Forum Discussion
Is there a visual editor for MAUI?
LearningNewthingsVisual Studio has removed the XAML designer and replaced it with Hot Reload. I would like to have the old XAML Designer too but i dont know if they will readd it.
You can use Hot Reload to design your Application.
aylineok Yes. I am very much aware of Hot Reload, but it doesn't give me the same level of comfort. One thing is that I need to run the application once. Also, if I have to see it in different devices, then I have to keep on changing the target device and run the application.
The actual development time in hot reload is increasing, since I am not a practiced UI developer. My strength is backend services & databases.
In XAML there is no view source similar to HTML where I can manipulate divs and see the result in the browsers. I wish we had all these features, but by the time they come out, we will be retired or dead.
LearningNewthings I originally wanted a UI but I quickly learned the syntax and I think you'll be impressed by how quickly you pick up the syntax, especially with the help of HotReload. I think it's similar to how I originally started HTML work with Dreamweaver using the UI creation, but soon started using code and the property window to explore and edit properties I didn't know by heart.
There is a chance a UI tool is created. It would lower the barrier of entry into Xamarin/Maui
Also, please don't die
but i wish you a happy retirement.To me, the strength or weakness of any UI toolkit is the quality of its visual editor. When the two are not the same, that's an instant huge red flag.
Maybe it's because I saw GUIs introduced, learned the UI ropes on the ST and the Amiga. I work on backend systems. I built HTML, RXML, and XSLT websites, and I've used XAML for UWP.
That MS haven't yet ported their designer/previewer tells you everything you need to know about long-term viability of the current state of MAUI: It's an option for anyone already heavily invested in XAML-centric development, but the rest of us probably have to stick with Qt/GTK/Flutter/Imgui for the time being.
- Agreed
aylineok That is not true, you can NOT use Hot Reload to design your app. In some cases (depending on your scenario) you can use it to TEST your app (runtime), but until your code is complete & debugged enough to try running it, Hot Reload is useless. The purpose of a designer is to be able to layout your pages and/or controls during design time. You obviously can't run HotReload if your code updates a control or detects an event from a control that doesn't exist, which is why you need a Designer to use during DESIGN TIME.
