Create New Xamarin.Forms Application Using Visual Studio For Mac

Introduction

Visual Studio 2017 for Mac was launched at MS Build 2017 with many fresh and exciting features for Visual Studio developers using Mac machines. Mac OS users can build apps for mobile, web, and cloud with Xamarin and .NET Core, and games with Unity using Visual Studio.

In this article, I will share how to create new Xamarin.Forms application using Visual Studio for Mac.

System Requirement

Visual Studio 2017 for Mac can be installed and run on the following operating systems.

1. MacOS Sierra 10.12 or Mac OS X El Capitan 10.11

2. Xcode 8.3 or above requires macOS Sierra 10.12,
3. Android requires the 64-bit Java Development Kit (JDK)
4. 8 GHz or faster processor with min 4GB RAM .

Installing Visual Studio for Mac

Download Visual Studio 2017 for mac from https://www.visualstudio.com/vs/?os=mac. If you are downloading before May 17, you will get free 60-day access to Xamarin University.

Create New Xamarin.Forms Application

Step 1 - Launch VS from Mac

Launch Visual Studio for Mac from Launchpad.

Step 2 - Create New Solution

Create "New Solution" (File >New Solution) or VS homescreen > Click on New Project.

Step 3 - Choose a Template

Visual Studio for Mac supports the development of apps for Android, macOS, iOS, tvOS, watchOS, web, and cloud. Here, I will select Xamarin.Forms template under Multiplatform.

Step 4 - Multiplatform Xamarin.Forms Application

The Multiplatform Xamarin.Forms App and the Native App project templates now provide you a quick way to create a multiplatform mobile app with cloud back-end. This template will include Xamarin.iOS, Xamairn.Android, and share code with the cloud service.

Provide App name.identifier, platform and mobile back-end detail at the following screen.

Step 5 - Configure your application

Provide the project name, solution name, local location, and version control details on the following screen.

Step 6 - Solution successfully created

You can drag and drop UI design for iOS and Android with Live Preview, and building, deployment, debugging the application is very easy.

Step 7 - Run the application

Debug and run the Xamarin application.

Summary

In this article, you learned VS for Mac system requirements, how to install Visual Studio from Mac, and how to create new Xamarin applications using Visual Studio for Mac.

If you have any questions/ feedback/ issues, please write in the comment box.