How to best use NuGet for source file deployment

Question

I would like to use NuGet packages for building packages for core helper libraries which I would like to add as source files into other projects. I want to use source files instead of libraries for several reasons, the main one being that I need them in SharePoint Projects, which is on the one hand much easier to deploy than additional libraries, and on the other hand helps to reduce version conflicts.

I know that I can add the source files as content to NuGet Packages, which would install them with the package. But this won't work together with package restore, and I don't want to have these files checked into source control in all projects.

Is it somehow possible to make a NuGet package which doesn't copy the files to the project, but instead adds file links, which point back to the file in the package folder, to the project? I think this approach would solve my use case.

Thanks pascal

Answer 1

It is possible to add linked files with the use of PowerShell scripts, for example with this NuGet script: http://www.nuget.org/packages/Baseclass.Contrib.Nuget.Linked/