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How do I edit the Visual Studio templates for new C# class/interface?
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I find myself removing the following import statements in nearly every C# file I create in Visual Studio:

using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;

Of course its really easy to do this with Resharper, but I really should not have to.

There must be a few template (class, interface) somewhere in the VS directory, from which I can remove the offending lines. Where do I find these files? Is there a better way to control the default import list?

Gomorrah answered 15/1, 2010 at 15:31 Comment(0)
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479

2022

Visual Studio 2022 is now a 64bit process so its location has changed to using Program Files instead.

%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Visual Studio\<year>\<edition>\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\Class\Class.cs

Year Edition Absolute path
2022 Community %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Community\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\Class\Class.cs
Enterprise %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\Class\Class.cs
Professional %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Professional\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\Class\Class.cs
Preview %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Preview\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\Class\Class.cs

2017 through 2019

Visual Studio 2017 changed the directory location to use release year instead of its internal version number, and is additionally dependent on your edition (Professional/Enterprise/etc.):

%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Visual Studio <year>\<edition>\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\Class\Class.cs

Year Edition Absolute path
2019 Community %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Visual Studio 2019\Community\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\Class\Class.cs
Enterprise %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Visual Studio 2019\Enterprise\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\Class\Class.cs
Professional %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Visual Studio 2019\Professional\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\Class\Class.cs
2017 Community %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Visual Studio 2017\Community\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\Class\Class.cs
Enterprise %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Visual Studio 2017\Enterprise\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\Class\Class.cs
Professional %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Visual Studio 2017\Professional\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\Class\Class.cs

2012 through 2015

Starting with VS 2012, the templates are not zipped, so you can edit each .cs template in each applicable folder directly.

%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Visual Studio <version>\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\Class.cs

Year Version Absolute path
2015 14.0 %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\Class.cs
2013 12.0 %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Visual Studio 12.0\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\Class.cs
2012 11.0 %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Visual Studio 11.0\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\1033\Class.cs

2010 and older

Extract, edit and recompress the ZIP file. Paths are for the class template, but interface templates are in the same folder.

You may want to edit the VS template file in each to remove the fact that they don't automatically add references to the assemblies System, System.Data and/or System.Xml.

%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Visual Studio <version>\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\Class.zip

Year Version Absolute path
2010 10.0 %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\Class.zip
2008 9.0 %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\Class.zip
2005 8 %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\1033\Class.zip

Notes

Express Editions

In Express Editions you will have to search in the subdirectory WDExpress inside the IDE folder, so e.g. for VS 2015 Express:

%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\Common7\IDE\WDExpress\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\Class\Class.cs

Other Languages

If you don't use the English version of Visual Studio, the folder 1033 may not exist, but a different number representing your language. For example it is 1031 in a German installation.

Lithoid answered 15/1, 2010 at 15:34 Comment(15)
It doesn't always reflect these changes in Visual Studio. If it doesn't for you, edit the files in the ItemTemplatesCache directory (in addition to ItemTemplates). E.g. (in 2005) C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplatesCache\CSharp\Code\1033\Class.zip\Class.cs. Note that Class.zip here is a directory, not an actual ZIP file. – Garment
And by the way, this is also the place to change AutoEventWireUp="true" to false in CSharp\Web\1036\WebForm.zip and WebUserControl.zip. Usefull. – Giuditta
Be aware that service pack updates will wipe your cache, so make sure you back it up so you can put it back. – Transport
@Joe: Or force visual studio to reload the templates by running devenv /setup . It may take a minute for that command to run. – Waterspout
Of important note: there are multiple template files to handle different situations (e.g. one for standard .cs files, another for WPF Window .cs files, another for aspx.cs files, etc.), so you can search for *.cs in the ItemTemplates folder and change each accordingly to change the default behavior in each situation. – Bracketing
@Waterspout devenv.exe /installvstemplates is enough. At least for VS 2012. Is executable while VS is running. – Coolish
When I attempted to save the edited Class.cs in ItemTemplatesCache under VS2010,it says another program has opened it,but I cannot find which one.So I deleted ItemTemplatesCache folder,then extract, edit and recompress,it works! – Passmore
If you're using ASP.NET/MVC and Visual Studio won't pick up your updates to the template, try editing C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 12.0\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\WebClass\Class.cs. Then run devenv.exe /installvstemplates. – Recessive
Don't just rename Class.zip I have seen VS2010 pick up the renamed file... very confusing – Delmydeloach
You can also copy the respective template to your user directory and edit it there. E.g. for VS2019: %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Visual Studio 2019\Templates\ItemTemplates\Visual C# – Parfitt
The correct location VS 2019 version 16.10 (Enterprise): %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Enterprise\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\Class\Class.cs – Parfitt
@Parfitt 1. I have Visual Studio 2019 Enterprise on Win Server 2019. I changed the Class.cs template in the ...\1033\Class folder. Still VS not using edited template. 2. Do I copy the whole '1033' folder or just the 'Class' folder to "UserProfile's \Visual C#\" Folder. Thanks – Bubonocele
I'm trying to update templates to use C# 10's file scoped namespaces, but it still includes brackets. Other changes were applied, so I don't think it's a cache issue. Thoughts? – Durian
@JoelChristophel: In an .editorconfig file, set the following property: csharp_style_namespace_declarations=file_scoped:suggestion – Equality
For ASP.NET Core projects, the Class.cs template file is now located in %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\AspNetCore\Code\1033\Class – Morpheme
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10

You're looking for the following directory:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp

Each template is a ZIP file inside the 1033 (English) subfolder of one of the categories in this folder. You can edit the .cs file inside the ZIP file.

If you're on a 32bit system, remove the (x86). VS2005 is Microsoft Visual Studio 8, and VS2010 is Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0.

Note that these templates are not per-user. You can make per-user templates by copying those ZIP files to My Documents\Visual Studio 2008\Templates\ItemTemplates\Visual C#.

Shwa answered 15/1, 2010 at 15:34 Comment(1)
Thanks for the per-user option here. Note though, with VS2015 at least, there are no zip files/folders. My paths were C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\Class and then I created and copied to ...\Documents\Visual Studio 2015\Templates\ItemTemplates\Visual C#\Code\1033\Class. I had Visual Studio closed while I did this. And I also ran the devenv.exe /installvstemplates command mentioned in another comment. When I relaunched VS, my changes showed up when creating new classes. Excellent! – Cincture
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New class templates might be located in different folders depending on the project type as well. While working in a Web Project in VS 2015, I found that when editing the file

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\Class\Class.cs

I was unable to see any difference in the default template when creating a new class. It was only after editing the file

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\WebClass\Class.cs

that I was able to create a new class with the default format that I wanted.

Sams answered 16/11, 2016 at 2:6 Comment(0)
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1

For Visual Studio 2012, to remove these from the default class.cs file, the item template could look like this (do not include/remove using statements):

Default Class Template file: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 11.0\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\Class\Class.cs

using System;
namespace $rootnamespace$
{
    class $safeitemrootname$
    {
    }
}

More info here: http://aaron-hoffman.blogspot.com/2013/05/edit-default-visual-studio-2012-item.html

Harlanharland answered 27/5, 2013 at 21:50 Comment(0)
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1

Just want to add to the excellent answer from Sam Harwell. There might be more than one class template, for instance AspNetCore has its own template at:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Enterprise\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\AspNetCore\Code\1033\Class\Class.cs

Languishing answered 12/7, 2019 at 6:17 Comment(0)
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1

New addition to the excellent info from Sam Harwell. I'm using Visual Studio 2019 Community, and the path to my class template is the same as already mentioned, except for "Enterprise", which is replaced by "Community". So:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Community\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\Class

It's also worth mentioning that the Class "zip" folder isn't a zip at all on my installation. It's simply another folder.

Another "gotcha" is that if you are running a Preview edition, it's in it's own "Preview" folder:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Preview\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\Class

For other templates, the folder to look for is:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\[YEAR]\[EDITION]\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates

So, on my machine it is:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Preview\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates

[Edit 10 May 2020]

You also need to check the value of "User item templates location" in Tools | Options | Project and Solutions / Locations

I hope this helps someone.

Bloodstock answered 21/4, 2020 at 0:12 Comment(0)
R
1

None of the mentioned solutions worked for me so I'm posting the way how I have solve it for VS 2019 (16.7.7):

I have followed the steps from here:

  • I have opened the dir with the template:

    C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Enterprise\Common7\IDE\ItemTemplates\CSharp\Code\1033\Class

  • Edited the template adjusting it to my needs and saved (Class.cs)

  • Zipped both files: Class.cs and Class.vstemplate

  • Moved the zip to: cd "%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Visual Studio 2019\Templates\ItemTemplates"

  • I'm not sure if it is necessary but I have run devenv /installvstemplates

  • Same as above (not sure it is needed) restarted VS

Revealment answered 28/11, 2020 at 21:39 Comment(0)
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0

Old question - new answer: Sorry for the, maybe, offending question: Why would you care about it at all.

Productivity Power Tools (visual studio extension, i would recommend using it anyway) -> enable the option / setting called: "Remove and Sort Usings on save"

No extra click / keyboard shortcuts / manual template modification etc ... since you have to save your files anyways.

Gathard answered 14/3, 2019 at 12:7 Comment(1)
I would like those sealed attributes to just BE there instead of having to put them over and over by hand. – Caputto

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