How to develop a App that embeds into Taskbar - c#

I am fairly new to windows programming world. I want to develop a windows application that is embedded into TaskBar(near to system tray) and clicking that actual application should launch. Is C# & WPF are right tools for that or should i use any other programming language. Any thoughts on how it can be done is very appreciated.

You can search for "tray bar application c#" or "notifyicon application c#", there are many examples. Also here is a possible duplicate of the question
How can I make a .NET Windows Forms application that only runs in the System Tray?

Related

Windows 8 Tile Icon for WPF application?

guys, first time posting -
I'm a newbie to Windows development and VS (Using 2013 on Windows 8.1).
I've created a very simple application by the action of
File->New Project/WPF application.
The application works great, and does exactly what I'd like it to do.
I successfully added a large (128x128) icon and got it to look great on Windows 7's taskbar and start menu by right-clicking my project in the Solution Explorer and specifying my .ico file through there.
I also added the 'Icon' property to my MainWindow.xaml file and it even looks great on the taskbar of Windows 8...
However, it doesn't even display my app's icon on the Start Menu of Windows 8, and I am having a really hard time finding documentation specific to this issue.
I'm sure it's a no-brainer but I'm just stuck.
How do I get a nice icon and tile in Windows 8?
Live tiles are only supported in Windows Store Applications but you can use some third-party solutions that provides a way to add this capability via the interoperation between your Desktop Application and separate Windows Store application (this one is installed on end-users computers and behaves like a server that can provide a Tile for its clients, which actually are the Desktop applications).
For example, DevExpress solution - WinRTLiveTileManager.
Or you can implement this approach itself...
Live tiles are only supported in Windows Store Apps unfortunately.
See this thread...

Full screen WPF App To act as operating system

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.

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.

How to create a WPF application which works both in Windows and Web

I am going to start a new (Right-To-Left) WPF project and the Main reason is to provide a single UI for the application in Windows and Web.
What Should I consider?
Which WPF Controls should/shouln't (can/can't) I use?
Do I Have to Use Silverlight? (I'm not interest)
Should I use XBAP project orWindows Project with Page base modules?
TIA
Your choices are indeed XBAP (WPF Browser App) and SilverLight.
You can easily google to find lots of comparisons, here is a short and simple one.
You main decision factor is your target audience. Do you want to support the Apple platform and maybe even Linux? Then use SilverLight.
If you're sure you only have Windows clients (Web and Desktop) you could use the more powerful WPF. But do write the WBA first so you don't run into permission issues later.

C# windows mobile skins or fancy controls

I am developing an application for a window mobile 6 using Visual Studio C# 2008 SP1.
However, the design of the application is very plain using the standard windows controls.
The application I am making is a phone that will be installed on WM6, so I am looking for controls that I can drag on to the form that resemble something that looks like a phone. Or just skins.
Any 3rd party controls or skins that can do this would be better? However, I don't mind paying for some if they fit for my application needs.
If there isn't any, any ideas how to make them myself? Any website tutorials?
Many thanks for any advice,
Steve
I make a Ink component for Pocket PC check this at http://velocityink.codeplex.com/ if you interested.

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