Microsoft is today announcing an update to Windows Template Studio, bringing the version number up to 2.2. If you don't already know, Windows Template Studio is a tool meant to make it easier to build apps on the Universal Windows Platform (UWP). The tool has seen a number of updates since its initial release, such as the recent jump to version 2.0.
Much like that update, version 2.2 isn't a major step forward, but the company says it's making smaller updates over the next few releases, as it prepares for the release of version 3.0, which will include multi-project support. Some minor changes are being made to the templates to accommodate that. Still, the latest update does include some new features and improvements:
- 3D Launcher feature
- Wizard enhancements
- Improved documentation
- Improved testing
- Bug fixes
Some updates have also been made to the development platform included with the tool:
- Updated Microsoft.NETCore.UniversalWindowsPlatform to 6.15
- Updated Newtonsoft.Json to 11.0.2
- Updated Microsoft.Toolkit.Uwp, Microsoft.Toolkit.Uwp.Notifications and Microsoft.Toolkit.Uwp.UI.Controls to 3.0.0
- Update Telerik.UI.for.UniversalWindowsPlatform to 1.0.1
A complete list of adjustments is also available on the GitHub page for Windows Template Studio, where you can also contribute to the development of the tool.
In addition to the changes made in this release, Microsoft mentioned some of the upcoming features that are currently being worked on for WTS, including User Activity APIs which will make it possible to add support for the Windows 10 Timeline feature in apps. Here's the full list of what to expect:
- Menubar navigation pattern template
- WinUI Library nuget package integration
- Continued refinement with Fluent Design in the templates
- Work for supporting multiple projects in a single solution
- Ink templates
- User Activity APIs for Timeline support
- Improved Right-click->add support for existing projects
For now, to get the latest version of the WTS, you can head over to the Visual Studio Marketplace to download the VSIX installer. If you already have the extension, Visual Studio should update it automatically.
Source: Windows Blogs
