App Development Tips for Windows 10

For developers, there will be one application platform and one store for all the apps, which can run on all hardware, regardless of form-factor. These apps are called 'Universal apps' because they can be run anywhere.

Universal Windows apps – What they are?

Universal Windows apps are not yet the dream of ‘code once, run everywhere’ that many are clamoring for. Microsoft is certainly making it easier to overlap projects for developers, which can now share up to 90% of the code in certain cases. Here’s what else is ‘universal’ about these apps:

o Pricing structure

o Shared in-app purchases

o Install across devices

o Shared revenue model

o Unified ad-units for Windows Phone and Windows apps

Universal Windows apps – What they aren’t?

Universal Windows apps involve a lot of backend improvements for developers that encourage development on Windows Phone and Windows 8. They are not, however, completely the same in terms of code; nor does it mean that developers can just push a button to make those apps on either platform. So app development across Windows and Windows Phone is easier, but it's not exactly the same either. We’ll skip the gory details about app development, coding, shared libraries and such things, but that’s the take away here.

For instance, the new app Movie Maker 8.1 is a universal app. That means for those who bought the Windows Phone version, the Windows 8.1 app will be ‘free’ because Venetasoft can now enable such a feature through shared publishing resources.

Universal Windows apps – How to tell?

Microsoft gave consumers a neat little icon to identify these Universal apps, represented as a computer and phone. All it means for now is a ‘shared experience’, notifying you that this app is available on Windows Phone and Windows 8. They’re not the same app, and they may not even talk to each other.

So as developers begin to code for Windows Phone 8.1 apps and take advantage of these tools, we’ll begin to see apps that can be purchased on one platform and unlocked on another more frequently. Same with universal logins, backing up of settings, and shared in-app purchases.

Universal Windows apps – How to Display Apps in a Full Screen View?

The functionality of this is exposed in the same way as with desktop applications:

Using the Minimize, Restore/Maximize (and Close) window buttons on the far right of the standard Windows title bar that is found on each window.

Click the More ("...") title bar button that is found on the left side of the title bar in Universal app windows. When you do, a menu appears.

Next, select Full Screen. The app will display full screen, as it did in Windows 10.

To return to normal windowed mode, mouse up to the top edge of the screen to display the title bar, and then click More and then Exit Full Screen.

In the downsides, there are two way.

First, there's no obvious way to exit full screen view on a touch-based system like a tablet: You can't make the title bar appear with touch.

Second, this change isn't permanent. If you display a Universal app in full screen view and then close it, the next time you open that app it will be displayed on the desktop again.