Visual Studio 2017 xaml designer not available

Question

Using Visual Studio Professional 2017 (Release 15.2 26430.16), when I open a xaml file for a desktop UI that I have developed, I can no longer see the xaml designer (I only see the raw xaml code). This is new behaviour and may be due to me having a system clean-out, so maybe I removed an SDK that I need or something like that?

Are there any Visual Studio error logs I can check for warnings etc?

Answer 1

Frankly, your situation is different than mine. In my situation, it was because of Resharper. Maybe this may useful for someone else. What to do is checking Resharper Options > Enviroment > Performance Guide > Disable XAML Designer.

It must be set to "Ignore" or "Show in Status Bar". Otherwise, it will always disable XAML Designer.

Answer 2

In the Visual Studio 2017 Installer, I selected all of the SDKs and installed the missing ones. This did not fix the problem by itself, but a subsequent 'repair' from the Visual Studio 2017 Installer (available from the 'hamburger' drop-down) did.

Sometimes, adding or removing SDKs from the Installer toggles the 'Enable XAML Designer' check box under Tools -> Options -> XAML Designer -> General (or perhaps it was the repair step that turned this back on), so ensure that this is checked.

Answer 3

Make sure XAML Designer is enabled.

Tools -> Options -> XAML Designer -> General -> Enable XAML Designer

Answer 4

I couldn't get the designer to work, but I found an alternate solution posted here, posted by @DamianSuess

Use the View > Other Windows > Xamarin.Forms Previewer menu in Visual Studio to open the preview window. Use the Window > New Vertical Tab Group menu to position it side-by-side.

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