uap:Extension (Windows 10)

Declares an extensibility point for the app.

Element hierarchy

<Package>

    <Applications>

         <Application>

              <Extensions>

                   <uap:Extension>

Syntax

<uap:Extension
  Category = 'A string that can have one of the following values: "windows.fileTypeAssociation", "windows.protocol", "windows.autoPlayContent", "windows.autoPlayDevice", "windows.shareTarget", "windows.search", "windows.fileOpenPicker", "windows.fileSavePicker", "windows.cachedFileUpdater", "windows.cameraSettings", "windows.accountPictureProvider", "windows.printTaskSettings", "windows.lockScreenCall", "windows.appointmentsProvider", "windows.alarm", "windows.webAccountProvider", "windows.dialProtocol", "windows.appService", "windows.mediaPlayback", "windows.print3DWorkflow", "windows.lockScreen", "windows.aboveLockScreen", "windows.personalAssistantLaunch", or "windows.voipCall".'
  Executable = 'A string with an optional value between 1 and 256 characters in length, that must end with ".exe", and cannot contain the following characters: <, >, :, ", |, ?, or *. Specifies the default executable for the extension. If not specified, the executable defined for the app is used.  If specified, the EntryPoint property is also used. If the EntryPoint property is not specified, the EntryPoint defined for the app is used.'
  EntryPoint = 'A string with an optional value between 1 and 256 characters in length. Represents the task handling the extension (normally the fully namespace-qualified name of a Windows Runtime type). If EntryPoint is not specified, the EntryPoint defined for the app is used instead.'
  RuntimeType = 'A string with an optional value between 1 and 255 characters in length that cannot start or end with a period or contain these characters: <, >, :, ", /, \, |, ?, or *.'
  StartPage = 'A string with an optional value between 1 and 256 characters in length that cannot contain these characters: <, >, :, ", |, ?, or *.'
  ResourceGroup = 'An alphanumeric string with an optional value between 1 and 255 characters in length. Must begin with a letter.'
  uap10:TrustLevel = 'An optional string value. If specified, it must be either "appContainer" or "mediumIL".'
  uap10:RuntimeBehavior  = 'An optional string value. If specified, it must be one of the following values:  "windowsApp", "packagedClassicApp", or "win32App".'
  uap10:HostId = 'An alphanumeric string with an optional value between 1 and 255 characters in length. Must begin with an letter.'
  uap10:Parameters = 'A string with an optional value between 1 and 32767 characters in length with a non-whitespace character at its beginning and end.'
  uap11:Id = 'An optional string with a value between 1 and 255 characters in length with a non-whitespace character at its beginning and end.'
  uap11:Subsystem = 'An optional string that can have one of the following values: "console" or "windows".'
  uap11:SupportsMultipleInstances = 'An optional boolean value.'
  uap11:ResourceGroup = 'An optional alphanumeric string with a value between 1 and 255 characters in length. Must begin with a letter.'
  uap11:CurrentDirectoryPath = 'An optional string that cannot contain these characters: <, >, |, ?, or *. >'
  uap11:Parameters = 'An optional string with a value between 1 and 32767 characters in length with a non-whitespace character at its beginning and end.'
  desktop7:CompatMode = 'An optional string the can have one of the following values: "classic" or "modern".'
  desktop7:Scope = 'An optional string that can have one of the following values: "machine" or "user".' >

  <!-- Child elements -->
  uap:FileTypeAssociation?
  uap:Protocol?
  uap:AutoPlayContent?
  uap:AutoPlayDevice?
  uap:ShareTarget?
  uap:FileOpenPicker?
  uap:FileSavePicker?
  uap:AppointmentsProvider?
  uap:WebAccountProvider?
  uap:DialProtocol?
  uap:AppService?
  uap:MediaPlayback?
  uap:VoipCall?

</uap:Extension>

Key

?   optional (zero or one)

Attributes and elements

Attributes

Child elements

Parent elements

Remarks

For most types of extensions, Extension@ResourceGroup must match Application@ResourceGroup (if Application@ResourceGroup is omitted then Extension@ResourceGroup should be omitted also).

For a UI-based contract: if Extension@ResourceGroup is not specified then it will be implicitly grouped with the Application; if Extension@ResourceGroup does not match Application@ResourceGroup then the manifest will fail schema validation.

If Extension@ResourceGroup is not specified for a background task, or for a contract that is based on a background task, it will be associated with a default group for all background tasks. Background task contracts are allowed to specify the same values as Application@ResourceGroup.

For the following Extensions, Extension@ResourceGroup allows the background task that is run to be grouped into different processes which will be resource- and lifecycle-managed independently of other groups: windows.backgroundTasks, windows.appServices, windows.preinstalledConfigTask, and windows.updateTask.

For example, if the manifest had these three entries.

<Extension Category="windows.backgroundTasks" EntryPoint="Fabrikam.BackgroundTask" ResourceGroup="Group1">
  <BackgroundTasks>
    <Task Type="timer"/>
  </BackgroundTasks>
</Extension>
<Extension Category="windows.backgroundTasks" EntryPoint="Fabrikam.BackgroundTask2" ResourceGroup="Group2">
  <BackgroundTasks>
    <Task Type="controlChannel"/>
  </BackgroundTasks>
</Extension>
<Extension Category="windows.backgroundTasks" EntryPoint="Fabrikam.BackgroundTask3" ResourceGroup="Group2">
  <BackgroundTasks>
    <Task Type="pushNotification"/>
  </BackgroundTasks>
</Extension>

Then the last two background tasks would be activated into the same instance of backgroundtaskhost.exe if they were activated concurrently. However, a separate instance of backgroundtaskhost.exe would be spun up for the first entry because it has a different ResourceGroup.

If no ResourceGroup is specified for an extension then all background tasks are activated into the same instance of backgroundtaskhost.exe.

Additionally if one of these extensions(windows.backgroundTasks, windows.appServices, windows.preinstalledConfigTask, or windows.updateTask) specifies the same value of the ResourceGroup attribute of the parent Application element they will be activated in the same process as the UI.

The following extensions can be found in the declarations tab of the package designer UI - see the descriptions for each of these elements:

• Search: Registers the app as a search provider. The app's indexed content can appear as search results in the global search experience launched via the Search charm. Only one instance of this declaration is allowed per app.
• CachedFileUpdater: Registers the app as a cached file updater, allowing the app to provider updates to files that are accessed by other Microsoft Store apps. Only one instance of this declaration is allowed per app.
• Camera Settings: Enables the app to provide custom control panels for web camera devices. Only one instance of this declaration is allowed per app.
• AccountPictureProvider: Registers the app as an account pciture provider, allowing it to be launched in an account picture mode and to set the user's picture without additional prompting. Only one instance of this declaration is allowed per app.
• PrintTaskSettings: Enables the app to replace the basic print settings experience. Only one instance of this declaration is allowed per app.
• LockScreen: If a phone is locked, there is a limited amount of interaction that the user can perform. In some cases, a user would like to be able to answer a VoIP call without unlocking the phone. This contract makes that possible. Only one instance of this declaration is allowed per app.
• Alarm: An application can declare itself as the System Alarm App. When a user goes through the selection UI to set their System Alarm, only applications that are declared as System Alarm Apps can be selected. Only one instance of this declaration is allowed per app.
• BackgroundTasks: Background tasks enable applications to communicate with each other and enable one application to call another. In order to use contracts to provide or launch these background tasks, an application need to be declared as an app service. Multiple instances of this declaration are allowed in each app.
• Print3DWorkFlow: Manufacturers of 3D printers can provide a Universal Windows app to provide a unique experience in the 3D print dialog. If they do not, Windows provides a default 3D printing experience. Only one instance of this declaration is allowed per app.
• PersonalAssistantLaunch: Allows an app to integrate with Cortana. Only one instance of this declaration is allowed per app.

Requirements