Xamarin.Forms Tools - XAML Previewers

Initially, when Xamarin.Forms were released, the biggest challenge in developing the mobile application was to develop its UI as there were no drag and drop designers available for it like storyboard designer for iOS or Android designer. But soon, this issue was solved by many Xamarin previewers launched by several third-party providers and recently by Microsoft also. This article will list some popular XAML previewers currently present in the market.

  1. Gorilla Player
    This is the first and the oldest XAML previewer in the market and it is still going strong.


  2. UI Sleuth
    This was released along with Gorilla player and is a very good XAML previewer and debugging tool for Xamarin.Forms.


  3. Live XAML
    I came to know about this review by this detailed blog from Jim Bennett. This is also a very good XAML previewer for Xamarin.Forms, but this one is paid.


  4. Xamarin Live Player
    This one is from Microsoft, the owner of Xamarin.Forms. It is still in preview but works like a charm.

So these are the Xamarin.Forms XAML previewers currently available in the market. Which one to use depends on your personal and organizational requirements. I personally use Xamarin Live Player and Gorilla player (where Xamarin player doesn’t works on devices like old iPad with iOS 10). Let me know if I have missed anything or you have any suggestions/concerns/queries.


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