News

Desktop App Converter Gets Windows Apps Running on UWP

Developers can use the Desktop App Converter to convert Win32- and .NET 4.6.1-based apps to run on the Universal Wndows Platform and related extensions and toolings.

Since its debut at Build 2015 (yes, the show from a year ago), there's been much progress on the Windows bridging tools, and one in particular is seeing daylight this week: Desktop App Converter.

The Desktop App Converter preview, which, when it was announced at Build 2015 was called Project Centennial, described the tool as a streamlined converter for existing Windows apps to the Universal Windows Platform. What that allows developers to do is take those converted Win32- and .NET 4.6.1-based apps so they can take advantage of Universal Windows Platform toolings and extensions.

A recent release note highlights a number of changes to the tool as of last week, including restoring support for Windows Professional, and some added capabilities via the Converter's -Setup flag. There's also the additon of a slew of auto-detection capabilities, including of an application's installation path, expanded base image during app conversion, and file types and associations. This version also improves on file system filtering and logic for detecting Start Menu shortcuts.

A blog post from Peter Faraday of the Visual Studio team details the ease with which the tool can be used to convert apps. The Desktop App Converter has some prerequisites -- Visual Studio '15' Preview 2, the Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14342, and the Desktop to UWP Packaging extension from the VS Gallery -- before developers can get started with it.

About the Author

Michael Domingo is a long-time software publishing veteran, having started up and managed several developer publications for the Clipper compiler, Microsoft Access, and Visual Basic. He's also managed IT pubs for 1105 Media, including Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine and Virtualization Review before landing his current gig as Visual Studio Magazine Editor in Chief. Besides his publishing life, he's a professional photographer, whose work can be found by Googling domingophoto.

comments powered by Disqus

Featured

  • What's New in TypeScript 5.3

    Microsoft advanced TypeScript to version 5.3 with a bevy of changes affecting everything from import attributes to interactive inlay hints for types, along with multiple optimizations.

  • Finally Go Eyes On with Upcoming Visual Studio 2022 UI Refresh

    Six months ago, Microsoft teased Visual Studio 2022 developers by announcing an upcoming UI refresh, which they can now finally get their eyes on in the new v17.9 preview 1.

  • DBSCAN Data Clustering from Scratch Using C#

    Compared to other clustering techniques, DBSCAN does not require you to explicitly specify how many data clusters to use, explains Dr. James McCaffrey of Microsoft Research in this full-code, step-by-step machine language tutorial.

  • GitHub Copilot Leads Productivity Gains in New Visual Studio 2022 17.8

    In announcing Visual Studio 2022 17.8 today, Microsoft emphasized community-driven productivity gains among the new features and functionality.

  • Microsoft Ships .NET 8

    In announcing .NET 8 today, Microsoft emphasized the cloud, performance, full-stack Blazor, AI and .NET MAUI as major highlights of the latest edition of the company's free, cross-platform, open source developer platform.

Subscribe on YouTube

Upcoming Events