Need multi-page, in-flow project creation wizard for custom template in VS 2022 (change “Create” to “Next”)

Thank you for reaching out!

 
After reviewing your scenario, I'd like to clarify an important platform limitation in visual studio 2022: Currently, the project template system (.vstemplate with IWizard ) does not support extending or modifying the built-in "Create new project" flow. Specifically, it is not possible to:

• Replace the "Create" button with the "Next".
• Insert additional wizard pages into the native project's creation UI.
• Maintain a fully in-flow, multi-page wizard experience within the standard dialog.

This is by design, which is why your current implementation shows wizard steps as model dialogs.

Recommended Approach: To achieve a smooth multi-step experience, we suggest the following supported pattern:

• Allow the user to proceed with the standard flow (Template ->Configure ->Create)
• After the user clicks Create, launch a custom multi-page wizard (e.g., WPF-based on your IWizard implementation.
• Collect all additional inputs through this wizard and apply them during project generation.

This approach is widely used and ensures:

• Compatibility with Visual Studio updates
• A clean and controlled user experience
• Flexibility for adding multiple steps (Back/Next navigation)

Alternative (Advance): If a fully integrated, in-flow wizard experience is required, this would involve developing a Visual Studio Extension (VSIX) with a custom project system. Please note that this is a more complex approach and typically used for advance scenarios.

Let me know if you need any further help with this. I will be happy to assist.
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For VS2022 , can my question addressed by any Nuget package?

Is this possible for VS2026?

This cannot be done with current Visual Studio project template infrastructure.

Visual Studio supports two main customization points for project creation templates:

1. Template parameters and .vstemplate metadata
   These let a template participate in the normal File → New → Project flow and the standard Configure your project page, but only for simple parameter substitution (for example $safeprojectname$, custom parameters, multi‑project templates, etc.). They do not allow replacing or extending the built‑in wizard pages or changing the Create button to Next.
2. Custom wizards via IWizard
   Implementing IWizard and wiring it in the .vstemplate lets a template run custom code and show UI when a project is created. As documented, this wizard UI is invoked from the template and typically appears as separate modal dialogs. It can:
   • Collect user input (for example via a WinForms dialog) in RunStarted.
   • Add or modify files.
   • Inject custom parameters into the template’s parameter dictionary so they replace tokens like $custommessage$ in the generated project.
   However, IWizard does not integrate into the Visual Studio “New Project” wizard as extra pages. It cannot:
   • Replace the built‑in Configure your project page.
   • Change the Create button text to Next.
   • Insert additional in‑flow pages into the same wizard frame.

The official guidance for “customizing the wizards that create projects from templates” is exactly this IWizard mechanism, which is limited to running custom logic and UI around template processing, not reshaping the Visual Studio New Project experience into a multi‑page, in‑frame wizard.

So with the supported APIs:

• A multi‑page wizard can be implemented as a sequence of dialogs in an IWizard implementation.
• A fully integrated, multi‑page, in‑flow wizard that replaces or extends the built‑in New Project pages and changes Create to Next is not supported.

References:

• Use wizards with project templates
• IWizard Interface
• Customize project and item templates
• Create project templates
• Create multi-project templates