T4 "VisualStudioHelper" not found

Question

I am trying to do some experiments with generating code from VS2012 projects, but I cannot get this part of t4 code to work

var project = VisualStudioHelper.CurrentProject; 

since VisualStudioHelper could not be found.

What should I install / enable in my t4 to create a VisualStudioHelper?

Answer 1

VisualStudioHelper is a custom class from the Tangible T4 Editor.

To use this class, install the Tangible T4 Editor for your Visual Studio, and then:

• Open the Tangible T4 menu in Visual Studio and select Template Gallery.
• Click the Update Now icon in the lower left.
• Select from the directory tree: Tangible> Visual Studio CodeModel.
• In the file menu, right-click on "Walk through the Visual Studio Code Model" and select "Add to Solution ..."
• Select "VisualStudioHelper.ttinclude".
• In your .tt file, refer to VisualStudioHelper as follows:

<#@ include file="VisualStudioHelper.ttinclude" #>

Answer 2

What is a VisualStudioHelper ? This seems to be a common thing, not something that is built into the T4 templating engine. If you need access to the current project, you can try the following:

 var dte = (EnvDTE.DTE)((IServiceProvider)Host).GetService(typeof(EnvDTE.DTE)); var project = dte.Solution.FindProjectItem(Host.TemplateFile).ContainingProject; 

Remember to import the assembly at the top of your T4 template:

 <#@ assembly name="EnvDTE" #> 

Answer 3

I know VisualStudioHelper from the T4 material editor . It's free and comes with a template gallery that contains useful T4 templates that you can include in yours, for example. to access Visual Studio features or project configuration, etc.

Perhaps you should look there.

Edit: The template you should look for in the gallery is called the "tangible Visual Studio Automation Assistant"