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Quickstart: Creating a default tile using the Microsoft Visual Studio manifest editor (Windows Runtime apps)

  • Article

This topic walks you through the steps needed to create a default tile—the tile displayed in the Start screen until the tile begins to receive notifications—by using the Microsoft Visual Studio manifest editor.

See this feature in action as part of our App features, start to finish series: Windows Store app UI, start to finish

Objective: To create a new project in Visual Studio using an installed template, and then define a default tile and its image in the package manifest.

Prerequisites

  • A version of Visual Studio that supports at least Windows 8
  • A logo image, or set of images, to display on the tile.
  • A small version of that logo image, for use in search results, the Apps list, and other places in the UI.
  • Optional: A wide version of the logo image file. For more information on when and when not to include a wide image, see Guidelines and checklist for tiles.

Instructions

1. Create a new project.

  1. Open Visual Studio.
  2. Click New Project...
  3. Click Installed in the left panel, if it is not already expanded.
  4. Under Templates, expand the project language.
  5. Choose Store Apps.
  6. Choose the best option for your app: Windows Apps, Phone Apps, or Universal Apps (includes both Windows and Windows Phone).
  7. From the center pane in the New Project window, choose Blank App.
  8. Give your project a name at the bottom of the window.
  9. Click OK.

2. Open the manifest editor

  1. If the Solution Explorer is not shown, choose it from the View menu.
  2. Double-click package.appxmanifest. This opens the manifest editor window.

3. Supply the default tile details

Note  This step does not cover every option available in the manifest editor, just those options pertinent to the default tile.

 

  1. Select the Application tab if it isn't already selected.

  2. Change the Display name if necessary. This is the name that the tile is listed by in the Apps list and is displayed on the tile.

  3. Select the Visual Assets tab

  4. Under Tile Images and Logos, default images are provided for all logos in the Windows Phone manifest and select logos in the Windows manifest:

    • Square 150x150 Logo
    • Square 30x30 Logo
    • Store Logo

    You should replace these images with your own. You have the option of supplying images for different visual scales, but you are not required to supply them all. If you only want to supply one image for each logo, supply the 180% scale for Windows and 240% scale for Windows Phone. Note that supplied images must be of the exact pixel dimensions specified in the manifest editor.

    Important  For wide and large tile sizes, you must supply wide and large logo images to allow the user to resize your app's tile to those sizes. Without those logo images, your app tile will be restricted to medium and small sizes.

     

  5. Enter a short name for the app. This can be used on the tile in place of the display name. This name should be 13 characters or less. If the name is too long, it will be truncated. You can elect to show the logo, the short name, or neither in tile updates.

  6. Choose the tile sizes on which the short name can be shown.

  7. Windows only: Choose whether the name's text should use a light or dark font, making your choice based on the tile's background color.

  8. Windows only: Choose a default size for your tile. When the user pins your app to the Start screen, this is the size it appears.

  9. Either accept the default background color or provide your own as a W3DC color string (for example, "#FFFFFF"). This background color is used to colorize other aspects of your app: the button color in any app-owned dialog boxes and the App Description page in the Windows Store.

    Note  Windows Phone: Set the background color to "transparent" to use the system's accent color.

     

Summary and next steps

In this Quickstart, you created the definition of a default tile in a package manifest.

After the app is installed, you can begin updating the tile with information that is relevant to the user. To learn about designing and sending a tile notification, see Quickstart: Sending a tile update.

Reversi sample feature scenarios: tile and splash screen