Dtsx designer files showing on *some* SSIS 2016 packages

Question

In the following screenshot, you can see there are 7 SSIS packages with their corresponding .dtsx files. What I'm trying to understand is why 2 of the packages also show a .dtsx.designer file and if that's advantageous in anyway.

Answer 1

The .dtsx.designer files are created for packages that contain 1 or more of the re-usable Control Flow Package Parts. This is a new feature in SSIS 2016.

The 2 packages you've highlighted likely have a control flow package part that has been re-used.

It's also a purely design-time only feature.

See: MSDN - Reuse Control Flow across Packages by Using Control Flow Package Parts

Further Reading:

What's New in Integration Services 2016 - Reusable control flow templates