UWP and WinUI | Developer Resources

Modern Windows UI Development

WinUI 3 is the latest native UI framework for Windows desktop applications. It provides the Fluent Design System, modern controls, and excellent performance for Windows 10 and 11 applications.

UWP vs WinUI 3

UWP: Sandboxed apps for Microsoft Store, limited system access
WinUI 3: Full Win32 capabilities with modern UI, flexible distribution

Getting Started with WinUI 3

Create a new WinUI 3 project using the Windows App SDK:

// App.xaml.cs
public partial class App : Application
{
    private Window? m_window;

    public App()
    {
        this.InitializeComponent();
    }

    protected override void OnLaunched(LaunchActivatedEventArgs args)
    {
        m_window = new MainWindow();
        m_window.Activate();
    }
}
            

XAML UI Definition

<!-- MainWindow.xaml -->
<Window
    x:Class="MyApp.MainWindow"
    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml">

    <NavigationView x:Name="NavView" 
                    IsBackButtonVisible="Collapsed"
                    IsSettingsVisible="True"
                    SelectionChanged="NavView_SelectionChanged">
        
        <NavigationView.MenuItems>
            <NavigationViewItem Icon="Home" Content="Home" Tag="home"/>
            <NavigationViewItem Icon="Document" Content="Documents" Tag="docs"/>
            <NavigationViewItem Icon="Setting" Content="Settings" Tag="settings"/>
        </NavigationView.MenuItems>

        <Frame x:Name="ContentFrame"/>
    </NavigationView>
</Window>
            

Fluent Design Controls

<!-- Modern Input Controls -->
<StackPanel Spacing="16">
    <TextBox Header="Name" PlaceholderText="Enter your name"/>
    
    <ComboBox Header="Country" PlaceholderText="Select">
        <ComboBoxItem>France</ComboBoxItem>
        <ComboBoxItem>Germany</ComboBoxItem>
        <ComboBoxItem>USA</ComboBoxItem>
    </ComboBox>
    
    <ToggleSwitch Header="Enable notifications" IsOn="True"/>
    
    <Slider Header="Volume" Minimum="0" Maximum="100" Value="50"/>
    
    <Button Content="Submit" Style="{StaticResource AccentButtonStyle}"/>
</StackPanel>
            

Community Toolkit

The Windows Community Toolkit provides additional controls and helpers:

DataGrid for tabular data
SettingsCard for settings pages
ImageCropper for image editing
Loading animations

<!-- Using Community Toolkit -->
<toolkit:SettingsCard Header="Appearance"
                      Description="Change how the app looks"
                      HeaderIcon="{ui:SymbolIcon Symbol=Paintbrush}">
    <ComboBox SelectedIndex="0">
        <ComboBoxItem>Light</ComboBoxItem>
        <ComboBoxItem>Dark</ComboBoxItem>
        <ComboBoxItem>System</ComboBoxItem>
    </ComboBox>
</toolkit:SettingsCard>
            

Migration from UWP

Most XAML transfers directly to WinUI 3
Update namespace references
Use Windows App SDK instead of UWP APIs
Package with MSIX for Store distribution

← Back to Developer Resources