The root cause for this long-standing crash with PenIMC is in Windows, typically on touch- or stylus-enabled machines. We implemented a fix in WPF to prevent this crash. We’ve tested the fix for several months, including on Windows Insider releases, and found that the crash does not repro on machines with the fix. The fix is now available from Windows Update. We invite you to install the update and re-enable touch scrolling if you had disabled it. If you continue to see frequent crashes that involve PenIMC, then we definitely want to hear from you.

Steps to address the fix

1. Install the update, and restart your computer.
   • Windows 10 version 1709 (KB4074588 or later)
   • Windows 10 version 1703 (KB4088782 or later)
   • Windows 10 version 1607 and Windows Server 2016 (KB4088787 or later)
   • Windows 8.1 and Server 2012 R2 (KB4074807)
   • Windows 7: the fix is not yet available.
2. Re-enable touch scrolling.

How to Re-enable touch scrolling

The process to re-enable touch scrolling depends on how you disabled it.

Option A: By using Tools Options (in Visual Studio 2017 version 15.5 and later)

1. Open Tools options, and navigate to the General page under Environment.
2. Remove the checkmark next to “Disable touch scrolling”, and restart Visual Studio.

Option B: devenv.exe.config

1. Find the devenv.exe.config file in the folder <VS Install Location>\Common7\IDE, and open it in a text editor.
2. Find the <AppContextSwitchOverrides> element, and delete the attribute “Switch.System.Windows.Input.Stylus.DisableStylusAndTouchSupport=true”
3. Restart Visual Studio.

Option C: System wide

1. Open Computer Management (compmgmt.msc).
2. Under "System Tools", select "Device Manager", and then Expand "Human Interface Devices".
3. Right-click "HID-compliant touch screen", and select "Enable".
4. Reboot your computer.

Workarounds if you cannot install the Windows Update

We strongly encourage you to keep Windows up to date with the latest security and reliability fixes. If you are unable to install the update, and are experiencing this problem, you may disable touch scrolling for Visual Studio.

By using Tools Options (in Visual Studio 2017 version 15.5 and later)

1. Open Tools options, and navigate to the General page under Environment.
2. Select the option “Disable touch scrolling”, and restart Visual Studio.

By using devenv.exe.config (Visual Studio 2017 version 15.4 and earlier, and Visual Studio 2015)

1. Find the devenv.exe.config file in the folder <VS Install Location>\Common7\IDE, and open it in a text editor.
2. Find the <AppContextSwitchOverrides> element, and add the attribute “Switch.System.Windows.Input.Stylus.DisableStylusAndTouchSupport=true”
3. Restart Visual Studio.

[Note: for clarity, we have removed other solutions from this post to make this solution easier to find. Thank you everyone for your patience on this issue.]