Visual Studio Template Schema Reference

Note

This article applies to Visual Studio 2015. 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

This section contains information about XML elements in .vstemplate files, which are files that store metadata for project templates, item templates, and Starter Kits.

You can use vstemplate.xsd to validate custom .vstemplate files. This file is available at ..\Visual Studio installation folder\Xml\Schemas\1033\vstemplate.xsd.

Element Child Elements Attributes
AppliesTo None None
Assembly (Template) -- --
Assembly (Wizard Extension) -- --
BuildProjectOnload -- --
CreateInPlace -- --
CreateNewFolder -- --
CustomDataSignature -- --
CustomParameter -- Name

Value
CustomParameters CustomParameter --
DefaultName -- --
Description -- Package

ID
EnableEditOfLocationField -- --
EnableLocationBrowseButton -- --
Folder ProjectItem

Folder
Name
[deprecated] --
FullClassName -- --
Hidden -- --
Icon -- Package

ID
LocationField -- --
LocationFieldMRUPrefix -- --
MaxFrameworkVersion -- --
Name -- Package

ID
NumberOfParentCategoriesToRollUp -- --
PreviewImage -- --
Project Folder

ProjectItem
File

TargetFileName

ReplaceParameters
ProjectCollection ProjectTemplateLink

SolutionFolder
--
ProjectItem (Item Templates) -- SubType

CustomTool

ItemType

ReplaceParameters

TargetFileName
ProjectItem (Project Templates) -- TargetFileName

ReplaceParameters

OpenInEditor

OpenOrder

OpenInWebBrowser

OpenInHelpBrowser
ProjectSubType -- --
ProjectTemplateLink -- ProjectName
ProjectType -- --
PromptForSaveOnCreation -- --
ProvideDefaultName -- --
Reference Assembly --
References Reference --
RequiredFrameworkVersion -- --
RequiredPlatformVersion -- Version
SDKReference -- Package
ShowByDefault -- --
SolutionFolder ProjectTemplateLink

SolutionFolder
Name
SortOrder -- --
SupportsCodeSeparation -- --
SupportsLanguageDropDown -- --
SupportsMasterPage -- --
TargetPlatformName RequiredPlatformVersion --
TemplateContent ProjectCollection

Project

References

ProjectItem

CustomParameters
BuildOnLoad
TemplateData Name

Description

Icon

PreviewImage

ProjectType

ProjectSubType

TemplateID

TemplateGroupID

SortOrder

CreateNewFolder

DefaultName

ProvideDefaultName

PromptForSaveOnCreation

EnableLocationBrowseButton

EnableEditOfLocationField

Hidden

DisplayInParentCategories

LocationFieldMRUPrefix

NumberOfParentCategoriesToRollUp

CreateInPlace

BuildOnLoad

BuildProjectOnload

ShowByDefault

LocationField

SupportsMasterPage

SupportsCodeSeparation

SupportsLanguageDropDown

RequiredFrameworkVersion

FrameworkVersion

MaxFrameworkVersion

CustomDataSignature

TargetPlatformName
--
TemplateGroupID -- --
TemplateID -- --
VSTemplate TemplateData

TemplateContent

WizardExtension

WizardData
Type

Version
WizardData -- Name
WizardExtension Assembly

FullClassName
--

See Also

Creating Project and Item Templates
How to: Create Starter Kits