Is there a way for my application to auto-start after some time instead of a notification? Or am I constrained to just notifications?
The difference between Android and Windows Phone (you mentioned Android in your comment) is that Android allows you to do pretty much everything while Windows Phone is a very restricted system. So, unfortunately, the answer is no. (There are ways to launch your app from other places than the app's tile, though. See the end of the answer)
Why am I saying unfortunately? Of course, Windows Phone is a nice and seek operating system that runs wonderful even on low-spec devices like the Lumia 520. But that doesn't mean developers shouldn't get the freedom to interact with the Operating System and do innovative tasks.
But there are reasons Microsoft chose not to allow Autostart (or at least, restrict the area an app can access, not the autostart in particular):
it may irritate customers. Even if you show a message box, many customers just dismiss it without reading it and they wouldn't understand why an app would appear without their interaction
each feature would make the operating system slower and bigger. I don't want to say that an autostart makes the phone unusable, but here's a question: Do you need to run a registry cleaner on you PC from time to time? Yes, you do need to do so You even need to reinstall a PC form time to time. You don't need to do that on a Windows Phone. It just works and will always work (OK, that's maybe a bit too optimistic, but you get it...)
I also don't think an autostart is particularly useful on a mobile. Because each app runs full screen, the system would boot up to your app instead of to the start screen. I don't think the user will always want your app (most of the time, he'll want to look at his start screen or launch another app), so it would just be annoying. On a PC, you can use the auto start for small programs that should run in the background (for example, I've got a progamm that provides Git with my SSH keys that automatically starts up each time).
But as I mentioned above, there are other ways to launch your app. Using url schemes can be surprisingly powerful as you can put a button on a web page that will directly launch your app. Other apps will also be able to launch your app. But as it is not directly what you wanted to know, I won't explain it in detail and instead provide you wiht a gread link to msdn: Auto-launching apps using file and URI associations for Windows Phone 8
For such features you should look into: Windows Embedded 8.1 Handheld instead of the consumer version Windows Phone 8.1.
Related
Hi i have windows 10 Pro x64 bit and i will like to know if it's possible to develop a lock screen for windows 10 , without using hacks or not safe methods .. That will close the Pc monitor until a key is pressed .
I search the google but i did not find anything about that , other than how to disable it or how to change the background image of the already existing one
No, it is not possible.
The authentication experience in Windows is locked-down, for good reason. The system can be extended (previously using GINA for NT4 through XP, now Winlogon) but only really to allow for new authentication providers, not to change the user-experience.
Of course, you could always build your own full-screen application which mimicks a login screen, and it could be used to invoke the login action and create a session for that user, but if I press Ctrl+Alt+Del on my keyboard or WinKey+L, or choose any of the Logoff options from the start menu then I'll still get the "real" login screen, and that's by-design.
Historical note: Windows XP added the 'Welcome Screen' UX for computers that were not domain-joined. The Welcome Screen UI was a regular userland process which invoked the platform APIs for logging users on and off, and it was loaded into the special local login session. Hypothetically it was possible to replace this screen with another one completely, though I don't believe I ever saw anything beyond a proof-of-concept. There were third-party tools that customized the appearance of the login screen, but they worked by replacing image resources, they didn't actually replace the executable.
...but since Windows Vista the login experience was more controlled and I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) it's all controlled by the core authentication components, so it just isn't possible to replace it - not without seriously modifying the entire Windows security system.
I'm developing a Windows 10 Universal app (UWP).
Is it possible to set application as TopMost (always on top)? Like WPF or Winforms (TopMost property).
Thanks
A feature called CompactOverlay mode was added in the Creators Update that supports this type of functionality. When an app window enters compact overlay mode it’ll be shown above other windows so it won’t get blocked. This allows users to continue to keep an eye on your app's content even when they are working with something else. The canonical example of an app taking advantage of this feature is a media player or a video chat app.
A blog post describing the feature can be found here
https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/universal-windows-app-model/2017/02/11/compactoverlay-mode-aka-picture-in-picture/
Short answer is no, there is no way as of today to make the application modal.
There is a petition going around asking for this functionality, which was requested last December but given the amount of votes it got (35 at the time this answer was written), it doesn't look like it will be taken into consideration anytime soon.
As mentioned in the comments, this functionality would be PC only so even if it was added, my assumption would be that it wouldn't work outside of the PC mode (so no tablet, mobile or surface family device support).
It's not possible UWP apps have some restrictions compared with WPF of Win32 apps(classic apps).
With uwp apps you need enable some capabilities to do something special in your app as you can see in the link uwp apps need ask for permission or they can't access or modify files directly.
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/mt270968.aspx
Best Regards
I'm developing a Windows 10 Universal app (UWP).
Is it possible to set application as TopMost (always on top)? Like WPF or Winforms (TopMost property).
Thanks
A feature called CompactOverlay mode was added in the Creators Update that supports this type of functionality. When an app window enters compact overlay mode it’ll be shown above other windows so it won’t get blocked. This allows users to continue to keep an eye on your app's content even when they are working with something else. The canonical example of an app taking advantage of this feature is a media player or a video chat app.
A blog post describing the feature can be found here
https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/universal-windows-app-model/2017/02/11/compactoverlay-mode-aka-picture-in-picture/
Short answer is no, there is no way as of today to make the application modal.
There is a petition going around asking for this functionality, which was requested last December but given the amount of votes it got (35 at the time this answer was written), it doesn't look like it will be taken into consideration anytime soon.
As mentioned in the comments, this functionality would be PC only so even if it was added, my assumption would be that it wouldn't work outside of the PC mode (so no tablet, mobile or surface family device support).
It's not possible UWP apps have some restrictions compared with WPF of Win32 apps(classic apps).
With uwp apps you need enable some capabilities to do something special in your app as you can see in the link uwp apps need ask for permission or they can't access or modify files directly.
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/mt270968.aspx
Best Regards
I realize this might sound a little dubious but I assure you it isn't. I have a client who wants a win 8 pro touch screen app. One of the requirements is that the app is the only thing on the device the user may use. So my question is, can I make it so that the user cannot exit my wpf application? I have it running full screen without toolbars but they could still click on start etc. I essentially want it to run on windows but kind of be its own OS. Any advice is appreciated. Also if this is something that can be handled in group policies or some other way I would love to have that advice as well. Thank you.
You'll need to set Windows 8.1 to run in "Kiosk" mode.
How to enable Kiosk mode in Windows 8.1
The only caveat, is that the app must be a Windows modern app, not WPF.
Windows 8.1 comes with an excellent feature where you can lockdown the
device allowing the user to use only one application. You need to keep
in mind that this application needs to be a modern application and
cannot be a desktop application. So, if you are going to use it for
your customized company application (For e.g. ATMs, Flight Schedule),
the application should be a modern application
There is a product called "Secure Lockdown" from Inteset http://shop.inteset.com/lock-down-windows-7-with-inteset-secure-lockdown that looks like it can be used with a WPF app. I've not used it (yet), but it looks like it should work for your scenario. It's not free, but it reasonably priced at around $20. It says it is compatible with Windows 8 as well.
we are creating a windows Phone 7.5 application, this application is developed for specific purpose for company field employes, phones will contain the data sim. No communication allowed like making a phone call, sending sms or chekcing and repling email etc. This application will receive the Push Notifications from our application in the head office.
Is there any way that we can keep this application always on top, regardless what button is pressed by the user we want this application to always stay on top so what ever the notification it receive it will always disply it to the user for futher action.
Thanks
This requirement is not really feasible for a couple of reasons. First, what you are describing actually breaks most of the concepts that a certified app is required to follow. A subset of certification details can be found here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh184840(v=vs.92).aspx
Secondly, even if you planned to override the back button (possible) there really is no way to override the Windows, search or camera button at the OS level.
Best of luck!
Short answer: you can't. Application switching is part of the OS, and you don't have control over it.
Best workaround is to pin the app to start and allow it to do background processing with updates to the live tile.
If it's an absolute requirement, you'll have to jailbreak the phone and install your own OS on it.