Feed providers

The feed providers feature in the Windows App SDK is a new integration point for third-party applications. It enables these applications to register their content feeds to be directly available within the Windows Widgets Board, enhancing the user experience by providing quick access to a variety of content directly from the desktop.

This article introduces the concept of feed providers and provides a high-level explanation the feature.

For detailed guidance on how to implement a feed provider, see these articles below:

• Implement a feed provider in a C# Windows App

• Implement a feed provider in a win32 app (C++/WinRT)

• Feed provider package manifest XML format

Feeds in the Widgets Board helps users stay on top of what matters, enabling them to easily discover useful information and empowering them to act on it. Feed providers enable users to see content from multiple apps and services at the same time. Users can access content from various apps directly on their Widgets Board without the need to open individual apps, ensuring they have the latest information at their fingertips. Users also have the control to enable or disable feeds from the Widgets Board settings, tailoring the content to their preferences.

The following lists the high-level steps for developing a feed provider:

1. Register feeds - Register your app's feeds in the app manifest. Once registered and detected, these feeds become directly available in the Widgets Board.
2. Implement feed experience - Develop the feed experience as a web component that will be rendered within an i-frame on the Widgets Board. Feeds will appear as pivots above the Feeds section of the Widgets Board.
3. Provide personalization controls (optional) - Each feed provider can define a personalization control dialog that allows users to customize their feed experience according to their preferences.

• The feed providers feature is in preview.
• This feature is available only to users in the European Economic Area (EEA). In the EEA, installed apps that implement a feed provider can provide content feed in the Widgets Board.
• The feature requires using the latest Windows App SDK for app development.
• Specific technical and design guidelines must be adhered to for proper feed integration.

For detailed guidance on how to implement a feed provider, see these articles below:

• Implement a feed provider in a C# Windows App

• Implement a feed provider in a win32 app (C++/WinRT)

• Feed provider package manifest XML format