Visual Studio Xamarin中Android Designer无法显示问题求助

Hey there, I know how frustrating it is when you’re trying to work on Android layouts and the Designer just refuses to load—let’s walk through some targeted fixes that go beyond the steps you’ve already tried:

1. Verify Xamarin & Android SDK Compatibility #

VS 2015’s Xamarin version is pretty outdated, and it doesn’t play nice with newer Android SDKs. Double-check that your installed Android SDK API level is supported by your Xamarin version. If you’ve got SDKs for API 29 or higher, try downgrading to API 28 (the last widely supported version for VS 2015’s Xamarin) and see if the Designer loads.

2. Wipe Project & VS Caches #

Corrupted caches are a common culprit here:

• Close Visual Studio completely.
• Delete the bin and obj folders from your Android project directory—these hold build artifacts that can get messed up.
• Navigate to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\VisualStudio\14.0\ComponentModelCache and delete all files inside this folder. This clears VS’s component cache which sometimes causes editor issues.
• Restart VS, reload your project, and try opening the .axml file again.

3. Fix AXML Syntax Errors First #

Sometimes the Designer fails silently because of invalid XML in your layout. Scan through the code view of your .axml file for any red squiggles—even a missing closing tag or misspelled attribute can prevent the Designer from loading. Fix all syntax errors before attempting to open the Designer again.

4. Manually Register the Android Designer Editor #

If the “Open With” menu doesn’t list Android Designer, you can register it manually:

• Open VS and go to Tools > Options > Text Editor > File Extensions.
• In the “Extension” field, type .axml.
• Click the dropdown under “Editor”—if “Android Designer” isn’t there, click Add, then browse to this path (adjust if your Xamarin install is in a different location):
  C:\Program Files (x86)\Xamarin\VisualStudio\14.0\Extensions\Xamarin\Xamarin.Android\Designer\Xamarin.Android.Designer.dll
• Select the DLL, set it as the default editor, and click OK. Now try opening your .axml file again.

5. Reinstall Xamarin Components Properly #

Your previous reinstall might have missed some components:

• Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, find Visual Studio 2015, click Change > Modify.
• Expand Cross Platform Mobile Development, make sure every checkbox under the Xamarin section is ticked (especially anything related to Android Designer).
• Click Update to install any missing components, then restart VS.

6. Test with a Fresh Android Project #

If none of the above works, create a brand new Android project in VS 2015. If the .axml file in the new project loads the Designer fine, your original project’s configuration is probably corrupted. You can either:

• Copy your layout files and code into the new project, or
• Compare the .csproj file of the working new project with your old one to spot missing references or incorrect settings.

As a last resort, consider upgrading to a newer version of Visual Studio (like 2017 or later)—VS 2015 and its Xamarin tooling are no longer supported, so newer versions have better stability and compatibility with modern Android SDKs.

内容的提问来源于stack exchange，提问作者Bilal Shafi