Adding UWP Background task causes AppManifest errors

Question

I\'ve been trying to add an out of process background task to my project to update my App\'s live tile. The task needs to make a database call to get some data, then process

Answer 1

I hit the same issue. Unfortunately adding audio is not a solution as this will be a requirement for the windows store, not a good idea. Setting minimum target version gives you very limited Windows Store functionality and less UWP features.

Get started by using this link and follow it very carefully:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/uwp/launch-resume/create-and-register-a-background-task

To summarise:

• Ensure you have a good copy of your project, my manifiest file became corrupted during experimentation and I needed the Package.appxmanifest backup copy.
• Delete all references and code relating to anything to do with background tasks from your project.
• In your solution create a new Windows Universal / Windows Runtime Component project.
• Name the project BackgroundTasks (as an example)
• Right click references and Manage Nuget Packages
• Select the installed tab and Microsoft.NETCore.UniversalWindowsPlatform
• Change the version from 6.1.4 to 6.0.8 (6.1.4 seems to be a preview version which causes extra unwanted references to be added everytime VS is loaded).
• Change Class1.cs name to MyBackgroundTask.cs
• Select the BackgroundTasks project Target / Min version to Fall Creators Update
• Right click your solution / Project Dependancies. Select BackgroundTasks and check the build order is correct, mine is set for BackgroundTasks to build before the main project.
• Refer to the sample code at UWP Samples to create the sample background task.
• Change the Package.appxmanifest file as described on the above link.
• Build the solution and you should be in business.

Personally I recommend to use an out-of-process background task to eliminate any possibly that if the background task crashes it does not affect the app from running, also much more flexible.

As a tip your BackgroundTaskBuilder will reference as strings:

 builder.Name = "MyBackgroundTask";
 builder.TaskEntryPoint = "BackgroundTasks.MyBackgroundTask";

I find making background tasks in UWP quite tedious, but once done well worth the effort.