Template parameters
You can replace values in your template when the template is instantiated. To set up this functionality, use template parameters. Template parameters can be used to replace values such as class names and namespaces in the template. The template wizard that runs in the background when a user adds a new item or project replaces these parameters.
Template parameters are declared in the format $parameter$. For example:
$rootnamespace$
$guid1$
$guid5$
In the .vstemplate file of the template, locate the
ProjectItem
element that corresponds to the item for which you want to enable parameter replacement.Set the
ReplaceParameters
attribute of theProjectItem
element totrue
.In the code file for the project item, include parameters where appropriate. For example, the following parameter specifies that the root namespace is used for the namespace in a file:
namespace $rootnamespace$
The following table lists the reserved template parameters that can be used by any template:
Parameter | Description |
---|---|
clrversion | Current version of the common language runtime (CLR). |
ext_* | Add the ext_ prefix to any parameter to refer to the variables of the parent template. For example, ext_safeprojectname . |
guid[1-10] | A GUID used to replace the project GUID in a project file. You can specify up to 10 unique GUIDs (for example, guid1 ). |
itemname | The name of the file in which the parameter is being used. |
machinename | The current computer name (for example, Computer01). |
projectname | The name provided by the user when the project was created. This parameter applies only to project templates. |
registeredorganization | The registry key value from HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\RegisteredOrganization. |
rootnamespace | The root namespace of the current project followed by the subfolder of the current item, with slashes replaced by periods. |
defaultnamespace | The root namespace of the current project. |
safeitemname | Same as itemname but with all unsafe characters and spaces replaced by underscore characters. |
safeitemrootname | Same as safeitemname . |
safeprojectname | The name provided by the user when the project was created but with all unsafe characters and spaces removed. This parameter applies only to project templates. |
targetframeworkversion | Current version of the target .NET Framework. |
time | The current time in a format that's based on Windows user settings. One example of a time format is DD/MM/YYYY 00:00:00. |
specifiedsolutionname | The name of the solution. When "Place solution and project in the same directory" is unchecked, specifiedsolutionname has the solution name. When "create solution directory" is not checked, specifiedsolutionname is blank. |
userdomain | The current user domain. |
username | The current user name. |
webnamespace | The name of the current website. This parameter is used in the web form template to guarantee unique class names. If the website is at the root directory of the web server, this template parameter resolves to the root directory of the web server. |
year | The current year in the format YYYY. |
Obs!
Template parameters are case-sensitive.
You can specify your own template parameters and values, in addition to the default reserved template parameters that are used during parameter replacement. For more information, see CustomParameters element (Visual Studio templates).
You can specify variable file names for project items by using a parameter in the TargetFileName
attribute.
The following example specifies that an executable file's name uses the project name, specified by $projectname$
.
<TemplateContent>
<ProjectItem
ReplaceParameters="true"
TargetFileName="$projectname$.exe">
File1.exe
</ProjectItem>
...
</TemplateContent>
To use the safe project name for the namespace in a C# class file, use the following syntax:
namespace $safeprojectname$
{
public class Class1
{
public Class1()
{ }
}
}
In the .vstemplate file for the project template, include the ReplaceParameters="true"
attribute when you reference the file:
<TemplateContent>
<ProjectItem ReplaceParameters="true">
Class1.cs
</ProjectItem>
...
</TemplateContent>