Microsoft: XAML Studio is now Open Source

Microsoft has made its development tool XAML Studio open source, eight years after its initial release. Version 2.0 is next, and some new features are planned, which interested parties can already try out thanks to the source code available on GitHub.

XAML Studio is a rapid prototyping tool for WinUI developers who use the XML-based markup language XAML (eXtensible Application Markup Language). XAML Studio's features include live editing and interaction, a binding debugger, a data context editor, and automatic saving and restoring of documents. After developers have reviewed their code in XAML Studio, they can copy it to Visual Studio.

XAML Studio 2.0 brings Properties Panel and Fluent UI

Currently, version 1.1 is the current release, which can be obtained from the Microsoft Store. However, the source code for the next planned version, XAML Studio 2.0, with new, partly experimental features, can already be found on GitHub.

New features include the revised look in Fluent UI design, a real-time panel for handling properties (changing, inspecting, and experimenting), Visual Tree and Visual State Explorer as part of the properties panel, and a right-click menu to duplicate the open tab. In addition, libraries have been updated, and bugs have been fixed.

XAML Studio once emerged from an experimental project within the Microsoft Garage. According to the new announcement on Microsoft's developer blog, the goal of making XAML Studio available as open source existed from an early stage. The roadmap offers the opportunity to follow the path to version 2.0.

(mai)