Tuesday, October 19, 2010

New Silverlight/Windows Phone 7 Video Tutorial: Use ManipulationDelta to Create a Multi-Touch Application


In this short 7 minute video I show you how to create a Windows Phone 7 application that has a draggable Ellipse that can be resized using multi-touch gestures.
Enjoy! Victor Gaudioso

3 Comments for this entry

1 Trackback or Pingback for this entry


Sunday, October 10, 2010

How is Blend Extensible?


A follower on Twitter asked me if I know anything about Blend extensibility.  The fact is, I think I know a little and I will share what I know.  If you happen to know more than I write about here please feel free to add it into the comments section.  As time goes on I will move those comments into the post itself (if they are correct, that is :)   ).
What is Extensibility?From what I understand, Extensibility is the ability to build functionality upon already existing functionality.  For example if I wanted to create my own Behavior I would extend the Behavior class and my new class would “inherit” all of the base functionality of a Behavior.  Thus I don’t have to re-write that base functionality every-time I want to make a new custom Behavior.

Blend Custom Controls are Extensible:
When you create custom controls in Blend they are highly extensible.  How you ask:
1. Context Menus – When you create custom controls you have the ability to add items into the default context menu.   For example if you had a custom LoginControl you could create a Context Menu Option for something like “Add a Remember Me” Button.
2. Categorization of Properties – When you create a custom control you can not only add properties that will show up in the Properties panel but you can even tell that property where to show up (other than the default Misc. bucket).  For instance, if you have a custom layout property called VerticleOrientation you could specify that property go into the Layout bucket of the Properties panel.  Further, Blend will give you custom adorners for certain properties, out of the box.  For example, if your property is a Double then you get a slider adorner.  If your property is a Color property you will get the ink chooser.  Blend will do this automatically.
3. Customization of Custom Control Adorers – This allows you to build custom controls that have adorners at design-time that allow you to easily customize that control.  For example, say I have a Custom DialogBoxControl and I want the designer to easily change the background color.  Well, I could add a design-time adorner of a color picker and have that value show up as the background of the control.
4. Setting Default Properties – This allows you to set default properties for your custom controls.  This will allow your deisgner to quickly see what properties you have exposed in your custom control.
Blend Project Types and Templates are Extensible
This means that you can build upon the basic functionality of Project Types and Templates to add your own custom ones.  For example, say you want everyone of your projects to have a left, vertical navigation bar.  Well you would build a template that would do exactly that.
Silverlight Behaviors are Extensible
This allows you to build upon the basic functionality of a Behavior and make your very own custom Behaviors.  For instance in this video tutorial I show you how to create your very own Behavior that changes the color of an object when clicked and then back to its original color when the mouse is released.  I then show you how to use it in Blend.
Like I said there are more examples of Blend’s Extensibility and I will leave it up to other readers to provide more examples but this should give you a good foundation and understanding of what Extensibility is and how Blend and Silverlight are Extensible.
Thanks!  Victor Gaudioso

1 Comment for this entry

  • Martin Krüger 
    Hello Victor,
    I would like to point to the extensibilty of Expression Blend 4 itself.
    If someone wants to write a custom Blend 4 extension I recommend the posts of Timmy Kokke on that topic:
    Building extensions for Expression Blend 4 using MEF http://tinyurl.com/2ch2sln
    Building a real extension for Expression Blend http://tinyurl.com/27p9px5
    Adding options in Expression Blend extensions http://tinyurl.com/25ocbyz
    Additionally there is a useful article on Silverlight design time extensibility from Justin Angel http://tinyurl.com/yd6ycyg
    Using the basic articles from Timmy Kokke I created my own little Expression Blend 4 Add-In http://tinyurl.com/2amwtes
    Unfortunately there is no official documentation on the Microsoft.Expression.[...] assemblies. But the articles mentioned above are a very good starting point for own exploration of the extensibility of Expression Blend itself.
    Regards,
    Martin

1 Trackback or Pingback for this entry


Saturday, October 9, 2010

New Windows Phone 7 / Silverlight Video Tutorial: How to make a Browser Application


In this 15 minute video I show you how to create a new WP7 application, add an ApplicationBar, add an ApplicationBarIconButton that when clicked loads a new Browser page.  I then show you how to add a TextBox, a Go Button and a WebBrowser control.  I then show you how to load whatever URL you type into the TextBox load into the WebBrowser control.
This could be considered Part 6 of the 5 part sereies on how to make a cool WP7 application, and you can certainly use it to build out your browser page that you created in the 5 part series; but I also wanted to make this application independent of that tutorial.  Meaning, this tutorial will still be relevant to you even if you have not taken the previous 5 part tutorial.  So, in summary this tutorial will be good for you if you have or have not watched the 5 part tutorial.

3 Comments for this entry

  • Proto-Bytes 
    Have you entered the “The Code Project” Win phone contest yet?
    @ProtoBytes
  • Christian 
    LOL, great tutorial… But 1 major comment… Was that an Iphone message notification going off during the video?
    Tsk Tsk…
    victor, I am trying to contact you if you would be interested in doing a book of tutorials just like this video with the concept of making WP7 applications using Blend… and getting the code ready for a developer… to get people over from the Flash / PSD / Illustrator world.
  • Victor 
    Proto, I have not entered the contest, been a little too busy at the moment.
    Christian, Uhh that was my wife’s iPhone you heard LOL
    Victor Gaudioso

7 Trackbacks / Pingbacks for this entry


Friday, October 8, 2010

Part 5: New WP7/Silverlight Video Tutorial: How to Capture an image from the MenuItem Button using the CaptureCaptureTask


Hello All!
I have added a new 5 minute tutorial on how to use the CaptureCameraTask task to capture an image from clicking the MenuItem Button.  This is part 5 of this tutorial.  The other parts can be found here:
Part 4: Compose and send an email from a MenuItem: http://wp.me/pWN5M-bI
Part 3: Make a Phone call from a MenuItem: http://wp.me/pWN5M-bD
Part 2: Add new pages when the ApplicationBarIconButtons are clicked: http://wp.me/pWN5M-bp
Part 1: How to build a Windows Phone 7 (WP7) appliaction with an ApplicationBar complete with IconButtons and MenuItems: http://tinyurl.com/352fm4u
Here is the video for the new, Part 5 video tutorial: http://tinyurl.com/32lhmhv
Enjoy! Victor

1 Comment for this entry

1 Trackback or Pingback for this entry



Thursday, October 7, 2010

Part 4: New WP7/Silverlight Video Tutorial: Learn how to Compose and send an email from a MenuItem Button


Hello All!
This is Part 4 in the Windows Phone 7 / Silverilght series.  Parts 1-3 can be found here:
Part 3: Make a Phone call from a MenuItem: http://wp.me/pWN5M-bD
Part 2: Add new pages when the ApplicationBarIconButtons are clicked: http://wp.me/pWN5M-bp
Part 1: How to build a Windows Phone 7 (WP7) appliaction with an ApplicationBar completewith IconButtons and MenuItems: http://tinyurl.com/352fm4u
In this video I show you how to create and send an email from a MenuItemButton.  Enjoy!

2 Trackbacks / Pingbacks for this entry