Creating a New Xamarin.Forms App

This topic demonstrates how to create a new cross platform app in Visual Studio or Xamarin Studio. See the System Requirements before proceeding. To download and install Xamarin Studio, visit http://xamarin.com/download.

To know more about Sharing Code Options in Xamarin, visit:

http://developer.xamarin.com/guides/cross-platform/application_fundamentals/building_cross_platform_applications/sharing_code_options/

Complete the following steps to create a new Xamarin.Forms Portable or Shared App:

Visual Studio (Windows)
Xamarin Studio (Windows and MAC)

Select File | New | Project.
Under installed templates, select Visual C# | Mobile Apps.
In the right pane, select Blank App (Xamarin.Forms Portable or Xamarin.Forms Shared).
Add a name for your app and select a location to save it.
Click OK.

Select File | New | Solution.
Select C# | Mobile Apps.
In the right pane, select Blank App (Xamarin.Forms Portable or Xamarin.Forms Shared)
Add a name for your app and select a location to save it.
Click OK.

A portable or shared solution comprises the following projects:

Portable or Shared: A cross-platform application library containing the shared UI and code.
Android: Android mobile application available on all development environments.
WinPhone: Windows mobile application available only in projects created on Visual Studio.
iOS:
- Available on OS X.
- A Mac PC is required to use Visual Studio as the development environment. See Introduction to Xamarin.iOS for Visual Studio to know how to setup your environment.