merging multiple projects into one project in solution - visual-studio-2010

Is it possible to create solution in which I'll have some projects of Class Library type, and another one merging project, that will be Class Library containing source of all other projects in solution ?

It's possible to share code files between projects by adding them as a link in the additional projects. I use this technique to share copies of PetaPoco, common AssemblyInfo files, etc. between my projects. You could possibly use this technique to do what you want.
To do this, add and create the code files you want to the first project as you normally would. Then, in the projects in which you want to use an existing code file:
Right-click the project in Visual Studio Solution Explorer.
Choose Add -> Existing item...
Choose the code file that already exists, but on the Add button click the down arrow and choose "Add as Link" instead.
Now anytime you make changes to the original file, it will be reflected in all the other projects in which you added that file as a link.
Hope this helps.

Related

In visual studio 2015, solution folder leads to a unsupported error [duplicate]

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

Why would the solution and the project be in totally different locations?

I just noticed that my one-project solution is in:
C:\Users\Clay\Documents\Visual Studio 2013\Projects\Platypus\Platypus.sln
...whereas the project itself is in:
C:\Platypus
What is the sense of separating things out that way? I did choose the project's folder, but not the solution's. I can see why the "buried" location would be used if I hadn't chosen a specific separate location for my project, but I would expect that choice to have put the project AND the solution in that folder.
Seems like a weird way to run a ship.
Is this normal? Any "gotchas" as far as backing it up goes? IOW, is backing up the project enough, or do I need to explicitly back up both?
This is the default location at which the solution file is created however if you want to change the location of the solution file then try when you create the project simply uncheck the default box for "create directory for solution". This will create the File (.sln) in the same directory as the web project. Or you may start with a Blank Solution under "Other Project Types-->Visual Studio Solutions" in the New Project dialog after that add your website.

If i want to make a copy of my c# project in the same workspace how can i do it?

In other words lets say i have already completed a project using visual studio. Now i want to make a separate project that is identical to the already completed project(except for some future changes).
How can i do this while keeping the new project in the same workspace as the original without:
creating a new project and copy pasting code over
copy-pasting the folder that holds the project and changing the name of the folder
I'm asking because there must be a better way to do this than the two options above.
Right click on the solution and "Open Folder in File Explorer"
Copy the project folder
Rename the new Project folder
Open the new project folder and rename the .csproj file
Right click on the solution and "Add" "Existing Project" to the solution
Open the "Properties" for the new project
Under "Application", change the assembly name and default namespace
Select "Tools", "Create GUID", Option 6, "Copy"
Under Assembly information, change the name and product
Paste in the GUID and clear the "" suffix
Rename the namespace in the source files to reflect the new
namespace from above.
Depending on your needs, you could get by with a subset of these steps (e.g. steps 1 and 2), however, I think a complete copy requires all of the steps mentioned.
The second option is exactly what you should do: duplicate the folder containing your project and then rename it.
To make this work, you might also have to change the GUID used by the project to avoid clashes. Visual Studio is supposed to do this automatically if another project with the same GUID already exists in the solution. If something goes wrong, you can do it manually by editing the project file (it's the field called ProjectGUID). It's just a standard GUID value, so use any freely-available GUID generator like the one bundled with Visual Studio or one you find online.
Why should there be a better option than this? What would that "better" option look like? It's not like there's going to be a menu command for it, this isn't a very commonly used feature. Most programmers use a source control system that handles branching/duplicating for them automatically and [mostly] without pain.

Add a folder structure to a Visual Studio Solution

Is it possible to add a folder structure to Solution Items without manually adding each level of the tree?
We have a multi project solution which requires several third-party libraries, at least one of which has a multi-layer tree.
We have a libs folder at the solution root level, alongside all the other projects.
The answers regarding Show Hidden Files, etc. don't work for solution items, only within a project.
Is there any way to get around this?
Do we have to add them folder by folder if we want them at the solution level?
(A similar question has been answered many times regarding Visual Studio projects. However my question is about Visual Studio solutions.)
Solution folders are just logical groupings of items. I don't think they relate to the file structure on your system. That is why you don't see them with a "Show hidden files" sort of functionality. You must right-click the solution, add a new folder, and then right click on the folder to add existing items or nested folders.
Not quite an answer to the question, but to view folders on the file system within Visual Studio Solution Explorer there is now a way of switching views between the solution and the folders. Here is the button to switch:
Clicking/tapping on this brings up "Solution Explorer - Views" content showing all available solution files and option for "Folder View":
Double clicking the "Folder View" shows the folders in the underlying file system:
Screen shots taken with Visual Studio 2019 16.10 preview 4, but this has been there for a while now.
I was looking for something similar and came across this thread. I had several data files that I wanted included with my solution but weren't specific to any one project in that solution.
I'm using VS 2019 and discovered they now have "Shared Projects" in C#, VB and C++ flavors. These projects don't build anything, but it's a convenient way to include some related directories/files.
Add a new Shared Project to your solution with the desired directory name.
Copy all your secondary files to the new directory.
Select "Show All Files" in the Solution Explorer.
Select the files, then right-click and select "Include in Project".
You can now view the file structure and open the files as part of your VS solution but VS will not try to build anything for that Shared Project.
If you have Source Control enabled, VS will also check-in those files (unless you mark them as excluded).
One option is to add an extension: "Add Folder as Solution Folder"
With this extension you can do this:
right click the solution > Add > Add Folder as Solution Folder
If I get you right, you'd like to have the projects organized in your solution.
Not sure if this fit your scenario, but if you choose a ".sln" (switch file-extension in the filebrowser-Dialog) when adding existing projects to your actual solution it will add all the project organized as they are saved in the sln to add.
(VS2017)
PS: Yes, I see this is a 7 Years old post :)
One Option would be to write a little exe and add this as external Tool to VS. Basically you would need to edit the sln file (plain text) by adding the folders as "Projects"
...
Project("{FAE04EC0-301F-11D3-BF4B-00C04F79EFBC}") = "mycsproj", "
[somerelativepath]\mycsproj.csproj", "{projGUID}"
EndProject
Project("{2150E333-8FDC-42A3-9474-1A3956D46DE8}") = "FolderName",
"FolderName", "{FolderGUID}"
EndProject
Project("{2150E333-8FDC-42A3-9474-1A3956D46DE8}") = "SubFolderName",
"SubFolderName", "{SubFolderGUID}"
EndProject
...
{FAE04..} shall be the Project Type GUID for CSproject
{2150...} would be the Project Type GUID for Project Folder
And define the hierarchy in the section
...
GlobalSection(NestedProjects) = preSolution
{projGUID} = {SubFolderGUID}
{SubFolderGUID} = {FolderGUID}
EndGlobalSection
...
Now it's up to you to write some exe, reading the folder info of the libs from the disk and write according Project-Folder Infos in the sln. This should not be a huge effort :)
So whenever you collect multiple projects to your solution, you hit your ext tool and have the connected projects structured fine.
And still I might be on a false track understanding your issue:)

Visual Studio Solutions Folder as real Folders

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

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