project-subtypes.md

title	Project Subtypes
description	Learn how project subtypes let you customize behavior of the project systems of Visual Studio. VSPackages implement project subtypes using COM aggregation.
ms.date	11/04/2016
ms.topic	reference
helpviewer_keywords	projects [Visual Studio SDK], subtypes project subtypes [Visual Studio SDK]
author	tinaschrepfer
ms.author	tinali
ms.subservice	extensibility-integration

Project Subtypes

Project subtypes let you customize or flavor the behavior of the project systems of Visual Studio. Customizations include saving additional data in the project file, adding or filtering items in the Add New Item dialog box, controlling how assemblies are debugged and deployed, and extending the project Property Pages dialog box. VSPackages implement project subtypes using COM aggregation.

Note

The Visual C++ project system does not support project subtypes. Visual Studio itself uses project subtypes to implement SQL Server and Smart Device projects.

In This Section

• Project Subtypes Design

  Describes the concept of project subtypes.

• Initialization Sequence of Project Subtypes

  Describes the programmatic project subtype initialization sequence by Visual Studio environment.

• Properties and Methods Extended by Project Subtypes

  Provides detailed descriptions of the features and methods most frequently extended by using project subtypes.

• Persisting Data in the MSBuild Project File

  Describes how to persist data in a project file and how to use xref:Microsoft.VisualStudio.Shell.Interop.IPersistXMLFragment to maintain the data in the project file across the project subtype aggregation levels.

• Project Property User Interface

  Describes how project subtypes can modify the project Property Pages dialog box.

• Extending the Object Model of the Base Project

  Provides information about how project subtypes can use Automation Extenders to extend the automation object model.

• Contributing to the Add New Item Dialog Box

  Describes how to add items to the Add New Item dialog box.

• Saving Data in Project Files

  Explains how a project subtype can save and retrieve subtype-specific data in the project file by using the Managed Package Framework (MPF).

• Handling Specialized Deployment

  Explains how project subtypes can supply specialized deployment behavior by implementing the xref:Microsoft.VisualStudio.Shell.Interop.IVsDeployableProjectCfg interface.

• Adding and Removing Property Pages

  Describes adding and removing property pages in Project Designer.

Related Sections

• Project Types

  Provides links to topics detailing Visual Studio projects.