Default Project Templates in Visual Studio

When you create a new project, icons in the New Project dialog box and Add Project dialog box represent the available project types and their templates. Selecting an item from the Project types pane populates a list of project templates in the Templates pane. The project template you choose determines the output type and other options available for that project.

All project templates add the necessary files and references for the project type.

Templates by Category

The following tables list the default types of projects available in Visual Studio by category. Subcategories are indicated here in the format <Subcategory>/<TemplateName> where not otherwise specified. Some of the templates from various subcategories will also appear when the parent category is selected.

Note

Available templates may vary according to Visual Studio version, SKU, installation options, and other customizations. If you are missing a template that comes with your installation, run devenv.exe with the /installvstemplates switch. For more information, see How to: Restore Default Project Templates.

Visual Basic and C# Windows Templates

The following templates appear under the Visual Basic/Windows or Visual C#/Windows subcategories.

Project Template	More Information
Class Library	Use the Class Library template to quickly create reusable classes and components that can be shared with other projects. For more information about creating component classes, see Component Classes.
Console Application	Console applications are typically designed without a graphical user interface (GUI) and are compiled into an executable file. You interact with a console application by typing instructions at the command prompt.
Empty Project	The Empty Project template can be used when you want to create your own project type. The template creates the necessary file structure needed to store application information. Any references, files, or components must be added manually. For more information on adding references, see Adding and Removing References.
Windows Forms Application	This creates a traditional standalone Windows application or a rich front-end to a distributed Web application. For more information, see Creating Windows Applications or Creating a Windows Application Project.
Windows Forms Control Library	The Windows Control Library project template is used to create custom controls to use on Windows Forms. For more information, see Windows Forms Controls.
Windows Service	Windows Service Applications (formerly called "NT services") are long running applications that do not have a user interface. They can monitor items such as system performance. For more information, see Introduction to Windows Service Applications.
WPF Application	The WPF Application template creates a project that uses Windows Presentation Foundation. For more information, see How to: Create a New WPF Application Project.
WPF User Control Library	Creates a WPF User Control, which builds on the functionality of existing WPF controls. For more information, see How to: Create a WPF UserControl Library Project.
WPF Browser Application	Creates a WPF application that runs in the browser. This application model is named XAML Browser Application (XBAP). For more information, see How to: Create a New WPF Browser Application Project or Windows Presentation Foundation XAML Browser Applications Overview.
WPF Custom Control Library	Creates a project in which to build a custom WPF control. For more information, see Control Authoring Overview.

Visual Basic and C# Web Templates

The following templates appear under the Visual Basic/Web or Visual C#/Web subcategories.

Project Template	More Information
ASP.NET Web Application	Creates an ASP.NET web application, which generates html in response to client requests. For more information, see Control Authoring Overview.
ASP.NET Server Control	Creates a server control to be used in ASP.NET web applications. See Walkthrough: Developing and Using a Custom Web Server Control.
ASP.NET Web Service Application	Web services communicate XML data between applications. See XML Web Services Using ASP.NET and How to: Create ASP.NET Web Service Projects.
ASP.NET AJAX Server Control	ASP.NET AJAX server controls consist of server and client code that integrate to produce rich client behavior. For more information, see ASP.NET AJAX Overview.
ASP.NET AJAX Server Control Extender	ASP.NET AJAX extender controls enhance the client capabilities of standard ASP.NET Web server controls. For more information, see ASP.NET AJAX Extender Controls Overview.
WCF Service Application	Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) is a unified framework for creating secure, reliable, transacted, and interoperable distributed applications.
Dynamic Data Web Application	Dynamic Data is a framework that renders UI based on a data model. See Walkthrough: Creating a New ASP.NET Dynamic Data Web Site Using Scaffolding. The Dynamic Data Web Application template is for applications that will use LINQ to connect to SQL.
Dynamic Data Entities Web Application	The Dynamic Data Entities Web Application is for applications that will use the ADO.NET Entity framework.

Visual Basic and C# Office Templates

The following templates appear under the Visual Basic/Office or Visual C#/Office subcategories, and may be further sorted into Version2003 and Version2007.

Most of the Visual Studio templates for Office create either Add-ins, which add functionality to their host application, or templates to be consumed by the host application.

For more information about developing Add-ins and other extensions for Microsoft Office applications, see Programming Application-Level Add-Ins

Project Template	More Information
Excel 2007 Add-in	Creates an Add-in for Excel 2007.
Excel 2007 Template	Creates a template for Excel 2007.
Excel 2007 Workbook	Creates a workbook for Excel 2007.
InfoPath 2007 Add-in	Creates an Add-in for InfoPath 2007.
InfoPath 2007 Form Template	Creates a form template for InfoPath 2007.
Outlook 2007 Add-in	Creates an Add-in for Outlook 2007.
PowerPoint 2007 Add-in	Creates an Add-in for PowerPoint 2007.
Project 2007 Add-in	Creates an Add-in for Project 2007.
SharePoint 2007 Sequential Workflow	Workflow templates manage the life cycle of documents and list items in a SharePoint Web site. This template creates a sequential workflow. SharePoint Workflow Solutions.
SharePoint 2007 State Machine Workflow	This template creates a state machine workflow. SharePoint Workflow Solutions.
Visio 2007 Add-in	Creates an Add-in for Visio 2007.
Word 2007 Add-in	Creates an Add-in for Word 2007.
Word 2007 Document	Creates a document for Word 2007.
Word 2007 Template	Creates a template for Word 2007.
Excel 2003 Add-in	Creates an Add-in for Excel 2003.
Excel 2003 Template	Creates a template for Excel 2003.
Excel 2003 Workbook	Creates a workbook for Excel 2003.
Outlook 2003 Add-in	Creates an Add-in for Outlook 2003.
PowerPoint 2003 Add-in	Creates an Add-in for PowerPoint 2003.
Project 2003 Add-in	Creates an Add-in for Project 2003.
Visio 2003 Add-in	Creates an Add-in for Visio 2003.
Word 2003 Add-in	Creates an Add-in for Word 2003.
Word 2003 Document	Creates a document for Word 2003.
Word 2003 Template	Creates a template for Word 2003.

Visual Basic and C# Workflow Templates

The following templates appear under the Visual Basic/Workflow or Visual C#/Workflow subcategories.

All of the templates in this section create projects that use Windows Workflow Foundation, except for those that specify SharePoint 2007. Windows Workflow Foundation enables model-driven workflow development, providing natural design visibility and hiding system-level concerns such as transactions, state management, and concurrency control.

For more information, see Windows Workflow Foundation Overview.

Project Template	More Information
Sequential Workflow Library	See How to: Create a Sequential Workflow Library.
State Machine Workflow Library	See How to: Create a State Machine Workflow Library.
Workflow Activity Library	See How to: Create a Workflow Activity Library.
Sequential Workflow Console Application	See How to: Create Sequential Workflow Console Applications.
State Machine Workflow Console Application	See How to: Create State Machine Workflow Console Applications.
Empty Workflow Project	See How to: Create an Empty Workflow Project.
SharePoint 2007 Sequential Workflow	See SharePoint Workflow Solutions.
SharePoint 2007 State Machine Workflow	See SharePoint Workflow Solutions.

Other Visual Basic and C# Templates

The following templates appear under other subcategories of the Visual Basic and Visual C# nodes, as indicated.

Project Template	More Information
Smart Device/Smart Device Project	Creates a project to run on a Windows CE device, such as a Pocket PC or Smart Phone. For more information, see Smart Device Development.
Database/SQL Server Project	Creates a project in which to build stored procedures, user-defined functions, or other SQL entities. See How to: Create a SQL Server Project.
Reporting/Reports Application	Creates a report project to fill in manually or with the Report Wizard. See Repot Overview for more information.
Reporting/Crystal Reports Application	Creates a Crystal Reports reporting project.
Test/Test Project	Creates a test project. See Getting Started with Team System Testing Tools and How to: Create a Test Project.
WCF/Sequential Workflow Service Library	Creates a Sequential Workflow Service Library project using Windows Communication Foundation. For more information, see WCF Visual Studio Templates.
WCF/Syndication Service Library	See WCF Visual Studio Templates.
WCF/State Machine Workflow Service Library	See WCF Visual Studio Templates.
WCF/WCF Service Library	See WCF Visual Studio Templates.

Visual C++ Windows Templates

Project Template	More Information
Class Library
Win32 Project
Windows Forms Application
CLR Console Application
Win32 Console Application
Custom Wizard
Test Project
ATL Project
Makefile Project
Empty Project
CLR Empty Project
Windows Forms Control Library
Windows Service
MFC Application
MFC ActiveX Control
MFC DLL
MFC Smart Device ActiveX Control
MFC Smart Device Application
MFC Smart Device DLL
ATL Smart Device Project
Win32 Smart Device Project

Other Project Types

These templates appear under the Other Project Types category. The projects in the Setup and Deployment section all use Windows Installer Deployment and are intended to be added to an existing solution.

Project Template	More Information
Setup and Deployment/Setup Project	See How to: Create or Add a Setup Project.
Setup and Deployment/Web Setup Project	See Deployment of a Web Setup Project.
Setup and Deployment/Merge Module Project	See How to: Create or Add a Merge Module Project.
Setup and Deployment/Setup Wizard	See Setup Wizard.
Setup and Deployment/CAB Project	See How to: Create or Add a Cab Project.
Setup and Deployment/Smart Device CAB Project	See Packaging Device Solutions Overview.
Database/Database Project	Database projects provide ways to programmatically interact with databases. For more information, see How to: Create Database and Server Projects.
Extensibility/Visual Studio Add-in	Visual Studio Add-ins add functionality to the Visual Studio and Visual Studio Macros environments. For more information, see How to: Create an Add-In.
Extensibility/Shared Add-in	Shared Add-ins can add functionality to one or more Microsoft Office applications, as well as to Visual Studio. For more information, see How to: Create an Add-In.
Visual Studio Solutions/Blank Solution	This creates a solution file and directory structure to add projects to. See Blank Solution Template.

See Also

Concepts

File Types and File Extensions in Visual Basic and Visual C#

Reference

General, Projects and Solutions, Options Dialog Box

Other Resources

Creating Windows-Based Applications

Visual Studio Tools for Office