Project references in a WinUI 3 C++ project

ata6502 6

Hi,

When I build a WinUI 3 app (even the PhotoEditor sample from SDK) these references show up in the C++ project:

Why is that? Why do we need references to UWP in WinUI 3? Also, why there are warnings on some references?

Thanks,
Leszek

Environment: VS Community 2022 (64-bit) version 17.3.3

Junjie Zhu - MSFT 15,601 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2022-11-10T03:11:47.56+00:00

Hi @ata6502 ,

The question has been answered in Github, and it is recommended to use absolute paths.
I tested it, and although it solved the problem, the file became messy.

1 answer

Junjie Zhu - MSFT 15,601 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2022-09-21T02:47:21.797+00:00

Hello @ata6502 ,
Welcome to Microsoft Q&A!

Winui3 is not a technology that is completely independent from other desktop development, you can see the following introduction Windows UI Library (WinUI).

The Windows UI Library (WinUI) is a native user experience (UX) framework for both Windows desktop and UWP applications.

By incorporating the Fluent Design System into all experiences, controls, and styles, WinUI provides consistent, intuitive, and accessible experiences using the latest user interface (UI) patterns.

With support for both desktop and UWP apps, you can build with WinUI from the ground up, or gradually migrate your existing MFC, WinForms, or WPF apps using familiar languages such as C++, C#, Visual Basic, and Javascript (using React Native for Windows).

For the relationship between other app and winui3, you can refer to this document Overview of app development options .

Thank you.
Junjie

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1 person found this answer helpful.
ata6502 6 Reputation points

2022-09-21T13:24:30.013+00:00

Thanks, Junjie, for your answer. It was my understanding that WinUI 3 is independent from UWP unlike WinUI 2 which is geared toward working with UWP. I was not aware UWP is used in WinUI 3.

I still do not understand why some of the references in WinUI 3 apps show a warning icon:

What's wrong with those references? How to fix that?

Leszek

Junjie Zhu - MSFT 15,601 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2022-09-22T09:55:03.793+00:00

I downloaded this project without showing an exclamation point, is there any hint for you to put your mouse on it?

ata6502 6 Reputation points

2022-09-23T01:19:08.68+00:00

Hi Junjie,

This is how to reproduce:

Clone the SDK samples: git clone git@github.com:microsoft/WindowsAppSDK-Samples.git

Open the solution in VS 2022: \WindowsAppSDK-Samples\Samples\PhotoEditor\cpp-winui\PhotoEditor.sln

Right-click on Solution 'PhotoEditor' and select Rebuild Solution

Close VS 2022

Re-open VS 2022 and load the same solution PhotoEditor.sln

Expand the References node:

Also, there is no hint when I hover mouse over the warning icons.

Maybe nothing is wrong with the references but then why they show the warning icon?

ata6502 6 Reputation points

2022-09-23T03:07:55.407+00:00

That's only a partial answer to my question. Still, it's a mystery why many of the references show the exclamation sign (a warning icon). If you try to remove them, you get an error:

Probably, we could just ignore these "broken" references, but it makes the project sloppy right from the outset.

Junjie Zhu - MSFT 15,601 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2022-09-23T09:31:49.48+00:00

Maybe because this is a sample downloaded from GitHub. If you create a project directly, you will not have this problem.
You can right-click and select Manage NuGet Packages, and change the version of the WindowsAppSdk to 1.0.4, so that there will be no related warnings.

ata6502 6 Reputation points

2022-09-23T15:15:07.147+00:00

I experience the same problem when I create a brand-new project based on a WinUI template. Try the "Blank App, Packaged (WinUI 3 in Desktop)" template. This is how to reproduce:

Create a new project based on the "Blank App, Packaged (WinUI 3 in Desktop)"

Right-click solution > Rebuild Solution

Close and reopen VS 2022; open the project

Expand References; you will see the "broken" references

Moreover, when I downgrade the project to WindowsAppSdk to 1.0.4 as you suggested, the project does not even compile. I get an error:
Error MSB4057 The target "_AddUnionWinmd" does not exist in the project. C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Community\MSBuild\Microsoft\NuGet\17.0\Microsoft.NuGet.targets

After that, when I close and re-open the project, some of the "broken" references are back:

Are you able to reproduce the problem on your side?

Junjie Zhu - MSFT 15,601 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2022-09-26T08:21:49.953+00:00

Hi @ata6502 ,

I did not reproduce your problem.
This is a new project I created, the default version of Microsoft.WindowsAppSDK is 1.1.3
At present, it seems to be a reference problem of this sample project. I have submitted your problem to the GitHub issue.

ata6502 6 Reputation points

2022-09-26T18:26:47.03+00:00

Hi Junjie,

Are you sure you followed the step-by-step instruction to reproduce the problem?

The key step is to build the solution and re-open it in VS. The "broken" references show up when you re-open the project in VS.

Try it and let me know.

Thanks,
Leszek

Junjie Zhu - MSFT 15,601 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2022-09-28T01:55:34.593+00:00

Hi @ata6502 ,

Sorry for being too careless in my conclusions, it seems this is a general problem with winui3 c++ project.

Maybe a visual studio issue. I will raise this issue with the team.

Thank you for your feedback.

ata6502 6 Reputation points

2022-09-29T01:05:33.907+00:00

Thank you, Junjie. Do you think it makes sense to create a bug report? The broken references are at least confusing, or they may be an indication of some more serious problem.

Junjie Zhu - MSFT 15,601 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2022-09-29T01:34:49.41+00:00

This error currently only occurs in referencing the Windows App Sdk. I don't know if it's a problem with the sdk or a problem with visual studio. I'm waiting for the team's feedback. If there is any news, I will inform you as soon as possible.

ata6502 6 Reputation points

2022-09-30T20:34:46.827+00:00

Thanks, Junjie. I hope the team will be able to clarify that.

Junjie Zhu - MSFT 15,601 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2022-10-11T09:03:12.607+00:00

Hi @ata6502 ，

I submitted two issues in github but haven't replied yet.

https://github.com/microsoft/microsoft-ui-xaml/issues/7789
https://github.com/microsoft/WindowsAppSDK-Samples/issues/252
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Project references in a WinUI 3 C++ project

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