Grant Hinkson

New Videos Posted: XamRibbon QuickStart and ResourceWashing

I've posted a couple of videos that highlight new features included in NetAdvantage for WPF 2007.2 that we released about a month ago. The first video demonstrates how you can use the samples included in the xamFeatureBrowser to quickly create a xamRibbon.

The second video demonstrates a feature that I'm really excited about: ResourceWashing. Using ResourceWashing, you can "wash" the brushes defined in ResourceDictionaries with a new color. Since the brushes can be washed at runtime, you can create an application that can be infinitely customized by the end user -- really exciting! This is the same washing technology used by AppStylist for Windows Forms in the "New from Template" feature. The xamRibbon is the first control whose brushes have been grouped into "WashGroups" to really take advantage of this technology. Moving forward, we'll be applying the same techniques to the other controls.  I can't wait to see what the WPF community ends up creating with this technology!

Videos

• xamRibbon QuickStart Video
• ResourceWashing Video

WPF Reflection Control

I was considering some of the common things that people want to do when they first start working with WPF. Creating reflections is one of those things, and while it’s not terribly difficult to do, it does become a monotonous task. And what do you do when you find yourself doing the exact same thing over and over? You create a custom control of course!

The Reflector control exists to perform one task: simulate a reflection of an object. You just bind the ReflectionTarget property (found in the Appearances category in Blend) to another control and it does all the work for you. If you want to tweak the reflection, you can always edit the ControlTemplate in Blend, but the default settings should cover most cases. I'm also looking at the height and width of the target control, so if you set the height and width of the Reflector control to Auto, it will size itself automatically (in most cases).

Lee Brimelow just posted a tutorial called Reflections in Visual Studio and Blend
at ContentPresenter.com that shows how to manually create reflections. After watching that tutorial you'll see what I'm taking care of automatically.

download WPF Reflection Control

(Note: Add a reference to this assembly in Blend by selecting the Project tab, right-clicking the References folder and selecting Add Reference. Browse to the assembly included in the zip file. Once you've added the reference, click the More Controls link on the tool menu (last item -- double down arrows), and select the User Controls tab. You'll see the Reflector control listed there.)

Microsoft Expression Blend and WPF/E CTP

Microsoft announced today the re-branding of Microsoft Expression Interactive Designer (EID) as Microsoft Expression Blend. For months now, EID has been publicly available for test use by WPF designers. Today’s public release of Blend really shows how much the product has evolved since EID was first made available. What once looked like an experiment now looks like a legitimate design tool. The UI now defaults to a clean gray style, something that will be familiar to users of 3D Studio Max or Adobe Premiere. Visually, everything has been touched. New icons have been created for all of the toolbars, new editors have been created for many property types, and the color editor finally lets you enter RGBA or Hexadecimal color values instead of scRGB values!

The changes are more than just skin deep, however. Tasks that previously required editing XAML directly can now be performed using the property panel. This means working with complex controls such as the Infragistics DataPresenter just became a lot easier and a lot more fun.

More Info

• Visit the Infragistics and Blend page to learn how Infragistics is working to ensure a great Blend experience with NetAdvantage for WPF.
• Check Mike Swanson's Blog for the more details on the Expression Suite update and the public CTP of WPF/E
• Microsoft Expression Team Blog

NetAdvantage 2006.3 and App Styling

NetAdvantage 2006.3 was released earlier this month with great new features for those of us in the design community. Specifically, we've added some really nice touches to AppStylist, mostly revolving around resources. Resource previews are now everywhere resources are used; resources can be selectively imported and exported from library to library, which makes reuse across ISLs much more accessible. The color dialog has been updated to support an eyedropper tool and we've also added a Ribbon preview canvas.

We're already working on updates for the next release, but I'll have to wait a while longer before I share. Really cool stuff though!

I was recently demoing AppStyling to existing customers who had yet to use the technology. They were amazed. They were smiling and nodding their heads in approval as I demoed skinning the live running app using AppStylist Runtime support. When you work with this stuff it's easy to forget how cool it is.

Check out NetAdvantage AppStylist and the AppStylist New Features page.

SWF to XAML Converter

Mike Swanson just posted an early build of SWF2XAML, a tool that converts Adobe Flash SWFs to XAML artwork. Nice work Mike! Mike created the first Adobe Illustrator to XAML Converter used by practically everyone working in the WPF space and has compiled a WPF Tools and Controls page that is an excellent resource for WPFers.

Two New Windows XP Themes

I read about these at the first of the month and never posted links. So, for those of you unaware of the recent XP themes that have been released, check these out:

• Royale Noir
• Official Zune Theme

I learned of these via Robby Ingebretsen. Here's a direct link to the article.

Microsoft Photosynth

I watched a video preview for this either on Channel9 (http://channel9.msdn.com) or YouTube, I can't remember now. If I find the link I'll post it. When you watch the video, you just assume it's one of those technologies you won't see for a while, or will never see. Something crazy tucked away in a lab somewhere... well, there's now a sample online that you can play with, and I must say it's pretty amazing. I'll reserve my final judgement for the release that lets me upload my own photos. Until then, check out the Photosynth preview: http://labs.live.com/photosynth.

Fireworks to XAML Exporter Latest Release

Fireworks to XAML Exporter Updated

The latest version of the Fireworks to XAML Exporter is now available for download. It includes significant enhancements and feature additions:

• Radial Gradients
• Elliptical Gradients
• Enhanced Gradient Exporting (Opacity Stops merged with Color Stops)
• Grouping Support
• Improved Text Exporting
• GlowBitmapEffect
• DropShadowBitmapEffect
• BlurBitmapEffect
• BevelBitmapEffect

Check the included readme.txt file for a more comprehensive list of changes.

Download Fireworks to XAML Extension

Using the Chameleon Style Library

For those of you using AppStylist™, you've probably already stepped through the isl's that ship with the product ([AppStylist Installation Directory]\Styles). I want to point out an additional file that you may have missed -- Using Chameleon.doc. It is located in the same directory, but unless you've browsed the Styles folder with Windows Explorer you've probably missed it. Chameleon was designed to provide a glass look similar to many of the other style libraries but with a level of added customization not available in the others. By changing values in just a couple of resources you can dramatically alter the look of the entire library. The Using Chameleon doc describes which properties to change and even provides a table of predefined colors for you to use! Fun fun!