Microsoft Releases Windows Template Studio 1.2

Microsoft has announced the availability of Windows Template Studio 1.2, the latest version of its Visual Studio extension that makes it easier than ever to create new Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps. The company also revealed some future features and that the Windows Template Studio has been accepted into the .NET Foundation.

As you may recall, Windows Template Studio is a replacement for the web-based Windows App Studio tool, which is being retired.

“We’re extremely excited to announce the Windows Template Studio 1.2,” Microsoft’s Clint Rutkaswrites. “In this release, our major new feature is adding content into an existing application with Right-click add. We’ve grown up past only File->New.”

Some other new features include:

Wizard improvements. The WTS wizard has been updated with content add via right-click, better template ordering, improved localization, and more.

New prompts. This release adds a first-time load prompt and a What’s New prompt.

Template improvements. References have been updated for the UWP Community Toolkit 1.5, and there are improvements to styling and template generation.

For a full list of what’s new, please refer to Microsoft’s GitHub repository.

Looking to the future, Microsoft says it will add the following features in coming versions of the product:

  • Fluent design in the templates
  • Project Rome features as options for your project
  • Ink templates
  • Improved Right-click->add support for existing projects
  • Localization in the wizard
  • Full accessibility supported in both wizard and in the templates
  • Visual Basic support

Finally, Microsoft announced that the Windows Template Studio has been accepted into the .NET Foundation, alongside other open source .NET tools like .NET Core, the Roslyn compiler, and the UWP Community Toolkit.

If you’re already using the Windows Template Studio, you can upgrade to the new version automatically, or force it now by navigating to Tools > Extensions and Updates in Visual Studio. New users can download Windows Template Studio from the Visual Studio Marketplace.

 

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Conversation 18 comments

  • skane2600

    21 July, 2017 - 1:11 pm

    <p>MS developers probably had fun making this, but I'm not sure what the point is. Unsophisticated users aren't likely to see this through to a viable app and sophisticated users will probably run into limitations rather quickly. At least that's my opinion based on the history of these kind of click-based programming tools.</p>

    • JHeredia

      Premium Member
      21 July, 2017 - 1:29 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#151430"><em>In reply to skane2600:</em></a></blockquote><p>I actually really appreciate your comment…I'm one of those unsophisticated users that wants to build a UWP app, but this seems daunting knowing I need to get/use Visual Studio in order to do this. I can fully see me sitting down, getting everything installed, clicking around for 20 minutes getting completely lost and confused and giving up…fully planning to go back to it "when I have more time", and never going back. It's frustrating just thinking about it. ? </p>

      • skane2600

        21 July, 2017 - 1:49 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#151437"><em>In reply to JHeredia:</em></a></blockquote><p>I don't want to discourage you or anyone else. Success using this tool might encourage you to dig deeper. By "viable" apps I mean apps that will promote the Store which I imagine would be the reason MS designed such a tool. You probably can make an app with this tool and achieve some personal satisfaction from it. Perhaps you'll go further if you enjoy the process. Good luck.</p>

        • JHeredia

          Premium Member
          21 July, 2017 - 4:42 pm

          <blockquote><a href="#151449"><em>In reply to skane2600:</em></a></blockquote><p>I didn't take it as discouraging, it's just the reality of the tool and the environment. I guess that's what I'm really skeptical about…what are the odds of having "success" using this tool as a inexperienced/self-taught developer? I love programming (learned PLC and Automation Programming in college), but my experience trying to learn C# is either monkey see, monkey do out of a book, or just bewilderment staring at the new project screen in VS. Anyway, I appreciate that MS keeps trying to make it accessible with things like this, and I haven't tried it so I can't judge it yet.</p>

          • Salvador Jesús Romero Castellano

            22 July, 2017 - 4:54 am

            <blockquote><a href="#151516"><em>In reply to JHeredia:</em></a></blockquote><p> You should complete a course like the ones by Bob Tabor. Then, when you more or less know what you are doing, use this template studio as starting point for new projects, with all the code and UI patterns and good practices already set in place. That will save you a lot of bad habits and spaghetti code. I see the real value in that. :)</p><p>Cheers</p>

            • JHeredia

              Premium Member
              23 July, 2017 - 5:34 pm

              <blockquote><a href="#151592"><em>In reply to Salvador Romero:</em></a></blockquote><p> That's good advice actually I'm going to look his stuff up, I think Paul has mentioned him before. Thanks for the suggestion, hopefully I'll find some traction!</p>

    • SvenJ

      Premium Member
      21 July, 2017 - 3:06 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#151430"><em>In reply to skane2600:</em></a> Don't know that this does, but App Studio did have the option of pulling all the code it created into VS to continue if desired. Might be useful to easily play around with concepts before committing the effort in VS.</blockquote><p><br></p>

    • jrswarr

      Premium Member
      22 July, 2017 - 7:23 am

      <blockquote><a href="#151430"><em>In reply to skane2600:</em></a></blockquote><p>You'll never win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket.</p><p><br></p>

      • skane2600

        22 July, 2017 - 2:52 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#151594"><em>In reply to jrswarr:</em></a></blockquote><p>True, but no financial adviser would recommend buying a lottery ticket. It's a bad bet.</p>

  • hrlngrv

    Premium Member
    21 July, 2017 - 3:33 pm

    <p>Easier to create the applications no one wants.</p><p>Whoopie!</p>

  • TheJoeFin

    Premium Member
    21 July, 2017 - 3:45 pm

    <p>This tool is a godsend for beginner developers who need some help getting started on UWP. I've used it myself and it is amazing!</p>

  • prettyconfusd

    21 July, 2017 - 5:59 pm

    <p>Admittedly the feature I most want from this (and wanted from the online App Studio) is to also be able to export to iOS and Android. As this creates relatively simple apps compared to full fat Visual Studio it should be (by now) fairly easy to automate the process for beginners.</p><p><br></p><p>Though at this stage I'm starting to look more at PWA as my dev goals – Between Windows and Android that's most of the market of desktop and mobile that will support them very well within the next 12 months, Apple will probably be on it too (Can't remember what they said about it at WDC though).</p><p><br></p><p>Will definitely give it a play and see if it's a suitable replacement for the app module I teach…</p>

  • kalin27

    20 April, 2018 - 10:07 am

    <p>A great article written. I've been wondering for a long time how exactly it works. See this page: <a href="http://translationxperts.eu&quot; target="_blank">http://translationxperts.eu</a&gt; </p>

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