How do I create a Visual Studio project template that includes linked files?

Question

In Visual Studio 2010, I want to create a project template that includes links to two files that should exist on the system. One of them is a common AssemblyInfo.cs file. Another is the strong name key file (*.snk).

I need these references to be relative, because each developer's workspace will be set up differently. Is it possible for the project template to somehow figure out where these files reside in each developer's environment?

From reading about templates, it sound like they're pretty static so I wonder if tricks can be done to do something like this. If nothing else, I can add bogus references that will cause compilation errors and force the developer to hook these files in. But if I can do it for them, that would be better.

Answer 1

You should set the CreateInPlace property to true in the vstemplate. The documentation says

Specifies whether to create the project and perform parameter replacement in the specified location, or perform parameter replacement in a temporary location and then save the project to the specified location.

If you want relative paths to work, you need the parameter replacement to occur in the place where you're creating the project, not in a temporary location.