How to modify the app manifest file for Windows Phone 8

[ This article is for Windows Phone 8 developers. If you’re developing for Windows 10, see the latest documentation. ]

The app manifest file, WMAppManifest.xml, contains properties and settings that are required when you submit your app to the Windows Phone Store. Windows Phone SDK 8.0 includes a Manifest Designer that is integrated with Visual Studio. Manifest Designer makes it easy for you to update the manifest file without editing the raw XML of the file.

You can use Manifest Designer to modify the manifest file for apps that target Windows Phone OS 7.1 as well as apps that target Windows Phone 8.

To see the options that are available in Manifest Designer, see the screen shots in this topic. For more info about the options displayed in Manifest Designer, see App manifest file for Windows Phone 8.

This topic contains the following sections.

• Modifying the manifest file in Manifest Designer
• Modifying the XML of the manifest file directly
• Manifest Designer pages
• Application UI page of Manifest Designer
• Capabilities page of Manifest Designer
• Requirements page of Manifest Designer
• Packaging page of Manifest Designer

Modifying the manifest file in Manifest Designer

To modify the manifest file you use Manifest Designer.

To modify the manifest file in Manifest Designer

1. In Visual Studio, close the manifest file if it’s already open in XML code view.

2. In Solution Explorer, expand the Properties node of the open project.

3. Double-click the manifest file, WMAppManifest.xml. Or, right-click the file and select Open or View Designer from the context menu. If the manifest file is already open in XML code view, Visual Studio prompts you to close the file. Then Manifest Designer opens in a new Visual Studio tab.

Modifying the XML of the manifest file directly

In certain cases you have to edit the XML contents of the app manifest file manually. For example, you have to edit the XML manually when any of the following conditions are true:

• Your app uses extensibility points. You may have to add an Extension element under the Extensions element. For more info, see Launching, resuming, and multitasking for Windows Phone 8.

• Your app uses location services and runs in the background. You may have to add the BackgroundExecution element under the DefaultTask element. For more info, see How to run location-tracking apps in the background for Windows Phone 8.

• Your app can’t run on memory-constrained devices. You may have to add a Requirement element under the Requirements element. For more info, see Developing apps for lower-memory phones for Windows Phone 8.

When you edit the manifest file manually, you have to maintain the correct order of elements or compilation errors may occur. When you start to type a new XML element by typing an opening bracket (<), the Intellisense feature in Visual Studio shows you which elements are valid in that location.

The schemas for the manifest file, 80.YamanoteManifestSchema.xsd and 71.YamanoteManifestSchema.xsd, are typically found in the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 11.0\Xml\Schemas.

Important Note:
Do not add extra whitespace in the entries that you add or modify in the manifest file. For example, if you add extra line breaks as shown in the following example, the image is not displayed.

  <DeviceLockImageURI IsRelative="true" IsResource="false">
    Assets\LockIcon.png
  </DeviceLockImageURI>

To modify the manifest file in the XML text editor

1. In Visual Studio, close the manifest file if it’s already open in Manifest Designer.

2. In Solution Explorer, expand the Properties node of the open project.

3. Right-click the manifest file, WMAppManifest.xml.

   • In a project that targets Windows Phone 8, select View Code from the context menu.

   • In a project that targets Windows Phone OS 7.1, select Open With. In the Open With dialog box, select XML (Text) Editor.

   If the manifest file is already open in Manifest Designer, Visual Studio prompts you to close the designer. Then the manifest file opens in the XML text editor.

   The following screen shot shows an app manifest file open in the XML text editor.

   

Manifest Designer pages

Manifest Designer has multiple pages. This topic contains info about each page of the designer.

• Application UI

• Capabilities

• Requirements

• Packaging

Application UI page of Manifest Designer

Use this page to set the UI details that identify and describe your app. For more info, see the following topics:

• For info about the app icon, see Upload and describe your package(s).

• For info about supported resolutions, see Multi-resolution apps for Windows Phone 8.

• For info about tiles and templates, see Tiles for Windows Phone 8.

Capabilities page of Manifest Designer

Use this page to specify the capabilities used by your app. For more info, see App capabilities and hardware requirements for Windows Phone 8.

Requirements page of Manifest Designer

Use this page to specify the hardware requirements of your app. For more info, see App capabilities and hardware requirements for Windows Phone 8.

The Requirements page is not displayed for app projects that target Windows Phone OS 7.1.

Packaging page of Manifest Designer

Use this page to specify additional details about the app. For apps that target Windows Phone 8, you specify the default language and other supported languages on this page. The values that you provide for Default Language and Supported Languages determine what users see in the Store about your app’s language support. If you edit these two values manually, you have to be careful, because they are closely related to the Neutral Language and Supported Cultures settings in the project’s properties. For more info about these elements, see the corresponding sections in App manifest file for Windows Phone 8.