QtCS2024 Qt on Windows

Session Summary

The native look of UI elements have changed their appearance starting with Windows 11. Since Qt 6.7 the UI changes were incoorperated into QtWidgets with a new QWindows11Style. This presentation will give a brief introduction into the style and about recent developments with a glimpse on what comes next for Qt on Windows.

• Windows 11 Style for QtWidgets
• Custom Titlebars
• Refactoring COM to winRT
• Windows on ARM
• Transparency effects
• Windows packaging
• .Net with Qt
• Windows App SDK integration

Session Owners

Wladimir Leuschner (wladimir.leuschner@qt.io)

Notes

Qt's WinUI3 style

• Qt couldn't use WinUI3 natively. => Uses XAML to generate pixmaps
• Uses more colors
• More rounded corners => relies on transparency
• We support Light and Dark mode

Future

• Custom Titlebars
• Refactor COM to winrt ?
• Bluetooth
• Support Windows on Arm (WoA)
• Support the ARM emulation layer
• transparency effects
• Add support for MSIX packaging
• Add support MS Store
• .net with Qt
• Prototype for adding Qt to a WPF application
• Windows App SDK support
• Some challenges with cmake

Various feedback

• Use accelerated APIs instead of GDI?
• Investigate synchnization of Qt and windows (to avoid potential flickering)
• API to configure default sizes of UI elements of WinUI3 (to be more touch friendly)?
• Qt Creator have several issues with using the WinUI3 style.
• Problem with alpha blending. Each widget must be created as transparent with Qt::WA_TranslucentBackground
• Check if Qt::FrameLessWindowHint is actually needed.
• The Affine Transformations Qt Widgets Example with Windows Store deployment (github.com)