-->

How to set up Visual Studio and Xamarin to start building mobile apps with .NET.

Oct 27, 2014. Jul 17, 2017. Visual Studio 2017 for Mac Preview I have a class that is teaching VB, otherwise, I wouldn't install visua. Dec 30, 2014. The Visual Studio Express 2013 for Windows Desktop Language Pack enables the display of the user interface in different languages. After you install the Language Pack, you can switch among the languages. Visual Studio Express 2013 for Windows Desktop must be.

Installing Xamarin on Windows

Visual Studio 2013 Download Free

Step-by-step instructions

Xamarin can be installed as part of a new Visual Studio 2019 installation, with the following steps:

1. Download Visual Studio 2019 Community, Visual Studio Professional, orVisual Studio Enterprise from theVisual Studio page (downloadlinks are provided at the bottom).

2. Double-click the downloaded package to start installation.

3. Select the Mobile development with .NET workload from theinstallation screen:

4. When you are ready to begin Visual Studio 2019 installation, click theInstall button in the lower right-hand corner:

   Use the progress bars to monitor the installation:

5. When Visual Studio 2019 installation has completed, click the Launchbutton to start Visual Studio:

Adding Xamarin to Visual Studio 2019

If Visual Studio 2019 is already installed, add Xamarin byre-running the Visual Studio 2019 installer to modify workloads (seeModify Visual Studiofor details). Next, follow the steps listed above to install Xamarin.

For more information about downloading and installing Visual Studio2019, see Install Visual Studio 2019.

Installing Xamarin on Windows

Step-by-step instructions

Xamarin can be installed as part of a new Visual Studio 2017 installation, with the following steps:

1. Download Visual Studio 2017 Community, Visual Studio Professional, orVisual Studio Enterprise from theVisual Studio page (downloadlinks are provided at the bottom).

2. Double-click the downloaded package to start installation.

3. Select the Mobile development with .NET workload from theinstallation screen:

4. While Mobile development with .NET is selected, have a look atthe Installation details panel on the right. Here, you can deselectmobile development options that you do not want to install.

5. When you are ready to begin Visual Studio 2017 installation, click theInstall button in the lower right-hand corner:

   Depending on which edition of Visual Studio 2017 you are installing, theinstallation process can take a long time to complete. You can usethe progress bars to monitor the installation:

6. When Visual Studio 2017 installation has completed, click the Launchbutton to start Visual Studio:

Adding Xamarin to Visual Studio 2017

If Visual Studio 2017 is already installed, add Xamarin byre-running the Visual Studio 2017 installer to modify workloads (seeModify Visual Studiofor details). Next, follow the steps listed above to install Xamarin.

For more information about downloading and installing Visual Studio2017, see Install Visual Studio 2017.

Installing Xamarin on macOS

Step-by-step instructions

In addition to this video, there is a step-by-step installation guidethat covers Visual Studio for Mac and Xamarin.

Related Links

To install Python support for Visual Studio (also known as Python Tools for Visual Studio or PTVS), follow the instructions in the section that matches your version of Visual Studio:

To quickly test Python support after following the installation steps, open the Python Interactive window by pressing Alt+I and entering 2+2. If you don't see the output of 4, recheck your steps.

Tip

The Python workload includes the helpful Cookiecutter extension that provides a graphical user interface to discover templates, input template options, and create projects and files. For details, see Use Cookiecutter.

Note

Python support is not presently available in Visual Studio for Mac, but is available on Mac and Linux through Visual Studio Code. See questions and answers.

Visual Studio 2019 and Visual Studio 2017

1. Download and run the latest Visual Studio installer. If you have Visual Studio installed already, run the Visual Studio Installer, select the Modify option (see Modify Visual Studio) and go to step 2.

   Tip

   The Community edition is for individual developers, classroom learning, academic research, and open source development. For other uses, install Visual Studio 2019 Professional or Visual Studio 2019 Enterprise.

2. The installer presents you with a list of workloads, which are groups of related options for specific development areas. For Python, select the Python development workload.

   Optional: if you're working with data science, also consider the Data science and analytical applications workload. This workload includes support for the Python, R, and F# languages. For more information, see Data science and analytical applications workload.

   Note

   The Python and Data Science workloads are available only with Visual Studio 2017 version 15.2 and later.

   Optional: if you're working with data science, also consider the Data science and analytical applications workload. This workload includes support for the Python and F# languages. For more information, see Data science and analytical applications workload.

3. On the right side of the installer, chose additional options if desired. Skip this step to accept the default options.

   Option	Description
   Python distributions	Choose any combination of the available options, such as 32-bit and 64-bit variants of the Python 2, Python 3, Miniconda, Anaconda2, and Anaconda3 distributions that you plan to work with. Each includes the distribution's interpreter, runtime, and libraries. Anaconda, specifically, is an open data science platform that includes a wide range of pre-installed packages. (You can return to the Visual Studio installer at any time to add or remove distributions.) Note: If you've installed a distribution outside of the Visual Studio installer, there's no need to check the equivalent option here. Visual Studio automatically detects existing Python installations. See The Python Environments window. Also, if a newer version of Python is available than what's shown in the installer, you can install that version separately and Visual Studio will detect it.
   Cookiecutter template support	Installs the Cookiecutter graphical UI to discover templates, input template options, and create projects and files. See Use the Cookiecutter extension.
   Python web support	Installs tools for web development including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript editing support, along with templates for projects using the Bottle, Flask, and Django frameworks. See Python web project templates.
   Python IoT support	Supports Windows IoT Core development using Python.
   Python native development tools	Installs the C++ compiler and other necessary components to develop native extensions for Python. See Create a C++ extension for Python. Also install the Desktop development with C++ workload for full C++ support.
   Azure Cloud Services core tools	Provides additional support for developer Azure Cloud Services in Python. See Azure cloud service projects.

   Option	Description
   Python distributions	Choose any combination of the available options, such as 32-bit and 64-bit variants of the Python 2, Python 3, Miniconda, Anaconda2, and Anaconda3 distributions that you plan to work with. Each includes the distribution's interpreter, runtime, and libraries. Anaconda, specifically, is an open data science platform that includes a wide range of pre-installed packages. (You can return to the Visual Studio installer at any time to add or remove distributions.) Note: If you've installed a distribution outside of the Visual Studio installer, there's no need to check the equivalent option here. Visual Studio automatically detects existing Python installations. See The Python Environments window. Also, if a newer version of Python is available than what's shown in the installer, you can install that version separately and Visual Studio will detect it.
   Cookiecutter template support	Installs the Cookiecutter graphical UI to discover templates, input template options, and create projects and files. See Use the Cookiecutter extension.
   Python web support	Installs tools for web development including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript editing support, along with templates for projects using the Bottle, Flask, and Django frameworks. See Python web project templates.
   Python native development tools	Installs the C++ compiler and other necessary components to develop native extensions for Python. See Create a C++ extension for Python. Also install the Desktop development with C++ workload for full C++ support.
   Azure Cloud Services core tools	Provides additional support for developer Azure Cloud Services in Python. See Azure cloud service projects.

4. After installation, the installer provides options to modify, launch, repair, or uninstall Visual Studio. The Modify button changes to Update when updates to Visual Studio are available for any installed components. (The Modify option is then available on the drop-down menu.) You can also launch Visual Studio and the installer from the Windows Start menu by searching on 'Visual Studio'.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter problems installing or running Python in Visual Studio, try the following:

• Determine whether the same error occurs using the Python CLI, that is, running python.exe from a command prompt.
• Use the Repair option in the Visual Studio installer.
• Repair or reinstall Python through Settings > Apps & features in Windows.

Example error: Failed to start interactive process: System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception (0x80004005): Unknown error (0xc0000135) at Microsoft.PythonTools.Repl.PythonInteractiveEvaluator.d__43.MoveNext().

Visual Studio 2015

1. Run the Visual Studio installer through Control Panel > Programs and Features, selecting Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 and then Change.

2. In the installer, select Modify.

3. Select Programming Languages > Python Tools for Visual Studio and then Next:

4. Once Visual Studio setup is complete, install a Python interpreter of your choice. Visual Studio 2015 supports only Python 3.5 and earlier; later versions generate a message like Unsupported Python version 3.6). If you already have an interpreter installed and Visual Studio doesn't detect it automatically, see Manually identify an existing environment.

Visual Studio 2013 and earlier

1. Install the appropriate version of Python Tools for Visual Studio for your version of Visual Studio:

   • Visual Studio 2013: PTVS 2.2.2 for Visual Studio 2013. The File > New Project dialog in Visual Studio 2013 gives you a shortcut for this process.
   • Visual Studio 2010 and 2012: PTVS 2.1.1 for Visual Studio 2010 and 2012

2. Install a Python interpreter of your choice. If you already have an interpreter installed and Visual Studio doesn't detect it automatically, see Manually identify an existing environment.

Install locations

Visual Studio 2012 Download

By default, Python support is installed for all users on a computer.

For Visual Studio 2019 and Visual Studio 2017, the Python workload is installed in %ProgramFiles(x86)%Microsoft Visual Studio<VS_version><VS_edition>Common7IDEExtensionsMicrosoftPython where <VS_version> is 2019 or 2017 and <VS_edition> is Community, Professional, or Enterprise.

For Visual Studio 2015 and earlier, installation paths are as follows:

• 32-bit:
  • Path: %Program Files(x86)%Microsoft Visual Studio <VS_ver>Common7IDEExtensionsMicrosoftPython Tools for Visual Studio<PTVS_ver>
  • Registry location of path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftPythonTools<VS_ver>InstallDir
• 64-bit:
  • Path: %Program Files%Microsoft Visual Studio <VS_ver>Common7IDEExtensionsMicrosoftPython Tools for Visual Studio<PTVS_ver>
  • Registry location of path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareWow6432NodeMicrosoftPythonTools<VS_ver>InstallDir

where:

• <VS_ver> is:
  • 14.0 for Visual Studio 2015
  • 12.0 for Visual Studio 2013
  • 11.0 for Visual Studio 2012
  • 10.0 for Visual Studio 2010
• <PTVS_ver> is a version number, such as 2.2.2, 2.1.1, 2.0, 1.5, 1.1, or 1.0.

User-specific installations (1.5 and earlier)

Ms Visual Studio 2013 Download

Python Tools for Visual Studio 1.5 and earlier allowed installation for the current user only, in which case the installation path is %LocalAppData%MicrosoftVisualStudio<VS_ver>ExtensionsMicrosoftPython Tools for Visual Studio<PTVS_ver> where <VS_ver> and <PTVS_ver> are the same as described above.