Registry Hacks

Create Solutions Without Folders

Written by: Jim Holmes at 3/1/2008 8:36:10 PM

Version: Visual Studio .NET 2005

Visual Studio can sometimes be overly restrictive on how you want to lay things out. For example, you don’t have control over Visual Studio creating a directory for an initial project when you create a new solution.

Peter Provost has come up with a great hack to let you create a blank solution without creating any folder structure. Provost’s hack uses a very simple VS solution file which is dropped into the %SYSTEMROOT%\shellnew dir. A registry file adds a “Visual Studio Solution” to the context menu’s New item.

Download Provost’s zip here. Installation is a simple two step process:

1) Put the file “Visual Studio Solution.sln” in your \Windows\ShellNew folder.

2) Extract the .reg file to any location, then double-click it to enter its contents in the registry.

Now you’re able to right-click in any folder and select New -> New Visual Studio Solution from the context menu. You’ll have a very rudimentary skeleton of a solution waiting for you to exercise minute control over where each item in it is placed.

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