Developing apps for Windows Phone
April 22, 2013
This topic provides a checklist of some of the most important tasks in developing a Windows Phone app. It also identifies some of the most popular and most powerful features in the Windows Phone platform. Explore this topic and the other topics in this section to learn how to create Windows Phone apps.
This topic contains the following sections.
The following topics describe how to become familiar with Windows Phone SDK tools.
Task | More info |
|---|---|
Create a new app. | How to create a new app project from a template for Windows Phone |
Run your app. | |
Check the list of features that you can test in the emulator. | |
Explore files and folders used by your app. | How to use the Isolated Storage Explorer tool for Windows Phone |
Become familiar with the testing tools. |
The following topics describe how to design and build your app’s user interface.
Task | More info |
|---|---|
Study the design guidelines. | |
Get started with XAML. | Quickstart: Creating a user interface with XAML for Windows Phone |
Use built-in controls to create an app with multiple pages. | |
Add a menu by using the app bar. | |
Give visual feedback when users press a control. |
The following topics describe how to manage navigation in your app and also how to manage your app’s lifecycle
Task | More info |
|---|---|
Navigate to another page. | |
Navigate back. | |
Manage state when your app is deactivated. | |
Do something in the background. | |
Launch another app by using a file or Uri association. | Auto-launching apps using file and URI associations for Windows Phone 8 |
The following topics describe how to add features that are common to most apps.
Task | More info |
|---|---|
Display the best on-screen keyboard for the task. | |
Handle touch input. | |
Load and save files. | Quickstart: Working with files and folders in Windows Phone 8 |
Save settings. | |
Store data in a local database. |
The following topics describe how to integrate powerful features from the Windows Phone platform.
Task | More info |
|---|---|
Make the most of your app’s Live Tile on the Start screen. | |
Create notifications, alarms, and reminders. | |
Call built-in apps to do common tasks by using launchers and choosers. | |
Capture photos and videos. | |
Get your location and display maps. | |
Play music and videos. |
The following topics describe how to build special types of Windows Phone apps and components.
Task | More info |
|---|---|
Write a game. | |
Develop in C++. | |
Reuse code with a Windows Store app. | |
Write a task that runs in the background. | |
Track location in the background. | Running location-tracking apps in the background for Windows Phone 8 |
