for a project template for a Visual C# application.
<VSTemplate Type="Project" Version="3.0.0"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/vstemplate/2005">
<TemplateData>
<Name>My template</Name>
<Description>A basic starter kit</Description>
<Icon>TemplateIcon.ico</Icon>
<ProjectType>CSharp</ProjectType>
</TemplateData>
<TemplateContent>
<Project File="MyStarterKit.csproj">
<ProjectItem>Form1.cs<ProjectItem>
<ProjectItem>Form1.Designer.cs</ProjectItem>
<ProjectItem>Program.cs</ProjectItem>
<ProjectItem>Properties\AssemblyInfo.cs</ProjectItem>
<ProjectItem>Properties\Resources.resx</ProjectItem>
<ProjectItem>Properties\Resources.Designer.cs</ProjectItem>
<ProjectItem>Properties\Settings.settings</ProjectItem>
<ProjectItem>Properties\Settings.Designer.cs</ProjectItem>
</Project>
</TemplateContent>
</VSTemplate>