1. Create an assembly that implements the IWizard interface.

2. Install the assembly into the global assembly cache.

3. Create a project and use the Export Template wizard to create a template from the project.

4. Modify the template by adding a WizardExtension element in the .vstemplate file to link the template to the assembly that implements IWizard.

5. Create a new project using the custom wizard.

1. Create a new class library project.

2. Create a class that implements the IWizard interface. See the code below for a Visual C# example of a fully implemented IWizard interface.

The IWizardImplementation class contains method implementations for every member of IWizard. In this example, only the RunStarted method performs a task. All other methods either do nothing or return true.

The RunStarted method accepts four parameters:

• An Object parameter that can be cast to the root _DTE object, to enable you to customize the project.

• A Dictionary parameter that contains a collection of all pre-defined parameters in the template. For more information on template parameters, see Template Parameters.

• A WizardRunKind parameter that contains information about what kind of template is being used.

• An Object array that contains a set of parameters passed to the wizard by Visual Studio.

This example adds a parameter value from the user input form to the Dictionary parameter. Every instance of the $custommessage$ parameter in the project will be replaced with the text entered by the user.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using Microsoft.VisualStudio.TemplateWizard;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using EnvDTE;

namespace CustomWizard
{
    public class IWizardImplementation:IWizard
    {
        private UserInputForm inputForm;
        private string customMessage;

        // This method is called before opening any item that 
        // has the OpenInEditor attribute.
        public void BeforeOpeningFile(ProjectItem projectItem)
        {
        }

        public void ProjectFinishedGenerating(Project project)
        {
        }
        
        // This method is only called for item templates,
        // not for project templates.
        public void ProjectItemFinishedGenerating(ProjectItem 
            projectItem)
        {
        }

        // This method is called after the project is created.
        public void RunFinished()
        {
        }

        public void RunStarted(object automationObject,
            Dictionary<string, string> replacementsDictionary,
            WizardRunKind runKind, object[] customParams)
        {
            try
            {
                // Display a form to the user. The form collects 
                // input for the custom message.
                inputForm = new UserInputForm();
                inputForm.ShowDialog();

                customMessage = inputForm.get_CustomMessage();

                // Add custom parameters.
                replacementsDictionary.Add("$custommessage$", 
                    customMessage);
            }
            catch (Exception ex)
            {
                MessageBox.Show(ex.ToString());
            }
        }

        // This method is only called for item templates,
        // not for project templates.
        public bool ShouldAddProjectItem(string filePath)
        {
            return true;
        }        
    }
}

The user input form provides a simple form for entering a custom parameter. The form contains a text box named textBox1 and a button named button1. When the button is clicked, the text from the text box is stored in the customMessage parameter.

To add a Windows Form to the solution

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows.Forms;

namespace CustomWizard
{
    public partial class UserInputForm : Form
    {
        private string customMessage;

        public UserInputForm()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
        }
       
        public string get_CustomMessage()
        {
            return customMessage;
        }

        private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            customMessage = textBox1.Text;

            this.Dispose();
        }
    }
}

1. Sign the assembly with a strong name. For more information, see How to: Sign an Assembly with a Strong Name or How to: Sign an Assembly (Visual Studio).

2. Install the strong-named assembly into the global assembly cache. For more information, see How to: Install an Assembly into the Global Assembly Cache.

1. Create a new Visual C# console application.

2. In the Main method of the application, add the following line of code.

   Console.WriteLine("$custommessage$");

   The parameter $custommessage$ is replaced with the text entered in the user input form when a project is created from the template.

3. On the File menu, click Export Template.

4. In the Export Template wizard, click Project Template, select the correct project, and click Next.

5. In the Export Template wizard, enter descriptive information about the template, select the Automatically import the template into Visual Studio check box, and click Finish.

   The template now appears in the New Project dialog box, but does not use the custom wizard.

1. Locate the .zip file that contains the template.

   1. On the Tools menu, click Options.

   2. Click Projects and Solutions.

   3. Read the Visual Studio user project templates location text box. For more information, see General, Projects and Solutions, Options Dialog Box.

   By default, this location is My Documents\Visual Studio 2005\Templates\ProjectTemplates.

2. Extract the .zip file.

3. Open the .vstemplate file in Visual Studio.

4. After the TemplateContent element, add a WizardExtension Element (Visual Studio Templates) element with the strong name of your custom wizard assembly. For more information on finding the strong name of your assembly, see How to: View the Contents of the Global Assembly Cacheand How to: Reference a Strong-Named Assembly.

   The following example shows a WizardExtension element.

   <WizardExtension>
       <Assembly>CustomWizard, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=Neutral, PublicKeyToken=fa3902f409bb6a3b</Assembly>
       <FullClassName>CustomWizard.IWizardImplementation</FullClassName>
   </WizardExtension>

1. On the File menu, click New Project.

2. In the New Project dialog box, locate your template, type a name, and click OK.

   The wizard user input form opens.

3. Type a value for the custom parameter and click the button.

   The wizard user input form closes, and a project is created from the template.

4. In Solution Explorer, right-click the source code file and click View Code.

   Notice that $custommessage$ has been replaced with the text entered in the wizard user input form.