Microsoft recently announced the release of Windows 10 SDK Preview build 10565 and its associated Windows 10 Mobile emulator build 10563. Similar to Windows 10 Insider Preview builds, there are some caveats that come with today’s SDK and emulator releases.
First off, Microsoft encourages eager users to install the SDK on a test machine as it is a pre-release and cannot be used in a production environment. Incidentally, Microsoft’s warning comes as a known issue that effects SDK backward compatibility.
According to Microsoft:
Do not install this preview SDK on your production machine. If you do so, any applications you submit to the Store after installing this SDK will fail validation because this SDK will update some of the build tools used to preview versions of those tools.”
The Preview SDK Build 10563 contains bug fixes as well as development changes to the API surface area that Microsoft is currently working on. Once again, for developers actively submitting to the Store, Microsoft warns not to install the preview to avoid any further complications.
Microsoft also issues another tip encouraging developers to uninstall previously applied SDK’s and emulators to prevent UI clutter in Visual Studios.
As for what is specifically being offered in the SDK for build 10563, Microsoft notes:
- Corrected the signing of the Microsoft General MIDI DLS for Universal Windows Apps Extension SDK
- Corrected the “No .natvis files found” error when you run Debugging Tools For Windows (WinDbg)” issue with WinDbg. See https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3091112 for more details.
- Corrected the Windows Performance Analyzer crashes when ResidentSet graph is used
- Corrected problem that prevented trace capture on pre-Windows 8 OS releases using xperf.exe and wpr.exe.
- Corrected Windows Performance Analyzer crash when trying to modify the symbols inclusion/exclusion list in the Load Settings tab of the Configure Symbols dialog.
- Improved Intellisense documentation for a large number of APIs.
As for updates to the emulator:
- Updated the OS image included with the Windows 10 Mobile Emulator
Lastly, Microsoft also offers some suggestions for developers moving their projects forward using the newly released SDK.
First, update the Project file (.csproj, .jsproj, .vcxproj) by:
- Opening the project in Visual Studio
- Right clicking on the project in the Visual Studio Solution Explorer, and choose “Properties”
- Depending on your project type, the UI will look a little different but click on the dropdown that says “Target Version”. The below screenshot is from a C# Project. Note: If you’re using a Javascript project, open the .jsproj and find a replace the TargetPlatformVersion with 10.0. 10563.0.
- Select Windows 10 Insider Preview (10.0; Build 10563).
Now that you have updated the project file, find the application’s Package.appxmanifest and do the following:
- Open that file (it should present you with an XML Editor)
- Find the Element, Dependencies and its child element, TargetDeviceFamily
- Modify the MaxVersion Tested Attribute from “10.0.10240.0” to “10.0.10563.0.”
- Save and close the file.
The new SDK can be downloaded at the Windows 10 Developer tools page. Microsoft is also encouraging developers to share their development with the company @WindowsDev and to report any bugs or feedback to its MSDN forums.
