Windows 10 SDK preview build 17686 now available for developers

Microsoft is shipping out another Windows 10 SDK preview build for developers today. The latest release ticks the build up to 17686, which matches the latest build available for Fast ring Insiders, released last week.

If you've kept up with SDK releases, there's nothing new to see in the release notes. Instead, Microsoft once again recaps MSIX support, which made its debut in the last SDK relese. Here's a look:

MSIX Support

It's finally here! You can now package your applications as MSIX! These applications can be installed and run on any device with 17682 build or later.

To package your application with MSIX, use the MakeAppx tool.aspx){.nofollow}. To install the application – just click on the MSIX file.

MC.EXE

• We've made some important changes to the C/C++ ETW code generation of mc.exe (Message Compiler):

• The "-mof" parameter is deprecated. This parameter instructs MC.exe to generate ETW code that is compatible with Windows XP and earlier. Support for the "-mof" parameter will be removed in a future version of mc.exe.

• As long as the "-mof" parameter is not used, the generated C/C++ header is now compatible with both kernel-mode and user-mode, regardless of whether "-km" or "-um" was specified on the command line. The header will use the ETW_KM macro to automatically determine whether it is being compiled for kernel-mode or user-mode and will call the appropriate ETW APIs for each mode.

It's worth noting that MSIX support currently isn't available with the App Certification Kit or the Microsoft Store.

If you're a developer, you can download Windows 10 Preview SDK 17686 from Microsoft now. For more, check out Microsoft's full release notes.