Finally, we have the updated set of SharePoint Extensions for Visual Studio 2008! Although Visual Studio 2008 (at launch) had some great new features for the SharePoint Development (e.g., New Deployment and Debugging features), one of the things that was missing was the full Extension set of capabilities that existed in Visual Studio 2005 for SharePoint Development.
As you can see, I am excited/relieved!

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Here's the overview of what's available (from the site):
Tools for developing custom SharePoint applications: Visual Studio project templates for Web Parts, site definitions, and list definitions; and a stand-alone utility program, the SharePoint Solution Generator.
Please also download the User Guide and Samples listed in Related Resources.
The User Guide for this tool can be found here: Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Tools: Visual Studio 2005 Extensions User Guide, Version 1.1
The 1.1 version can be found here for Visual Studio 2005 support: Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Tools: Visual Studio 2005 Extensions, Version 1.1
Version 1.2 of the Visual Studio 2008 Extensions for Windows SharePoint Services contains the following tools to aid developers in building SharePoint applications:
Visual Studio 2008 Project Templates
- Web Part
- Team Site Definition
- Blank Site Definition
- List Definition
- Empty SharePoint Project
Visual Studio 2008 Item Templates (items that can be added into an existing project) - Web Part
- Custom Field
- List Definition (with optional Event Receiver)
- Content Type (with optional Event Receiver
- Module
- List Instance
- List Event Handler
- Template
SharePoint Solution Generator - This stand-alone program generates a Site Definition project from an existing SharePoint site. The program enables developers to use the browser and Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer to customize the content of their sites before creating code by using Visual Studio.
Here's the download location: Click here to download
~Robert Shelton