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I have a Visual Studio Solution. Currently, it is an empty solution (=no projects) and I have added a few solution folders.
Solution Folders only seem to be "virtual folders", because they are not really created in the Filesystem and files inside solution folders are just sitting in the same folder as the .sln file.
Is there a setting that i've overlooked that tells Visual Studio to treat Solution Folders as "real" folders, that is to create them in the file system and move files into it when I move them inside the solution into one of those folders?
Edit: Thanks. Going to make a suggestion for VS2010 then :)
There is a workaround, that actually behaves as expected.
Add a New or Existing Web Site to the Solution. (I usually create a new one.)
Just make sure it's created inside your solution folder. (I sometimes even create a "link" to an external folder, e.g. 'Docs' or 'Marketing' on a network share. In that case it's ignored by Git of course.)
Make sure to go to the "Project" settings or Configuration Manager to exclude this "Web Site" from Build and Deploy!
Done. Now Solution Explorer will reflect any change in the file system and vice versa (including subfolders).
I (miss)use it for specs, docs, PM and some DevOps scripts that are shared within the team. It's easy to choose, what to include in source control or not, and (if set up correctly) it doesn't conflict with build.
I know the feature is not intended for that use case, but except for the maybe misleading "Project" icon I didn't find any shortages to that hack yet. And there still are use cases where the classical (virtual) Solution Folders that VS provides, fit in the picture. What do you think?
No special setting. I don't think it's supported.
You can create real folders in a "project" within the solution, but not in the solution itself.
In Visual Studio 2017, click on the "Solutions and Folders" icon in the Solution Explorer window. This button toggles from the virtual "solution" view into a "source view" that matches the layout of folders and files on the file system. When you add a new folder, the folder is physically created in the expected location.
.
The chosen answer suggests it would be possible to use actual projects instead of solution folders, but does not really explain how. I guess what I'm describing here is possibly the least awkward way of achieving that... :-P
The problem with regular project files is that they eventually will be compiled by MSBUILD. And if you want have a project which only contains non-compilable files, that will be an issue.
But some time ago Visual Studio introduced a new project type: Shared Project (.shproj extension). This project type does not get compiled by default, but only when (and only if) it is referenced by another project.
So one part of the trick here is to use shared projects instead of solution folders. It's obviously possible to add a shared project that is never referenced by any other project, meaning we can avoid the issue presented above.
Then, by using <None Include="**/*" /> clause in the .shproj file, we can make it automatically reflect any new files and/or subfolders.
So basically do this:
Create a new folder in your solution.
Add a new .shproj file at the root of this new folder.
Reference the new .shproj in your solution.
For instance, in my case, I've created a DockerDev.shproj, so I can group some docker-related scripts that we run only in our development machines:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!-- DockerDev/DockerDev.shproj -->
<Project ToolsVersion="4.0" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
<ItemGroup>
<None Include="**/*" />
</ItemGroup>
</Project>
This .shproj file will keep track of any file, in any subfolder of this new DockerDev folder in my solution.
As far as I could see, this solution works pretty much like what the OP requested: it will work as a non-compilable reference to a folder, and it will automatically reflect any changes made to it.
Sara Ford contributed a Macro to add do this. In Visual Studio 2010, if you open your Macro Explorer, you will see a macro called "GenerateSlnFolderOnDirStructure." This will automate the creation of the Solution Folders and add the files.
Folder To Solution Folder By Cecilia Wirén - CeciliaSHARP
Remove the hassle of adding several files to solution folder. Just use the context menu for the solution and just below the option of creating a new solution folder you now find 'Add Folder as Solution Folder'. This will create a solution folder with the same name as you selected and add the items inside of that folder to the solution folder. This will not move the files on disk.
You can just sync your new solution folder nesting level and also name with the actual filesystem folder and it works like a charm!
Existing project :
Create the actual folder
Create the solution folder with the exact same name
Copy your project folder into the new folder (Actual file system)
(in solution explorer) - Righ-click on same folder
Add => Existing project
Add new project :
Create your solution folders
(Right-click on solution) => Add new project
Change the Location address under the project name you want to add, to the exact same address in your solution folders
No, it's not supported. As you suspected, solution folders are simply virtual subentries in the .sln file, nothing to do with the file system.
For C# in Visual Studio 2019 I used this way (Seems to be similar to this answer, but that didn't work at least in C# solutions)
In solution explorer click on switch views
Choose folder view
You can add individual folders to the solution
To get back to the regular view of solution explorer just click switch views again and choose the solution.
There seems to be a limitation using this way (comment from #montonero):
... just open a solution with multiple projects and try to move the projects to some other real folders through the folder view. The issue is VS doesn't update paths to projects in a solution file
Visual studio has no support for this. I made an extension that does something similar for VS2013 though. It maps solution folders to physical folders on your hard drive, though the mapping is one way (from hard drive to solution). That means a solution folder's contents will reflect the hard drive folder's contents, and not the other way.
With that out of the way, the extension may still be useful.
It has support for mapping solution folders to physical folders, filtering files and directories based on regex, and remembering mappings in your .sln file. Properties are non-intrusive so developers without the extension can still open the sln and not be affected.
Hosted on visual studio gallery:
https://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/69e19ea6-4442-4cb6-b300-044dd21f02bd
Edit: Uploaded to bitbucket. Now open source. MIT license. https://bitbucket.org/LSS_NorthWind/physical-solution-folders
Create "Solution folder". This will create logical folder, but not physical one.
Right click to the solution folder and open a new project dialog. But before you click OK, you have to change a project location to your desired physical folder and VS will create it and place the project inside.
Create an empty solution then
open .sln file in an editor
and put these lines of code after MinimumVisualStudioVersion
Project("{2150E333-8FDC-42A3-9474-1A3956D46DE8}") = "src", "src", "{9D8C3BB1-AEDB-4757-8559-995D12A4E6D0}"
open the solution in vs and you should add the same folder to it
now you can see the folder and add a project to it
you have a real folder in windows and a virtual one in vs
be sure that you
created the projects with that path
You can add real folders by choosing "Add new filter" for a Visual Studio project file. You can also do "Add new filter" under an existing folder. Once the folder is created, rename it and add source or header file or whichever suits your project. This is one way I know which lets us create real folders through the Visual Studio IDE.
I've wanted this feature a few times myself, but at the end of the day, you really do NOT want the ability to do this. Think of your Solution (file) as as the root of a web application and think of Solution folders as Virtual Directories (literally and functionally). The contents of a web virtual directory could be physically on a different server altogether. Where Visual Studio muddled up the solution folders concept is by allowing you to create new files inside the folder. You should always "Add Existing" when adding content. When you add existing, it creates a link to the source location of the file.
But as for the reason you do not want solution folders to behave like "physical" folders is because your solution layout may not necessarily use the same convention as your source control layout. Solution folders allow you to customize the hierarchy of your projects so that you can group projects and items together any way you like, and then decide you don't like it and change it again without having to go through the nightmare of moving source control items around and irritating the rest of your team.
Note: Yes this is possible you can create a folder on root but its lil bit tricky....
By giving some extra efforts you can do it How?
Lets follow the step--
1-Create Folder eg: "newfolder" on root (where your .sln file reside).
2.Copy and paste your projects inside the folder.
3.go to your sln file and find moved projects and append newfolder\ in moved project's address.
4.Save sln file.
5.Open your project and Commit the repository in git or so...
6.Take the repository on fresh location.
YOU are done...
if still you are not able to see your folder -----
1.Add a solution folder xyz.
2.Open sln file and change that folder name with your folder name.
Congrats you are done..
If you face any problem just write me for help..
The folder created underneath the solution will be virtual as said. Maybe this might be called a workaround but you can physically create the folder on disk either before or when you add new item/project and Robert should be a sibling of your dad.
ps- on closer look maybe i should explain "bob's your uncle" means your fine/sorted.
I have a bit of a workaround for this (it's not great, but it works).
Create a folder in your solution (i.e. "Contoso")
Right click on the solution and then click "Open Folder in Solution Explorer"
Create the physical folder (i.e. "Contoso") in the solution directory
Copy/Create files in the physical folder.
Drag the files into the virtual folder in the solution explorer.
It's not great because you will need to manually maintain the file references, but it works for me.
Yes, it is possible in Visual Studio 2019 for the project
Though this is an old topic, I will add my answer, because I had the same issue and searched for a solution but it seemed that everyone is 100% sure that there is no way to do it. So I started to experiment with VS 2019, tried a lot of settings, and eventually figured the way out.
1 Button :D
You only need to click 1 button - Show All Files, and you will see the physical structure of your Visual Studio Solution:
Now you can add files and folders to the project and they will be added to the file system (physically)
Right-click on your project → Add → New Folder
Note that the option changed from New Filter to New Folder
My recommendation for C++
Create a root folder inside your project's directory which will contain all the application related stuff (code, headers, data, libs... ). I name it Project
Add subfolders as you'd like to structure your code. I prefer the following layout: include, src, data, libs, etc
Now setup Visual Studio to recognize these folders as headers and sources directories.
Click on your project in the Solution Explorer. Note, in my case, it is CrazyDemo, not the Solution 'CreazyDemo' (1 of 1 project)
Go to the project properties menu: Project→Properties
Open Configuration Properties→VC++ Directories tab
Edit Include Directories and set to $(ProjectDir)/Project/include;$(IncludePath)
Edit Library Directories and set to $(ProjectDir)/Project/libs;$(LibraryPath)
Edit Source Directories and set to $(ProjectDir)/Project/src;$(SourcePath)
You may use the Scope to This option if you want to focus on 1 project. Just right-click on the Project folder and press Scope to This
Note that after this action, in order to open Project Properties you need to click on any of your project files (like main.cpp in the example) and then click on the editable client area (like when you want to change the code) and only after that you'll be able to see the Project→CrazyDemo Properties option. [Visual Studio is Insane 🤦♂️]
Finally, you may have a project like this
How do I change the folder of my existing solution file (sln)?
It's right now inside one of my project's folder; if I cut the solution file and paste it in the root folder,it doesn't load any of my projects.
Open solution explorer in Visual Studio and select the solution.
Click on File > Save MyProject.sln As ...
and choose the new location.
The solution file is just a text file. You should be able to move it and then edit it to make sure that any relative paths referenced in the file are correct.
I've also been able to right-click on the solution file in the solution explorer and then use save-as to save it in a different location. That doesn't seem to work everytime for me though.
Open a blank solution, save it to a location where you would like to move. Then add "Existing Project" and select the Old.sln file to add all the projects under the old solution file.
I just had to do this with some legacy projects I inherited so thought it might be worth documenting...
After upgrading from VS 2005 solution, I noticed that the solution file was at the same level as the project files. Our standard is to have the solution file one level above.
Opening the solution file in 'Notepad' I see the following:
Add required relative path to each of the project path and save in correct location:
In my case to bring up one level 'BloombergPriceRequestService\'
SO project line(s) will look like this:
Microsoft Visual Studio Solution File, Format Version 11.00
# Visual Studio 2010
Project("{FAE04EC0-301F-11D3-BF4B-00C04F79EFBC}") = "BloombergPaydownService", "BloombergPaydownService\BloombergPaydownService.csproj", "{17DDDD3E-CD39-48B4-BE3F-71E550FCBBFC}"
EndProject
Global
Don't forget to delete your old solution file!
if I cut the sln file and paste it in
the root folder,it doesn't load any of
my projects
Do this anyway, and try to open the solution. It will tell you that some projects couldn't be loaded: ignore the warning.
Then, go ahead and delete all the projects from the solution. After this right click the solution and select Add => Existing project and browse to your project file. Repeat for all projects in your solution.
Sometimes, the solution file may contain more than 5 projects attached to it.
In that case, Creating the new solution and adding projects to that is cumbersome and takes more time.
You can just edit the solution file to load the projects correctly.
Steps to do
sdas
1. Open the solution file in notepad or any text editor.
2. update the path which is underlined and made bold.
Project("{FAE04EC0-301F-11D3-BF4B-00C04F79EFBC}") = "BloombergPaydownService", "BloombergPaydownService\BloombergPaydownService.csproj", "{17DDDD3E-CD39-48B4-BE3F-71E550FCBBFC}"
Save the file and open in Visual studio.
Editing the solution file is a hazardous way to do things and I found a better way. Just create a new solution and add copies of the folders containing the various projects (in their respective folders) to the project.
You need
to select solution in solution explorer
then to find button File -> SaveAs solution.sln as
Press it
There are two ways you can do it:
Simply delete the entire project and create the entire project again in the other folder ( which is not recommended).
Here are the steps to follow without missing any files.
a. Goto Source control explorer Create a new folder or Just move the solution to which you want to move the folder to.
b. Load the solution in your local and it will prompt a message saying that do you want to reload it from source control click yes.
c. Once we load the solution you will see that the project you have moved won’t be loaded (Since we moved to the other folder)
d. So now, Remove the project which was not loaded and then add it as an existing project
e. I am sure that if you have added nugetPackages they won’t get loaded.
f. Goto file explorer of the particular project open the .csproj file and try to check the packages location, Error condition, Project reference and Import and apart from them if there are any
Which are pointing to a directory.
g. The simplest way is just adding some nuget package and see what is the path generated by visual studio.
h. Once we change the locations they will be loaded in references
i. After adding references try to build the solution and it will throw some build errors because we moved the project from one folder to other.
j. Add the project reference wherever needed after moving the files
k. Now the build will be succeeded.
I'm trying to change a namespace in Visual Studio.
My folder structure looks something like this:
GameAlpha/
GameAlpha.sln
GameAlphaRelease/
GameAlphaTest/
GameAlphaLevelEditor/
These include namespaces like GameAlphaRelease. I want to change all this to GameBetaRelease.
Before this process, it built fine.
First, I changed the solution and project files from Alpha to Beta. Then, I did a "find-replace-all" on the namespace. Finally, I went through the properties of each project and changed the "Assembly Name" and "Default Namespace" to the appropriate Beta title.
However, now the solution does not build. The error is:
GameAlpha.accessor: The reference to 'GameAlpha.exe' was not found in
the list of this projects references.
(Project: GameBetaTest)
What am I doing wrong? If I remove project GameBetaTest, the solution builds just fine.
Also, what is the preferable way to change the names of the folders in the file system?
The following steps normally work for me:
Use the standard project rename (this renames the project, but not the Project Directory). If you want to change the directory as well, close down the solution, rename the directory, open the solution, remove the old project (which is now unavailable) and add the project from the new location.
For each project for which it applies, remove and re-add references to other projects in the solution if there are any inter-project dependencies.
Adjust the project properties for each changed project.
Verify/adjust build scripts.
Verify/adjust the build order.
Clean and rebuild all.
If you do a package/class rename, make sure you do it separately (before, while everything is "still working") so that VS will update the internals as required. YMMV and there are some issues with files "linked" between projects.
Rename the physical project directory
Note: The physical path property is recorded in the .sln file so you cannot just rename the folder in Explorer.
a. Close the solution and the IDE
b. In Explorer: Change the directory name to the new name.
c. In Explorer: Open the .sln file with a text editor.
c. Change the directory name to the new name and save.
d. Restart the IDE and open the solution from the File, Recent Files menu if it doesn't start automatically.
e. Click on the Project folder of the Solution Explorer and check the path property in the properties at the bottom. It will now be referencing to the new project folder.
Here I found it
I would like to make a copy of my project. I would rather not start doing it from scratch by adding files and references, etc. Please note that I don't mean copy for deployment. Just plain copy.
Is there a tool in VS to do this? I am using VS 2008
Just create a template;
From your project choose: Project - Export Template
The wizard will let you define
Template name
Template Description
Icon
Preview image
Then it zips up your project into 'My Exported Templates' directory.
You also have the option to make your template available when you create a new project.
When you use your template to create a new project, the namespace will be correct for 'your_new_project_name' throughout every file, all references correct, everything perfecto :)
You can send the .zip file to anybody, and they must copy (not unzip) the .zip file into Templates\ProjectTemplates directory for them to use too.
I made an ASP.NET MVC template with folders, layout page, viewmodels etc arranged just how I like them.
NOTE:
If you have an empty folder in your project, it WON'T be added to the template, so I just added an empty class appropriate to each folder, and a sample picture for images folder.
If you want a copy, the fastest way of doing this would be to save the project. Then make a copy of the entire thing on the File System. Go back into Visual Studio and open the copy (by right clicking on solution => add existing project => open the copied project). From there, I would most likely recommend re-naming the project/solution (Steps of Safely Renaming Project are in the following link) so that you don't have two of the same name, but that is the fastest way to make a copy.
It is highly NOT ADVISABLE to copy projects at all because the some config files formed internally like .csproj, .vspscc etc. may (and most probably will) point to references which belong to previous solutions' location and other paths/locations in system or TFS. Unless you are an expert at reading these files and fixing references, do not try to copy projects.
You can create a skeletal project of the same type you intend to copy, this creates a proper .csproj, .vspscc files. Now you are free to copy the class files,scripts and other content from the previous project as they will not impact. This will ensure a smooth build and version control (should you choose to be interested in that)
Having said all this, let me give you the method to copy project anyhow in a step-wise manner:
Go to the project you want to copy in solution explorer and right-click.
Now select 'Open Folder in File Explorer' (Assuming you have the solution mapped to a local path on your disk).
Select the Projects you want to replicate as whole folders(along with all dependencies,bin .vspscc file, .csproj file)
Paste them in your desired location (it could be your same solution folder or even another solution folder. If it is within the same solution folder, then you would be required to rename it, also the .csproj and other internal files to the new name).
No go back to Visual Studio, Right-Click on Solution > Add > Existing Project...
Browse and select the Project file (.csproj file) now from the location you placed it in and select 'open'
This file now appears in the solution explorer for you to work.
You may now have to resolve a few build errors probably with duplicated/missing references and stuff but otherwise it's as pristine in logic and structure as you expected it to be.
I guess if this is something you do often, there's a little (non-free) utility that promises to do it for you: I haven't used it, so not sure how good it is:
http://www.kinook.com/CopyWiz/
There is also this project on CodePlex:
http://clone.codeplex.com/
I will probably give the codeplex project a try, and if it doesn't work I'll manually rename everything and edit the sln file.
I follow these steps and I use the development tool called Resharper ,which is awesome by the way:
So,
Copy the existing project folder to the destination you want
Go to source control and with right click just to the root folder you want and pick "Add items to folder...".Then, a wizard will come up to choose the files to copy (there is no need for some files and the wizard guides you for that reason by default).
Change the name of the solution file (*.sln)
Change the names of the sub-projects if exist.
Use Resharper to change the binding namespaces name (I will automatic do the dirty job with safety).The alternative way is to manually change all namespaces with the new name.
The same action with method names.
Check solution's properties if you want to change.
That's it. You are ready!!!
Following Shane's answer above (which works great BTW)…
You might encounter a slew of yellow triangles in the reference list.
Most of these can be eliminated by a Build->Clean Solution and Build->Rebuild Solution.
I did happen to have some Google API references that were a little more stubborn...as well as NewtonSoft JSon.
Trying to reinstall the NuGet package of the same version didn't work.
Visual Studio thinks you already have it installed.
To get around this:
1: Write down the original version.
2: Install the next higher/lower version...then uninstall it.
3: Install the original version from step #1.
The best way is actually to create a new Project from scratch, then go into the folder with the project files you want to copy over (project, form1, everything except folders).
Rename the files (Except for form1 files) for example: I copied Ch4Ex1 files into my Ch4Ex2 project but first renamed the files to Ch4Ex2.
Copy and paste those files into the Solution Explorer for the new project in Visual Studio.
Then just overwrite the files and you should be good to go!
Old thread but I hope it helps anyone looking for this answer!
The easiest way to do this would be to export the project as a template and save it to the default template location. Then, copy the template into the exact same directory on the location you want to move it to. After that, open up visual studio on the new location, create a new project, and you will get a prompt to search for a template. Search for whatever you named the template, select it and you're done!
I have a project where the source files are in in a folder below the project folder. When I copied the project folder without the source folder and opened the copied project, the source files are not missing but found at the old location. I closed the project, copied also the source folder, and re-opened the project. Now, the project magically references the copied source files (both the new path showed up on "save as" and a change in a file has been saved in the copied version).
There is a caveat: If not both old and new project folders are below a used library folder, the above-mentioned magic discards also the absolute reference to the library and expects it under the same relative path.
I tried this with VS Express 2012.
My solution is a little bit different - the computer that the package resided on died and so I was forced to recreate it on another computer.
What I did (in VS 2008) was to open the following files in my directory:
- <package name>.djproj
- <package name>.dtproj.user
- <package name>.dtxs
- <package name>.sln
- Package.dtsx
When I did this a popup window asked me if the sln file was going to be a new solution and when I clicked 'yes' everything worked perfectly.
After trying above solutions & creating copy for MVC projects
For MVC projects please update the port numbers in .csproj file, you can take help of iis applicationhost.config to check the port numbers. Same port numbers will cause assembly loading issue in IIS.
I use Visual Studio 2013 where Project > Export Template is not an option. Here is what I use to clone a project.
From your solution:
File > Export Template > select project to make template from, note save path
Download and install VS 2013 SDK Here
Create new VSIX project under Extensibility
From the VSIXManifest Dialog select the Assets tab
Fill in the Author textbox
Choose "Project Template" for Type and Browse to add the exported template (saved at path you noted in step 1)
Save and build the VSIX project. Go to the VSIX project's .../bin/Debug folder and double click to run the .vsix file
Start new instance of Visual Studio and you should see your template under whatever project type your template is. Create a new project from your template
You will have to re-add any dll references
Trick the Clone from repository tool
Open the project location in file explorer.
Copy the path to any browser (aka open the project location in the browser).
Use the address from the browser as the source repository for cloning.
Relax and enjoy the no error clone.
I have a Visual Studio Solution. Currently, it is an empty solution (=no projects) and I have added a few solution folders.
Solution Folders only seem to be "virtual folders", because they are not really created in the Filesystem and files inside solution folders are just sitting in the same folder as the .sln file.
Is there a setting that i've overlooked that tells Visual Studio to treat Solution Folders as "real" folders, that is to create them in the file system and move files into it when I move them inside the solution into one of those folders?
Edit: Thanks. Going to make a suggestion for VS2010 then :)
There is a workaround, that actually behaves as expected.
Add a New or Existing Web Site to the Solution. (I usually create a new one.)
Just make sure it's created inside your solution folder. (I sometimes even create a "link" to an external folder, e.g. 'Docs' or 'Marketing' on a network share. In that case it's ignored by Git of course.)
Make sure to go to the "Project" settings or Configuration Manager to exclude this "Web Site" from Build and Deploy!
Done. Now Solution Explorer will reflect any change in the file system and vice versa (including subfolders).
I (miss)use it for specs, docs, PM and some DevOps scripts that are shared within the team. It's easy to choose, what to include in source control or not, and (if set up correctly) it doesn't conflict with build.
I know the feature is not intended for that use case, but except for the maybe misleading "Project" icon I didn't find any shortages to that hack yet. And there still are use cases where the classical (virtual) Solution Folders that VS provides, fit in the picture. What do you think?
No special setting. I don't think it's supported.
You can create real folders in a "project" within the solution, but not in the solution itself.
In Visual Studio 2017, click on the "Solutions and Folders" icon in the Solution Explorer window. This button toggles from the virtual "solution" view into a "source view" that matches the layout of folders and files on the file system. When you add a new folder, the folder is physically created in the expected location.
.
The chosen answer suggests it would be possible to use actual projects instead of solution folders, but does not really explain how. I guess what I'm describing here is possibly the least awkward way of achieving that... :-P
The problem with regular project files is that they eventually will be compiled by MSBUILD. And if you want have a project which only contains non-compilable files, that will be an issue.
But some time ago Visual Studio introduced a new project type: Shared Project (.shproj extension). This project type does not get compiled by default, but only when (and only if) it is referenced by another project.
So one part of the trick here is to use shared projects instead of solution folders. It's obviously possible to add a shared project that is never referenced by any other project, meaning we can avoid the issue presented above.
Then, by using <None Include="**/*" /> clause in the .shproj file, we can make it automatically reflect any new files and/or subfolders.
So basically do this:
Create a new folder in your solution.
Add a new .shproj file at the root of this new folder.
Reference the new .shproj in your solution.
For instance, in my case, I've created a DockerDev.shproj, so I can group some docker-related scripts that we run only in our development machines:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!-- DockerDev/DockerDev.shproj -->
<Project ToolsVersion="4.0" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
<ItemGroup>
<None Include="**/*" />
</ItemGroup>
</Project>
This .shproj file will keep track of any file, in any subfolder of this new DockerDev folder in my solution.
As far as I could see, this solution works pretty much like what the OP requested: it will work as a non-compilable reference to a folder, and it will automatically reflect any changes made to it.
Sara Ford contributed a Macro to add do this. In Visual Studio 2010, if you open your Macro Explorer, you will see a macro called "GenerateSlnFolderOnDirStructure." This will automate the creation of the Solution Folders and add the files.
Folder To Solution Folder By Cecilia Wirén - CeciliaSHARP
Remove the hassle of adding several files to solution folder. Just use the context menu for the solution and just below the option of creating a new solution folder you now find 'Add Folder as Solution Folder'. This will create a solution folder with the same name as you selected and add the items inside of that folder to the solution folder. This will not move the files on disk.
You can just sync your new solution folder nesting level and also name with the actual filesystem folder and it works like a charm!
Existing project :
Create the actual folder
Create the solution folder with the exact same name
Copy your project folder into the new folder (Actual file system)
(in solution explorer) - Righ-click on same folder
Add => Existing project
Add new project :
Create your solution folders
(Right-click on solution) => Add new project
Change the Location address under the project name you want to add, to the exact same address in your solution folders
No, it's not supported. As you suspected, solution folders are simply virtual subentries in the .sln file, nothing to do with the file system.
For C# in Visual Studio 2019 I used this way (Seems to be similar to this answer, but that didn't work at least in C# solutions)
In solution explorer click on switch views
Choose folder view
You can add individual folders to the solution
To get back to the regular view of solution explorer just click switch views again and choose the solution.
There seems to be a limitation using this way (comment from #montonero):
... just open a solution with multiple projects and try to move the projects to some other real folders through the folder view. The issue is VS doesn't update paths to projects in a solution file
Visual studio has no support for this. I made an extension that does something similar for VS2013 though. It maps solution folders to physical folders on your hard drive, though the mapping is one way (from hard drive to solution). That means a solution folder's contents will reflect the hard drive folder's contents, and not the other way.
With that out of the way, the extension may still be useful.
It has support for mapping solution folders to physical folders, filtering files and directories based on regex, and remembering mappings in your .sln file. Properties are non-intrusive so developers without the extension can still open the sln and not be affected.
Hosted on visual studio gallery:
https://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/69e19ea6-4442-4cb6-b300-044dd21f02bd
Edit: Uploaded to bitbucket. Now open source. MIT license. https://bitbucket.org/LSS_NorthWind/physical-solution-folders
Create "Solution folder". This will create logical folder, but not physical one.
Right click to the solution folder and open a new project dialog. But before you click OK, you have to change a project location to your desired physical folder and VS will create it and place the project inside.
Create an empty solution then
open .sln file in an editor
and put these lines of code after MinimumVisualStudioVersion
Project("{2150E333-8FDC-42A3-9474-1A3956D46DE8}") = "src", "src", "{9D8C3BB1-AEDB-4757-8559-995D12A4E6D0}"
open the solution in vs and you should add the same folder to it
now you can see the folder and add a project to it
you have a real folder in windows and a virtual one in vs
be sure that you
created the projects with that path
You can add real folders by choosing "Add new filter" for a Visual Studio project file. You can also do "Add new filter" under an existing folder. Once the folder is created, rename it and add source or header file or whichever suits your project. This is one way I know which lets us create real folders through the Visual Studio IDE.
I've wanted this feature a few times myself, but at the end of the day, you really do NOT want the ability to do this. Think of your Solution (file) as as the root of a web application and think of Solution folders as Virtual Directories (literally and functionally). The contents of a web virtual directory could be physically on a different server altogether. Where Visual Studio muddled up the solution folders concept is by allowing you to create new files inside the folder. You should always "Add Existing" when adding content. When you add existing, it creates a link to the source location of the file.
But as for the reason you do not want solution folders to behave like "physical" folders is because your solution layout may not necessarily use the same convention as your source control layout. Solution folders allow you to customize the hierarchy of your projects so that you can group projects and items together any way you like, and then decide you don't like it and change it again without having to go through the nightmare of moving source control items around and irritating the rest of your team.
Note: Yes this is possible you can create a folder on root but its lil bit tricky....
By giving some extra efforts you can do it How?
Lets follow the step--
1-Create Folder eg: "newfolder" on root (where your .sln file reside).
2.Copy and paste your projects inside the folder.
3.go to your sln file and find moved projects and append newfolder\ in moved project's address.
4.Save sln file.
5.Open your project and Commit the repository in git or so...
6.Take the repository on fresh location.
YOU are done...
if still you are not able to see your folder -----
1.Add a solution folder xyz.
2.Open sln file and change that folder name with your folder name.
Congrats you are done..
If you face any problem just write me for help..
The folder created underneath the solution will be virtual as said. Maybe this might be called a workaround but you can physically create the folder on disk either before or when you add new item/project and Robert should be a sibling of your dad.
ps- on closer look maybe i should explain "bob's your uncle" means your fine/sorted.
I have a bit of a workaround for this (it's not great, but it works).
Create a folder in your solution (i.e. "Contoso")
Right click on the solution and then click "Open Folder in Solution Explorer"
Create the physical folder (i.e. "Contoso") in the solution directory
Copy/Create files in the physical folder.
Drag the files into the virtual folder in the solution explorer.
It's not great because you will need to manually maintain the file references, but it works for me.
Yes, it is possible in Visual Studio 2019 for the project
Though this is an old topic, I will add my answer, because I had the same issue and searched for a solution but it seemed that everyone is 100% sure that there is no way to do it. So I started to experiment with VS 2019, tried a lot of settings, and eventually figured the way out.
1 Button :D
You only need to click 1 button - Show All Files, and you will see the physical structure of your Visual Studio Solution:
Now you can add files and folders to the project and they will be added to the file system (physically)
Right-click on your project → Add → New Folder
Note that the option changed from New Filter to New Folder
My recommendation for C++
Create a root folder inside your project's directory which will contain all the application related stuff (code, headers, data, libs... ). I name it Project
Add subfolders as you'd like to structure your code. I prefer the following layout: include, src, data, libs, etc
Now setup Visual Studio to recognize these folders as headers and sources directories.
Click on your project in the Solution Explorer. Note, in my case, it is CrazyDemo, not the Solution 'CreazyDemo' (1 of 1 project)
Go to the project properties menu: Project→Properties
Open Configuration Properties→VC++ Directories tab
Edit Include Directories and set to $(ProjectDir)/Project/include;$(IncludePath)
Edit Library Directories and set to $(ProjectDir)/Project/libs;$(LibraryPath)
Edit Source Directories and set to $(ProjectDir)/Project/src;$(SourcePath)
You may use the Scope to This option if you want to focus on 1 project. Just right-click on the Project folder and press Scope to This
Note that after this action, in order to open Project Properties you need to click on any of your project files (like main.cpp in the example) and then click on the editable client area (like when you want to change the code) and only after that you'll be able to see the Project→CrazyDemo Properties option. [Visual Studio is Insane 🤦♂️]
Finally, you may have a project like this