No dialogbox in mainwindow.xaml

Question

I'm actually learning about creating a new WPF Application via Microsoft Visual Studio Express 2013 for windows desktop. After selecting WPF Application and give it a name for the new project, I received two tabs - MainWindow.xaml and MainWindow.xaml.cs.

However, I didn't get to see a dialogbox (or Canvas) where I can insert buttons, labels, etc but the following code in MainWindow.xaml.

<Window x:Class="WpfEvents.MainWindow"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        Title="MainWindow" Height="350" Width="525">
    <Grid>

    </Grid>
</Window>

And that's about it. I also noticed that there is no option in the toolbox where I can drag buttons or labels or other controls to make up a form.

I'm not sure if I don't get those features simply because I didn't pay for it. I actually just installed the Visual Studio Express from Microsoft site onto my Windows 7 Pro. It looks like a freeware to me.

Thank you in advance

Answer 1

There should be a tab to switch between XAML and Design Mode at the bottom or side of the window:

If the toolbox is not open, you can simply open it from View => Toolbox. That being said, working directly with XAML is very common in WPF and I'm not sure if creating more complex layouts with nested controls or custom templates is even possible with the Designer itself. I think it's possible with Blend but I don't know if it's shipped with the free version.