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Installation Guide

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System Requirements

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Operating System

1. Press Win + R
2. Type winver and press Enter
3. Verify you’re running Windows 11, build 22000 or higher

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Hardware Requirements

• Processor: 1.8 GHz or faster multi-core processor
• RAM: 8GB minimum, 16GB recommended
• Disk Space: At least 10GB of free space
• Display: 1280 x 720 minimum resolution

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Step-by-Step Installation

1

Install Visual Studio

Download and install the latest version of Visual Studio. The free Community edition is sufficient for Calculator development.Download Visual Studio:

• Visit Visual Studio Downloads
• Download Visual Studio 2022 or later
• Run the installer

Visual Studio Community is free for individual developers, open-source projects, academic research, education, and small professional teams.

2

Install Required Workloads

During Visual Studio installation (or by running the Visual Studio Installer later), ensure you install the following workload:

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Universal Windows Platform Development

1. In the Visual Studio Installer, select the Workloads tab
2. Check Universal Windows Platform development
3. In the Installation details panel on the right, ensure the following are selected:
   • C++ Universal Windows Platform tools
   • Windows 11 SDK (latest version)

The C++ Universal Windows Platform tools component is optional in the installer but required for Calculator. Make sure to check this option.

3

Install Windows 11 SDK

The Windows 11 SDK should be installed as part of the UWP workload, but verify you have the latest version:

1. In Visual Studio Installer, go to Individual components tab
2. Search for “Windows 11 SDK”
3. Select the latest Windows 11 SDK version available
4. Click Modify to install

Calculator requires the latest Windows 11 SDK. If you have an older SDK version, update to the latest.

4

Install XAML Styler Extension

XAML Styler is a Visual Studio extension that formats XAML markup according to the project’s style guidelines.Install from Visual Studio:

1. Open Visual Studio
2. Go to Extensions → Manage Extensions
3. Search for “XAML Styler”
4. Click Download and restart Visual Studio to complete installation

Install from Marketplace:

• Visit XAML Styler on Visual Studio Marketplace
• Click Download
• Run the downloaded VSIX file

XAML Styler helps maintain consistent code formatting across the project. It’s essential for contributions that will be accepted.

5

Clone the Repository

Use Git to clone the Windows Calculator repository:

git clone https://github.com/Microsoft/calculator.git

If you plan to contribute, consider forking the repository first:

1. Go to github.com/Microsoft/calculator
2. Click the Fork button
3. Clone your fork:

git clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/calculator.git

Then add the upstream remote:

cd calculator
git remote add upstream https://github.com/Microsoft/calculator.git

6

Open and Build the Solution

1. Navigate to the cloned repository
2. Open src\Calculator.sln in Visual Studio
3. Wait for Visual Studio to load the solution and restore NuGet packages
4. Select your build configuration:
   • Configuration: Debug or Release
   • Platform: x64, x86, or ARM64
5. Build the solution:
   • Press F6 or Ctrl+Shift+B
   • Or from menu: Build → Build Solution

The first build may take 5-10 minutes depending on your system. Subsequent builds will be faster.

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Optional: Install Windows Application Driver

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Verify Your Installation

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Build Test

1. Open src\Calculator.sln in Visual Studio
2. Build the solution (F6)
3. Verify the build completes without errors

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Run Test

1. Press F5 to run with debugging
2. The Calculator app should launch
3. Test basic functionality:
   • Perform calculations in Standard mode
   • Switch between different calculator modes
   • Try the unit converter

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Project Structure Overview

calculator/
├── src/
│   ├── Calculator/          # Main UI project (XAML views)
│   ├── CalcViewModel/       # ViewModel layer (MVVM)
│   ├── CalcManager/         # Business logic and calculation engine
│   ├── Calculator.sln       # Visual Studio solution file
│   └── ...
├── docs/
│   ├── ApplicationArchitecture.md
│   ├── Images/
│   └── ...
├── CONTRIBUTING.md
├── README.md
└── LICENSE

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Development Environment Configuration

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Recommended Visual Studio Settings

• Enable XAML Hot Reload: Go to Tools → Options → Debugging → Hot Reload and enable XAML Hot Reload
• C++ Code Style: The project follows the C++ Core Guidelines
• Enable IntelliSense: Ensure IntelliSense is enabled for both C++ and C# files

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Git Configuration

git config user.name "Your Name"
git config user.email "[email protected]"

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Troubleshooting

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Build Errors

1. Open Visual Studio Installer
2. Modify your installation
3. Under “Universal Windows Platform development”, check “C++ Universal Windows Platform tools”
4. Click Modify and wait for installation

1. Check your internet connection
2. Go to Tools → NuGet Package Manager → Package Manager Settings
3. Click Clear All NuGet Cache(s)
4. Rebuild the solution

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Runtime Errors

1. Ensure Developer Mode is enabled in Windows Settings
2. Go to Settings → Privacy & Security → For developers
3. Turn on Developer Mode

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Next Steps

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Additional Resources

• C++/CX Documentation: Visual C++ Language Reference
• UWP Development: Universal Windows Platform Guide
• XAML Overview: XAML Platform
• MVVM Pattern: Data Binding and MVVM