Windows 8.1 WPF controls in a Universal Application - c#

I was wondering if you can use Windows 8.1 controls in a Universal Application? Our company has two different tools set purchased which contain a set of tools that I need to utilize in a Windows 10 Universal application that I am developing, mainly gauges and graphs and want to make sure I won't run into any problems. Otherwise I will need to roll my own or find another means.

You can't use the the DevExpress WPF controls neither in WinRT(Win8 XAML) nor in UWP(Win10 Universal App) development because all of these platforms are powered by absolutely different technologies.
If you are talking about the WinRT-development under Windows 8.1 you should use the Windows 8 XAML Controls suite.
IF you are talking about the Universal App developement under brand new Windows 10 you should use the UWP controls suite. AFAIK the DevExpress UWP controls ships in beta status right now.
Related links(tutorials):
Install DevExpress UWP Controls, Run Demos and Explore the Toolbox
Re-use Code from an Existing Windows 8.1 Application
Create a Windows 10 Universal App from Scratch

Related

What are the differences between Windows Desktop C# Apps and just apps?

Here are two similar articles:
1) https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/uwp/design/shell/tiles-and-notifications/send-local-toast
2) https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/uwp/design/shell/tiles-and-notifications/send-local-toast-desktop
I can't get info one thing. First article provides tutorial for notifications for apps. Another article shows tutorial for Desktop C# app. What to choose and what are the differences? Thanks.
When they call them apps like what they mean that are the apps made with the new technology called UWP (Universal Windows Platform) which only work with Windows 10. You can see it here.
Prerequisites
To fully understand this topic, the following will be helpful...
A working knowledge of toast notification terms and concepts. For more information, see Toast and action center overview.
A familiarity with Windows 10 toast notification content. For more information, see toast content documentation.
A Windows 10 UWP app project
Then what they call Desktop C# app, are the "classic" ways to do windows applications. For example WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) in C# which runs in most Windows machines, like Windows 7 or Vista, also they meant the application made in c++.
The main difference is that what they call apps are the ones made with UWP, these ones work well on windows tables, windows phones, and so on.
And desktop c# app
is an app created with WPF which is a little older but works in older OS's.

How to specify initial window size for Windows 8.1 app running on Windows 10

Is it possible to set the default window size for a Windows 8.1 app running on Windows 10?
I know that this can be done for a UWS app using APIs introduced in Windows 10. However, converting the app to Windows 10 will take some time.
In the meantime, I would like to be able to release a quick fix which would ensure that current Windows 8.1 app launches with the correct size.
Does anyone know how to achieve this?
You could use reflection to call part of windows 10 sdk at runtime within your windows 8.1 app.
Take a look at Thomas Nigro blog, he does that for the vlc winrt app.

What is the alternative of Pivot Control in Windows 8.1?

I am migrating my Windows Phone 8 app to Windows Universal Apps. I am currently working on Windows 8.1 project.In my Windows Phone 8 app , I used Pivot Control to show multiple pages and for each App bar was different and in that when I used to slide the other view was visible. I showed different listbox on each page and the values comes from database. I want to do the same for Windows 8.1 but I found that there is not a Pivot Control in Windows 8.1. Can anyone suggest me any control using which I can do that. If possible explain me with some code.
Please help.
See XAML controls comparison between Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 on MSDN.
Not all controls are available for both Windows and Windows Phone. Specifically, there is no direct analogue to the Pivot on Windows 8.1. You will need to either redesign your UI to use a different control or write your own (or find a 3rd party control) Pivot control.
Two likely options are a FlipView or a Hub Control, but the specifics will really depend on the details of your app.

Using Windows Store controls in a Windows Forms application

We are looking at creating a new mobile application which will run on tablets using full Windows 8. We would like to be able to use full SQL for our data storage (which can be accessed easily using Windows Forms apps), but also retain the nice controls and touch friendliness provided by Windows Store apps (e.g. the LayoutAwarePage and the Windows 8 XAML controls).
We were looking at a way to use the Windows Store libraries within a Windows Forms application (as mentioned here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/jj856306.aspx#consuming_standard_windows_runtime_types), but have had no joy beyond adding the reference to a solution.
Does anyone know how to add a LayoutAwarePage to a Windows Forms application? Or is there a better way to approach this?
If you want it to look like a windows 8 app try having a look at MahApps
http://mahapps.com/MahApps.Metro/
Its pretty easy to use and look pretty good, this is for wpf though not winforms

Windows 8 Application Launcher with a WPF application

I need to set the Windows 8 Application Launcher to launch my WPF application as guided here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn195617(v=winembedded.81).aspx
Is it possible or does it have to be a Windows 8 App (instead of a regular WPF application)?
If its not possible, how difficult would it be to migrate my WPF application to a Windows 8 App format?
Couldn't i simply package my WPF application with an AUMID?
Important: The Windows 8 Application Launcher also has a KeepAlive option in Windows Embedded. I need it to keep my application alive as well incase its closing so a good solution would include this as well. Of and i'm using ClickOnce for auto-update my WPF application and i would like to keep this functionality too.
your example is for win 8 Embedded and only for apps. There you have the possibility to startup directly an app.
I think there is still startup possibility for your wpf application on normal Windows 8 devices.
Maybe you have to disable metro on startup. Here is a complex tutorial about this. In Win 8.1 there will be a simple option inside the properties of the taskbar.
Judging by the page you linked, it seems you are out of luck. Only Windows 8 apps are mentioned. But maybe there is another mechanims to auto start desktop applications?
The difficulty of migrating a classic WPF desktop application to a Windows 8 ("Store") app depends on the kind and content of the application, ranging from simple to impossible.
Windows 8 apps are sandboxed and cannot do everything a desktop application can, they have a different lifecycle and different UI/UX principles (you probably need to redo your UI from scratch). .NET and XAML for Windows Store Apps look like .NET and WPF for desktop applications, but there are many surprising details and strings attached, possibly complicating a direct port.
Application Launcher is for Windows Store Applications only. However you can achieve the same effect with Shell Launcher for any executable.
Have a look at these two links here:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn195623(v=winembedded.81).aspx
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn451259.aspx
Let me know if you need additional help.

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