How to: Update Existing Templates
After you create a template and compress the files into a single .zip file, you may want to modify the template. You can do this by manually changing the files in the template, or by exporting a new template from a project based on the template.
Using the Export Template Wizard to Update an Existing Template
Visual Studio provides an Export Template wizard that can be used to update an existing template.
To use the Export Template to update an existing template
On the File menu, click New, and then click Project.
Select the template that you want to update, enter a name and location for your temporary project, and click OK.
Modify the project in Visual Studio.
Follow the steps outlined in How to: Create Starter Kits to use the Export Template wizard to create a new template.
Once the updated template is compressed into a .zip file, delete the old template .zip file.
Manually Updating an Existing Template
You can update an existing template outside of Visual Studio by modifying the files included in the compressed .zip file.
To manually update an existing template
Locate the .zip file that contains the template. By default, this file is located in My Documents\Visual Studio 2008\My Exported Templates\.
Extract the .zip file.
Modify or delete the current template files, or add new files to the template.
Open, modify, and save the .vstemplate XML file to handle updated behavior or new files. For more information on the .vstemplate schema, see Visual Studio Template Schema Reference.
Select the files included in your template, right-click, select Send To, and click Compressed (zipped) Folder. The files that you selected are compressed into a .zip file.
Place the new .zip file in the same directory as the old .zip file.
Delete the extracted template files and the old template .zip file.
See Also
Concepts
Reference
Visual Studio Template Schema Reference