Binding to a ConverterParameter in Windows 8 Metro 01 June 2012 Diederik-Krols Metro, WinRT This article describes how to simulate databinding to a ConverterParameter in a Windows 8 Metro XAML app. Let's say we have a TextBlock that displays a value from the ViewModel, and a Converter that takes this value together with some Range object as parameter. The converter should return ... [More]
Look Mom, I’m on the Tablet Show 29 May 2012 Diederik-Krols Metro, WinRT People that know me will definitely confirm that I’m a silent, modest person, always trying to keep a low profile . Last week, however, Carl Franklin and Richard Campbell from the Tablet show pulled me way out of my comfort zone to produce a podcast on the development of enterprise application... [More]
Using Dynamic XAML in Windows 8 Metro 23 May 2012 Diederik-Krols Metro, WinRT This article describes how the Windows 8 Metro Consumer Preview deals with three standard ways of dynamically applying a look-and-feel to XAML controls. When working in Metro with XAML and data, you will want to maximally leverage the data binding capabilities of the platform fro... [More]
Creating updatable Live Tiles from A to Z (part 1) 08 May 2012 Michael-Van-Wesemael Something I haven’t found on the webs, is a nice overview of how to create updatable live tiles. Sure, you can gather all the data, but all the do’s and gotcha’s in one article would be nice. So I decided to get everything together myself. OK: here’s the scenario. We need an app that visually show... [More]
Using a Sterling-database in Windows Phone as alternative to SQL CE 25 April 2012 Michael-Van-Wesemael Windows Phone, databases, Sterling I you remember my blogpost from a very long time ago, I wrote about using SQL CE with Windows Phone (you can find it here). SQL CE can be queried with LINQ to SQL, making it interesting for storing relational data. Recently I came in contact with the Sterling-database (check it here), an Object-data... [More]
A XAML Settings Panel for Windows 8 Metro 08 April 2012 Diederik-Krols This article describes how to create a custom Settings Panel for a Windows 8 Metro app (Consumer Preview) using XAML and C#. It also describes a way to broadcast the new settings to the app's components. Apps written in JavaScript and HTML5 can make use of the SettingsFlyout control. There's a full ... [More]
Using Reactive extensions for feeding test sensor-readings in Windows Phone 29 March 2012 Michael-Van-Wesemael Reactive Extensions, Rx, sensors, testing, Windows Phone An interesting technology you might have heard of is Reactive Extension (MSDN Rx Site). It’s available for different types of applications, although you may need to add the necessary assemblies through NuGet. But in WP7.5 it’s included in the SDK. The only thing you need are references to Micr... [More]
Using the CarouselPanel in Windows 8 Metro 28 March 2012 Diederik-Krols Metro, WinRT Warning: content applies to Windows 8 Consumer Preview only. In the current release, the CarouselPanel can not be used in stand alone mode anymore. This short article describes how to use the CarouselPanel in a Windows 8 Consumer Preview Metro style app. Don't expect the spectacular rotating 3D eff... [More]
A StringFormat converter for Windows 8 Metro 20 March 2012 Diederik-Krols Metro, WinRT Some people seem to think that the world has only one language, one currency, and one way to represent a date, a time, or a number. So WinRT comes without a StringFormat option in data binding. I know for sure that I never built a WPF or Silverlight application without extensively using that StringF... [More]
A Radial Gauge custom control for Windows 8 Metro 09 March 2012 Diederik-Krols Metro, WinRT A long time ago in a galaxy actually not so far away, Colin Eberhardt wrote a Radial Gauge custom control for Silverlight in less than six hours. It had everything a gauge should have: a needle, and a scale with tick markers and labels. Hell, it even had colored quality range indicato... [More]