How to add an existing folder to F#.NET project in Visual Studio Ultimate 2013?

Question

I would like to add an existing folder to my F#.NET project in Visual Studio Ultimate 2013.

Several Stackoverflow questions deal with the issue, most of them mentioning a mythical 'Show All Files' icon as a remedy at the top of Solution Explorer.

However, I do not have such an icon, nor can I conjure one. Whether I click on my Solution or my Project at hand, the top of Solution Explorer remains the same, both lacking a 'Show All Files':

I tried to implement Rodolfo Maayos' solution to no avail - I still get the above Solution Explorer top.

Folder drag-and-drop won't work, nor any other tricks from Stackoverflow or the net, or the ones I tried to come up with...

Adding a folder to a project is truly the pinnacle of programming know-how, so I completely understand why Microsoft made it so extremely hard to achieve it in Visual Studio Ultimate 2013.

Answer 1

'Show All Files' functionality doesn't work for F# project since F# project system hasn't implemented it yet.

In Visual F# Power Tools, we have added primitive menu items to support folders. Adding an existing folder could be done by:

• 'F# Power Tools --> New Folder' and choose the existing folder name on disk (the menu item is a bit counter-intuitive in this scenario)
• 'Add --> Existing Item' and select all files you would like to add.

More detailed description of folder support could be found at http://fsprojects.github.io/VisualFSharpPowerTools/folderorganization.html.

The power tools extension could be downloaded from http://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/136b942e-9f2c-4c0b-8bac-86d774189cff. Let us know if it works for you.

Answer 2

Possibly not the best answer, but in cases like this, if all else fails, edit the .proj file manually.