Adding referenced dll to deploy to GAC using SharePoint template in VS 2010

For a bunch of people this is an old tip by now , but have been asked about it a couple of times this weeks so figured it was worth posting :)

When creating a SharePoint solution using the visual studio SharePoint 2010 project type it is not immediately obvious how to add a referenced dll so that it gets deployed as part of the wsp to the gac, here are the steps to do it.

Double click your mouse on the packaging node.

Click on advanced:

Click add, you can choose to pick an existing assembly or in the case shown below output from a project.

As you can see from the add window you have the ability to select deployment location , safe controls entries etc if needed.

Also a quick tip, if you a referencing an assembly it's also likely that you don't need another assembly being produced which is created by default by the template. Make sure you click on the project node and select the include assembly in package option to false.