Upgrade your WPF application to .NET 7 - WPF .NET (2023)

This article describes how to upgrade a Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) desktop application to .NET 7. Although WPF runs on .NET, a cross-platform technology, WPF is still a Windows-only platform. The following types of WPF-related projects can be upgraded with the .NET Upgrade Assistant:

• project
• Biblioteka kontrolna
• Library .NET

If you're upgrading from .NET Framework to .NET, consider taking a look at thisDifferences from WPF .NETarticle iMigration from .NET Framework to .NETdriver.

Prerequisites

• Windows operating system
• Visual Studio 2022 version 17.1 or later to .NET 7
• Visual Studio 2022 version 17.7 Preview 1 or later to target .NET 8
• .NET Upgrade Assistant extension for Visual Studio

Demo app

This article was written in the context of an updateSample favorite websitesproject from which you can download.NET samples from the GitHub repository.

Start the update

If you're updating multiple projects, start with projects that don't have dependencies. In a sample of favorite websites,Website ratingsproject depends onStarVoteControlso the libraryStarVoteControlmust be updated first.

Follow these steps to upgrade the project in Visual Studio:

1. Right-clickStarVoteControlproject inSolution Explorerwindow and selectUpdate:

   

   See Also

   What is the future of .NET.NET releases, patches and supportHow to use the old .NET Update Assistant - .NET Core

   A new tab will open asking you to choose how to update.

2. to chooseOn-site design update.

3. Then select the target frame. Depending on the type of project being updated, different options are presented.Standard .NET 2.0is a good choice if the library does not rely on desktop technology such as WPF, and can be used in both .NET Framework and .NET projects. However, the latest versions of .NET provide many language and compiler improvements over the .NET standard.

   to choose.NET 7.0then selectNext.

   

4. A tree will be displayed with all artifacts related to the project, such as code files and libraries. You can update individual artifacts or the entire project, which is the default setting. To chooseUpdate selectionto start the update.

   After the update is complete, the results will be displayed:

   

   Artifacts with a full green circle are enhanced while empty green circles are skipped. Missed artifacts mean that the update assistant found nothing to update.

   (Video) Upgrade Your .NET Projects Faster with Visual Studio

Now that the application support library has been updated, update the main application.

Please update the application

After all supporting libraries are updated, you can update the main application project. Do the following:

1. Right-clickWebsite ratingsproject inSolution Explorerwindow and selectUpdate:
2. to chooseOn-site design updateas a way to improve.
3. to choose.NET 7.0for the target frame and selectNext.
4. Leave all artifacts selected and selectUpdate selection.

The results will be displayed when the update is complete. If an item has a warning symbol, it means there is a note you can read about what you can do by expanding the item.

Generate a clean build

After upgrading the project, clean it up and build it.

1. Right-clickWebsite ratingsproject inSolution Explorerwindow and selectClean.
2. Right-clickWebsite ratingsproject inSolution Explorerwindow and selectBuild.

If your application encountered errors, you can find them in the fileError lista window with a recommendation on how to fix it.

Post-Update Steps

If your project is upgrading from .NET Framework to .NET, refer to the information inUpgrade after upgrading to .NET with .NET Frameworkarticle.

After upgrading, you'll want:

• Check your NuGet packages.

  The .NET Upgrade Assistant updated some packages to new versions. Thanks to the sample application found in this articleMicrosoft.Data.SqliteNuGet has been upgraded with1.0.0Do7.0.5. However,1.0.0depends onSQLiteNuGet packages, ali7.0.5it removes the addiction. TheSQLiteThe NuGet package is still referenced in the project, although it is no longer needed. BothSQLiteISQLite.NatywnyNuGet packages can be removed from the project.

• Clean old NuGet packages.

  Thepackages.configthe file is no longer needed and can be removed from the project because NuGet package references are now declared in the project file. Also, a local NuGet package cache folder namedpackage, is in the folder or in the parent folder of the project. This local cache folder can be deleted. The new NuGet package references use the global cache folder for packages, available in the user profile directory named.nuget\package.

• To removeSystem configurationlibrary.

  (Video) Upgrading from .NET Framework to .NET 7 | .NET Conf 2022

  Most .NET Framework applications refer toSystem configurationlibrary. After upgrading, this library can still be directly referenced.

  TheSystem configurationuses the libraryapplication.configurationfile to provide runtime configuration options for your application. For .NET, this library has been superseded bySystem.Configuration.ConfigurationManagerNuGet package. Remove the library reference and add the NuGet package to your project.

• Check out where you can upgrade your app.

  The APIs and libraries have changed quite a bit since the release of .NET. In most cases, the .NET Framework does not have access to these improvements. After upgrading to .NET, you now have access to more modern libraries.

  The following sections describe the areas where you can modernize the sample application used in this article.

Upgrade: Web browser control

TheWeb browserthe control referenced by the WPF sample application is based on Internet Explorer, which is deprecated. WPF for .NET can useWebView2Microsoft Edge based control. Follow the steps below to update to the new versionWebView2web browser control:

1. To addMicrosoft.Web.WebView2NuGet package.

2. uMainWindow.xamlfile:

   1. Import the control towpfcontrolnamespace in root element:

   2. Downstairs where it iselement is declared, remove itWeb browsercontrol and replacewpfControls:WebView2control:

3. editMainWindow.xaml.cscode behind the file. Please updateListBox_SelectionChangedinstallation methodbrowser.Sourceimportant propertyUri. This code was previously passed to the website URL as a string, but it isWebView2control requires aUri.

   private void ListBox_SelectionChanged(object sender, SelectionChangedEventArgs e){ var siteCollection = (ViewModels.SiteCollection)DataContext; if (siteCollection.SelectedSite != null) browser.Source = new Uri(siteCollection.SelectedSite.Url); otherwise browser.NavigateToString("");}

Depending on the version of Windows your app user is using, you may need to install the WebView2 runtime. For more information, seeGet started with WebView2 in WPF applications.

Modernization: appsettings.json

It uses .NET FrameworkApplication configurationfile to load application settings such as connection strings and logging providers. .NET now usesappsettings.jsonfile for app items.Application configurationfiles are served in .NET bySystem.Configuration.ConfigurationManagerNuGet package and support forappsettings.jsonensureMicrosoft.Extensions.ConfigurationNuGet package.

When other libraries are upgraded to .NET, they are modernized with their supportappsettings.jsonInsteadApplication configuration. For example, logging providers in the .NET Framework that have been upgraded to .NET 6+ no longer use itApplication configurationfor settings. It's a good idea to follow their instructions and stop using themApplication configurationwhere can you.

Use appsettings.json with the WPF sample app

For example, after upgrading the WPF sample application, useappsettings.jsonfor local database connection parameters.

1. To removeSystem.Configuration.ConfigurationManagerNuGet package.

2. To addMicrosoft.Extensions.Configuration.JsonNuGet package.

3. Add a file to the project namedappsettings.json.

4. put it downappsettings.jsonfile to be copied to the output directory.

   put it downcopy to outputsetup with visual studio usingreal estatewindow after selecting the file inSolution Explorer. Alternatively, you can directly edit the project and add the followingItem group:

     KeepLatest  

5. Transfer settings toApplication configurationsave to newappsettings.jsonfile.

   In the sample WPF application,application.configurationcontained only one connection string. editappsettings.jsonfile to define the connection string:

   { "ConnectionStrings": { "database": "DataSource=sqlite.db;" }}

6. editapplication.xaml.csfile by instantiating the configuration object it loadsappsettings.jsonfile, added lines are marked:

   using System.Windows; using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration;namespace WebSiteRatings{ ///
   /// Interaction logic for App.xaml ///
   public partial class App: Application { public static IConfiguration Config { get; private set; } public App() { Config = new ConfigurationBuilder() .AddJsonFile("appsettings.json") .Build(); } }}

7. u.\Modeli\Database.csfile, change itOpenConnectionhow to use newApplication configurationproperty. This requires an importMicrosoft.Extensions.Configurationnamespace:

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   using Microsoft.Data.Sqlite;using System.Collections.Generic;using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration;namespace WebSiteRatings.Models{ międzynarodowa klasa Baza podataka { public static SqliteConnection OpenConnection() => new SqliteConnection(App.Config.GetConnectionString("database " )); javni statički IEnumerableReadSite()

   GetConnectionStringis the extension method it offersMicrosoft.Extensions.Configurationmen's space