Creating Solution Packages

Creating a solution package for deployment to SharePoint can be a complicated process. A package contains many XML files, folders, pages, and executables that have to be configured and compiled in a certain way.

The easiest way to create a solution package is to save an existing SharePoint site as a site template. This packages everything needed by the site into a WSP file and installs it in the site collection's Solution Gallery as a sandboxed solution. This file can then be copied to other site collections or farms as needed. The problem with this type of solution is that you have very little control of its contents. SharePoint decides what to include and how.

Another, much harder, way to create a solution file is to use the MAKECAB utility. As noted earlier, a WSP file is really just a CAB file that has been renamed. To create a solution file using MAKECAB, you have to perform all of these steps manually: