Working with Community Components

Community components consist of an item, such as a starter kit, item template, control, IntelliSense code snippet, or add-in that is zipped together with an XML file to make a .vsi file. After packaging community components, you can share them with other developers by posting them on the Internet, posting them on a network share, or sending them by e-mail.

Developers who have downloaded or received a community component can double-click the .vsi file to start the Visual Studio Content Installer. The installer places the component in the correct location so that Visual Studio can display it in the appropriate part of the integrated development environment (IDE), for example, the New Project dialog box.

In This Section

• Community Component Essentials
  Learn what community components are, side-by-side compatibility with earlier Visual Studio versions, and other information.

• How to: Find Community Components
  Learn where to find community components online.

• How to: Install Community Components
  Step-by-step instructions for installing a component that you have received or downloaded so that it can be used in Visual Studio.

• How to: Package Community Components to Use the Visual Studio Content Installer
  Step-by-step information for creating a .vsi file that can be recognized by the Visual Studio Content Installer.

Reference

• Visual Studio Content Installer Schema Reference
  The XML schema for the .vscontent file that is required to install community components by using the Visual Studio Content Installer.

Related Sections

• Creating Item Templates
  Information about the types of item templates that you can create and how to create them.

• Creating Project Templates
  Information about the types of project templates that you can create and how to create them.

• How to: Package and Install Custom Controls for the Toolbox
  Step-by-step information about how to package and install a Toolbox control for use in Visual Studio.

• Creating Code Snippets
  Information about the ways that you can create code snippets in Visual Studio.

• Starter Kits
  Information about what starter kits are, how they differ from project or item templates, and how to create them.

• How to: Publish Project Templates
  Step-by-step information about how to make custom project templates available to other developers to use.

• How to: Publish Code Snippets
  Step-by-step information about how to make custom code snippets available to other developers to use.

• Creating Add-ins and Wizards
  Links to information about how to create add-ins and wizards that can be used in Visual Studio.

• Interacting with Other Developers
  Describes how you can correspond with other developers and share ideas.