Namespace clashes when using VSeWSS 1.3 to write Sharepoint Web Parts

Question

My colleague and I are bothing using Visual Studio with VSeWSS 1.3 to write Sharepoint Web Parts to deploy to the same Sharepoint 2007 intranet.

When packaging the solution, the web part code is always saved into a folder called WebParts (if there are multiple web parts in the solution additional folders called WebParts_n are created where n is the number of the web part). This folder structure is reflected in the manifest.xml file for the solution.

The first solution deploys fine without any problem. However, when trying to deploy subsequent solutions, an error is thrown because the subsequent solutions are also trying to save files into a folder called WebParts in the 12 hive TEMPLATE/FEATURES folder.

So we are trying to change the folder names in the solutions so they are unique to the web part. I change the manifest.xml file to reflect this. However, every time the solution is packaged, it uses WebParts folders, and reverts the manifest.xml file to reflect this.

What are we doing wrong here? Surely there is a way to write Solutions/Features so their code is put in their own folder, avoiding a name space clash.

Answer 1

My colleague just discovered that if you go into WSP View, and click twice (with a big enough gap between clicks) on the folders under that, you can rename them. This updates the manifest.xml file. Looks like this is where the configuration is done.