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Update: I’ve posted an update that fixes some error with the .DDF file syntax here.

SharePoint solution packages (or .wsp files) are perhaps one of the most helpful features when it comes to deploying a custom piece of SharePoint code across a farm (or even a single server). Having the ability to deploy once from a central data store and have your custom functionality distributed across a farm can be a true time saver. That being said, creating solution packages by hand can sometimes be extremely frustrating.

Enter Visual Studio Project templates. What I have for you today is a C# project template that makes the process of creating a solution package as easy putting all your files together and building a project. If you want a good start for a SharePoint solution package template, here is a good start. While a good building block, I’ve extended it a bit further to include automatic creation of batch scripts for deploying and retracting your solution. The original solution also had some issues with generating proper XML for the manifest.xml file of the solution package.

To download the project template, click here. To install the template, copy the zip file to your Documents and Settings\Visual Studio 2005\Templates\Project Templates\Visual C# directory.