Is it possible to reference Xamarin Forms from Win UI 3 project?

Pooja Jaiswal — Fri, 24 May 2024 04:18:20 +0000

The title says it all.

I tried by adding Xamarin forms NuGet reference in the proj file, but this cased the project to stop compliling and giving the below error. Obviously the above breaks the build.

So, is there a way to reference Xamarin forms and use some of its references like Xamarin essentials in a WinUI 3 project?

Migrating UWP to Windows App SDK (WinUI 3) with Xamarin Forms Integration

Pooja Jaiswal — Tue, 21 May 2024 11:51:02 +0000

I'm in the process of migrating my project (MyApp.UWP) from UWP to the Windows App SDK (WinUI 3). I'm following the manual migration process as outlined in the Microsoft documentation - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/windows-app-sdk/migrate-to-windows-app-sdk/overall-migration-strategy, migrating the project step by step.

My existing UWP project includes Xamarin.Forms references, which I need to incorporate into the WinUI 3 project. However, I am encountering errors such as:

XamlC error XFC0000: Cannot resolve type "Application"
XamlC error XFC0000: Cannot resolve type "Window"

Solution Structure
My solution consists of three projects:

MyApp: Contains all views and viewmodels.
MyApp.Data: Contains data entities, interfaces, and enums.
MyApp.UWP: The startup project with configuration files, MainPage.xaml, database, and dependency services.

Migration Steps
To migrate, I added a new project named MyApp.WindowsApp. This project will be the new startup project and will need to integrate Xamarin.Forms, Xamarin.Essentials, and Syncfusion Xamarin components. Despite following a step-by-step approach and initially adding minimal dependencies, I'm unable to add the required Xamarin.Forms packages due to the errors mentioned above.

Issues and Request for Assistance
When attempting to add Xamarin.Forms, Xamarin.Essentials, and Syncfusion components to MyApp.WindowsApp, I encounter the XamlC errors. These errors prevent me from proceeding with the integration and setting up MyApp.WindowsApp as the startup project. Specifically, the errors occur when I try to add the NuGet packages for Xamarin.Forms or syncfusion.

I would appreciate any guidance on:

How to resolve the XamlC errors related to the "Application" and "Window" types.
The correct way to integrate Xamarin.Forms and related components into a WinUI 3 project.
Best practices for structuring the migration to ensure smooth integration and functionality.

Thank you for your help and insights!

DEV Community: Pooja Jaiswal

Is it possible to reference Xamarin Forms from Win UI 3 project?

Migrating UWP to Windows App SDK (WinUI 3) with Xamarin Forms Integration