Preview channel release notes for the Windows App SDK 1.3

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Important

The preview channel is not supported for use in production environments, and apps that use the preview releases cannot be published to the Microsoft Store.

The preview channel includes releases of the Windows App SDK with preview channel features in late stages of development. Preview releases do not include experimental features and APIs but may still be subject to breaking changes before the next stable release.

Important links:

Latest preview channel release:

Latest stable channel release:

Version 1.3 Preview 1 (1.3.0-preview1)

This is the latest release of the preview channel for version 1.3. This release includes previews for new features across WinAppSDK and several performance, security, accessibility and reliability bug fixes.

In an existing Windows App SDK 1.2 (from the stable channel) app, you can update your Nuget package to 1.3.0-preview1 (see the Update a package section in Install and manage packages in Visual Studio using the NuGet Package Manager).

For the updated runtime and MSIX, see Latest Windows App SDK downloads.

XAML Backdrop APIs

With properties built in to the XAML Window, Mica & Background Acrylic backdrops are now easier to use in your WinUI 3 app.

See the Xaml Backdrop API spec on GitHub for more information about the Window.SystemBackdrop property.

public MainWindow()
{
    this.InitializeComponent();

    this.SystemBackdrop = new MicaBackdrop();
}

Window.AppWindow

Replacing several lines of boilerplate code, you're now able to use AppWindow APIs directly from a Window through Window.AppWindow. See the Window.AppWindow API spec on GitHub for additional background and usage information.

New features from across WinAppSDK

  • ApplicationModel.DynamicDependency: PackageDependency.PackageGraphRevisionId that replaces the deprecated MddGetGenerationId.
  • Environment Manager: EnvironmentManager.AreChangesTracked to inform you whether changes to the environment manager are able to be tracked in your application. See the Environment Manager API spec on GitHub for more information.
  • MRT Core: A new event, Application.ResourceManagerInitializing allows your app to provide its own implementation of the IResourceManager interface, and gives you access to the ResourceManager that WinUI uses to resolve resource URIs. See the IResourceManager API spec on GitHub for more information.
  • With the latest experimental VSIX, you're now able to convert your app between unpackaged and packaged through the Visual Studio menu instead of in your project file.
  • A new event, DebugSettings.XamlResourceReferenceFailed is now raised when a referenced Static/ThemeResource lookup can't be resolved. This event gives access to a trace that details where the framework searched for that key in order to better enable you to debug Static & ThemeResource lookup failures. For more information, see the API spec and issues 4972, 2350, and 6073 on GitHub.
  • Deployment: To manage and repair the Windows App Runtime, DeploymentRepairOptions is now available as part of the DeploymentManager. For more information, see the Repair section of the Deployment API Spec on GitHub.

Known issues

  • The Pivot control causes a runtime crash with a XAML parsing error. See issue #8160 on GitHub for more info.
  • When the DatePicker or TimePicker flyout is opened, the app crashes.
  • The WindowsAppRuntime.ReleaseInfo and WindowsAppRuntime.RuntimeInfo APIs introduced in 1.3 releases are not yet supported as they contain a critical bug.