Announcing the immediate availability of the XAML Spy April 2014 Update (version 2.1.0). This update supports the brand new Windows Phone 8.1 SDK, and includes a massive amount of fixes and improvements. The most prominent changes are described below, see the release notes for a complete overview of all changes.
Windows Phone 8.1 SDK
The Windows Phone 8.1 SDK introduces two app models; Windows Phone 8.1, providing common APIs across Windows and Windows Phone, and Silverlight 8.1 for legacy Windows Phone apps. The Windows Phone API is based on the Windows Runtime, which is also used in Windows Store apps. Silverlight 8.1 enables developers of existing Windows Phone 8 apps to start using Windows Phone 8.1 features without having to completely rewrite their app.
XAML Spy supports both Windows Phone 8.1 and Silverlight 8.1 apps. The apps connect to the XAML Spy Service using one of these new client libraries; XamlSpy.WP81.dll for Windows Phone 8.1 apps targeting the Windows Runtime, and XamlSpy.WP81SL.dll for legacy Silverlight 8.1 apps. XAML Spy for Visual Studio automatically selects the correct client library when you enable XAML Spy in your project.
Visual cue updates
The XAML Spy visual cues for highlighting selected visuals, rendering layout grids, etc, have been improved. Visual cues are now supported in all open windows, not just the main window. This applies to Silverlight Out-Of-Browser and WPF apps. A tooltip has been added to the highlight shape, providing details about the selected visual. Information about the type, name and source info of the selected visual is now immediately visible in the XAML app.
Since the zoom&pan feature didn’t fully work it has been removed from XAML Spy. If you want to zoom into parts of the UI, it is suggested to use the Magnifier tool that comes with Windows.
Other changes include a draggable xamlspy label, proper support for high DPI screens, and more. The following animation demonstrates some of the visual cue improvements.
