---
title: Windows Forms
titleSuffix: ".NET"
description: Learn what it takes to get started with Windows Forms and how to enhance your Windows Forms applications.
ms.date: "08/30/2020"
helpviewer_keywords: 
  - "Windows Forms"
  - "user interface"
  - "user interface [Windows Forms], forms"
  - ".NET 5"
---

# Windows Forms for .NET 5 and .NET Core 3.1

Welcome to the Desktop Guide for Windows Forms, a UI framework that creates rich desktop client apps for Windows. The Windows Forms development platform supports a broad set of app development features, including controls, graphics, data binding, and user input. Windows Forms features a drag-and-drop visual designer in Visual Studio to easily create Windows Forms apps.

[!INCLUDE [desktop guide under construction](../includes/desktop-guide-preview-note.md)]

There are two implementations of Windows Forms:

01. The open-source implementation hosted on [GitHub](https://github.com/dotnet/winforms).

    This version runs on .NET 5 and .NET Core 3.1. The Windows Forms Visual Designer requires, at a minimum, [Visual Studio 2019 version 16.X](https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/downloads/?utm_medium=microsoft&utm_source=docs.microsoft.com&utm_campaign=inline+link&utm_content=download+vs2019+desktopguide+winforms).

    Even though this version of .NET is cross-platform, Windows Forms remains a Windows-only technology.

01. The [.NET Framework 4 implementation](../../framework/winforms/index.yml?view=netframeworkdesktop-4.8) that's supported by Visual Studio 2019 and Visual Studio 2017.

    .NET Framework 4 is a Windows-only version of .NET and is considered a Windows Operating System component. This version of Windows Forms is distributed with .NET Framework.

This guide is written for Windows Forms on .NET 5 (and .NET Core 3.1) and later versions. For more information about the .NET Framework version of Windows Forms, see [Windows Forms for .NET Framework](../../framework/winforms/index.yml?view=netframeworkdesktop-4.8).
