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Start developing on Windows 10 April 2018 Update today

Written By published April 30, 2018

We’re excited to announce that the Windows 10 April 2018 Update (build 17134.1) and SDK is now available. You may also know this as Windows 10, version 1803.

A few new features and APIs sure to become your favorites

Every major Windows 10 update always includes a wide range of APIs. These will surely be among your favorites.

  1. Windows Machine Learning (WinML): WinML allows you to run ML ONNX models on any Windows 10 device on the April 2018 Update or greater. By just dragging your model into VS, loading the model, then executing it based on inputs, you can add machine learning into your application. If your model isn’t already in the ONNX format, there are converts for most formats.
  2. Timeline, User Activities, and Adaptive Cards: User Activities and Timeline are amazing new ways for users to re-engage with your application and maintain context. To do your graphical representation, use Adaptive Cards, an open source card exchange format. Be sure your application has a URI schema, so you can enable deep linking. User Activities and Adaptive Cards will also become important APIs in Sets, which we’ll discuss more at Microsoft Build 2018.
  3. New UX controls: Tree view, pull to refresh, and content links are just a few of the new controls added. These new controls can add new functionality and richness to your application.
  4. Multi-instance for UWP applications: In the April 2018 update, you can create multi-instance applications. On top of launching new processes, it allows for customization in cases where you want to select whether a new instance of your app is launched or an instance that is already running is activated.

Update your dev environment in two simple steps

  1. Update your system to Windows 10 April 2018 Update.
  2. Get Visual Studio 2017 with the updated tooling and Windows 10 SDK.

How to update your device to Windows 10 April 2018 Update

There are multiple ways you can update, but the easiest way is to go to Windows Update in your settings and click “check for updates.” It’s that simple. You can also use the Update Assistant or the media creation tool also.

Acquire the Windows 10 SDK and Visual Studio 2017

Now that your system is on Windows 10 April 2018 Update, install Visual Studio and the new SDK.

• If you are currently running Visual Studio 15.6:

  1. Download install the SDK from here: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=870807
  2. Install

• When Visual Studio 2017 15.7 is released:

  1. Run the installer or go to https://www.visualstudio.com/downloads/ and download it.
  2. Select “Universal Windows Platform development” under Workloads.
  3. Verify Windows 10 SDK (10.0.17134) is checked
  4. Click “Install.”

More useful tips

Do you want tools for C++ desktop or game development for UWP? Be sure one of these two are selected:

  • C++ Universal Windows Platform tools in the UWP Workload section
    • Desktop development with C++ Workload and the Windows SDK 10 (10.0.17134)
  • If you want the Universal Windows Platform tools:
    • Select the Universal Windows Platform tools workload.

Once your systems are updated and recompiled and your app is tested, submit your app to Dev Center.

Your take on the Update

Tell us what crazy things you’ve been working on with the new Update by tweeting @WindowsDev or @ClintRutkas.