Windows 10 SDK preview build 18298 now available for developers

Microsoft Surface Book 2
Microsoft Surface Book 2 (Image credit: Windows Central)

Microsoft is once again pushing out a fresh Windows 10 SDK preview build for developers to check out. The latest build matches the build that headed out to Fast ring Insiders last week, ticking it up to build number 18298.

While recent SDK preview builds have mostly focused on changes to the effect graph of the AcrylicBrush, this latest release includes some tools updates to the Message Compiler. Here's a look at all of what's new:

Message Compiler (mc.exe)

  • The "-mof" switch (to generate XP-compatible ETW helpers) is considered to be deprecated and will be removed in a future version of mc.exe. Removing this switch will cause the generated ETW helpers to expect Vista or later.
  • The "-A" switch (to generate .BIN files using ANSI encoding instead of Unicode) is considered to be deprecated and will be removed in a future version of mc.exe. Removing this switch will cause the generated .BIN files to use Unicode string encoding.
  • The behavior of the "-A" switch has changed. Prior to Windows 1607 Anniversary Update SDK, when using the -A switch, BIN files were encoded using the build system's ANSI code page. In the Windows 1607 Anniversary Update SDK, mc.exe's behavior was inadvertently changed to encode BIN files using the build system's OEM code page. In the 19H1 SDK, mc.exe's previous behavior has been restored and it now encodes BIN files using the build system's ANSI code page. Note that the -A switch is deprecated, as ANSI-encoded BIN files do not provide a consistent user experience in multi-lingual systems.

TraceLoggingProvider.h / TraceLoggingWrite

  • Events generated by TraceLoggingProvider.h (e.g. via TraceLoggingWrite macros) will now always have Id and Version set to 0.
  • Previously, TraceLoggingProvider.h would assign IDs to events at link time. These IDs were unique within a DLL or EXE, but changed from build to build and from module to module.

For more, you can find the full list of changes and API updates in Microsoft's full release notes. If you want to get started with SDK preview build 18298, you can download it now through the developer section of the Windows Insider site.

Today's SDK release comes a day after Microsoft released a new Windows Server preview build, which also comes in at build number 18298.

Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl