Creating xaml 'template' for multiple pages - c#

I'm developing a Silverlight application for the first time. I've gone through some tutorials, but I can't seem to find anything that helps me with this particular problem. I would like a set of buttons to be present on all of my pages (like a template). When a button is pressed, I would like the ContentGrid to slide out and a new ContentGrid slide in (with the relevant .xaml file being loaded).
Are there any tutorials showing the best way to do this? From samples I've seen, they only seem to transition between two pages, so copy-pasting the group of buttons on each xaml page isn't too much of a problem. However, with more pages, it would be inefficient to copy-paste the base layout each time.
Thanks for any suggestions

I used to create a master view and create each page content as a user control; that way, I can swap out/in the user control for the appropriate page, and I would have a consistent header that way... similar to a master page in ASP.NET. I'm sure there are other templates too; I'm not aware of everything available for Silverlight...
The one answer I cannot provide is the transition; the only thing I can offer is Telerik has a control for that purpose, the transition control: http://demos.telerik.com/silverlight/#Controls I understand if you can't drop a couple of hundred bucks to get it though :-)
HTH.

Have you tried the Silverlight Business Application Visual Studio Project template?

Related

UWP Multiple MenuItem Views in NavigationView

Is there a way in a NavigationView in UWP to have multiple "Views" for NavigationViewMenuItems? The concept would be to have Categories or Folders as MenuItems, and when clicked or the NavigationViewMenuItems would slide out to the left and show the contents of the folder or category. Then when navigating back out of the folder, the folder and categories list would slide in from the left again. I know I can change the NavigationView.MenuItemsSource in C#, but I'd like to instead have this done primarily in XAML. I've tried numerous ways to do this, but can't seem to find a way that works.
I don't really have any code to demonstrate this, as this is a whole concept issue rather than a single bug that isn't working. I have searched everywhere, and have found numerous articles/links about loading different views into NavigationView.Content, but nothing of changing the MenuItems portion.
Does anyone have any ideas on how to achieve this, or a link to a tutorial I could follow? I can't imagine that this has never been done before, this seems like such a common-sense UI interface.
What you need actually is a Tree Navigator. The UWP has no such a built-in control for us. You could use the third-party control like Syncfusion TreeNavigator.
See the code sample on GitHub: https://github.com/syncfusion/uwp-demos/tree/master/Navigation

WPF layout changes (Fill, Full, Snapped)

I am working on a Win8 app destined for the Windows Store. Hurdles I am trying to overcome is how to deal with the different ways an app can be displayed.
Currently, my main pages is a LayoutAwarePage so it has logic to handle different visual states. However, my question is more how to make my page render differently depending on its state.
I thought, initially, that you basically created a layout for each state that the application supports. But it seems like the VisualStateManager portion of the XAML is just an area where you make piecemeal modifications to the design (hide an element, change an alignment).
I am working with a grid that has many columns and rows to organize my controls and it looks great in fullscreen. However, this doesn't work at all in the snapped state, as most of my controls become hidden off screen. I could certainly add a ScrollViewer control, but this is basically a hack and a usability nightmare for a user.
Thanks for any insight!
It might be that your app doesn't lend itself to snapped view. You are allowed to simply display a message / image that states this. Alternatively, consider just showing the columns that are most important.
The standard MS way seems to be to replace horizontal oriented controls with vertical ones - maybe a listview or something would look better. You'll probably find your code easier to read if you have one control for snapped and another for full screen.
Not exactly related to your question, but Blend works very well with XAML to allow you to manipulate the grid or show the relevant control.
Here is a very good guide from Jerry Nixon.
http://blog.jerrynixon.com/2012/12/walkthrough-implementing-snapview-in.html

Is it possible to generate code properly through a toolbox custom control?

Ok, so long story short, I was working on a .NET WEBFORMS project which was capable of creating ASPX pages through an ASPX form, which was basically a drag and drop controls page which, we could say, seemed to be a basic but functionality acceptable page/wizard/aspx-creator.
Well, now my higher-ups decided that approach is not a worthy solution and, I don't know why, they got into their heads that this, instead of this ASPX creator form, could be implemented through custom controls added to the toolbox.
So, my doubt is... is that even possible? Or better, is that a reasonable solution? I mean, the first cons I've already found is the fact It seems that it's impossible to yield CodeBehind code by the drag and drop method.
Thanks in advance!
Custom Controls
This MDSN walkthrough teaches you aboutmaking custom web controlls for asp. these would be able to appear in your tool box and could be dragged into its respective place, is this waht you are looking for?
EDIT:
Re-reading it looks like you want to be able to drag in bits of code and have certain regions prompted for edits, this CAN be done, using snippets. if you type propg or propfull and tab twice it constructs that code and tells you what bits to edit right? you can make your own snippets!
Creating custom snippets
failful msdn tutorials to the rescue once more!

html links & hover events over certain locations on an image

So i created a web site a long time ago using a designer alot like frontpage + expression design put together, and since then Ive gotten more into coding, and I'm learning html, CSS, and all that good stuff.. and i have this re-designed header that Ive made here:
http://prntscr.com/8zct
So what I need to know, is how i can get it so that when a user clicks on one of the links in the header design it will redirect to a page. and also if possible, how to make it so when a user hovers over a link a drop down may appear with other options, EDIT: I'd like to be able to add a backround image to the drop down navigation menu
As me being quite new to this sort of stuff, could anybody help me achieve this?
PS. I'm working in Visual Studio with ASP. but that doesn't change anything about the html and css stuff. just letting you guys know.
To navigate based on clicks on certain areas of an image, read about image maps.
To create menus and other active components, read about JavaScript (also recommended: jQuery).
You can also create divs that are clickable to use as hot spots on an image. that way you could add a background image to that div if ti's hovered/clicked, whereas image maps does not afford you that opportunity.

Developing wizard UI - WPF

All in WPF:
Developing a wizard application, user has to answer a number of simple questions before brought to the main app. The main app is then prefilled with the information obtained from the wizard.
I started with a Window which I then planned to add usercontrols to. The main window would have the user control in the first row, then Next and Previous buttons to control moving between the controls in the second row. This way I could easily control the logic to switch between screens like:
WizardControl1.IsVisible = false;
WizardControl2.IsVisible = true;
But for some reason, user controls do not have setter for IsVisible. Hurray.
So then I thought I would just use seperate windows for each section of the wizard. The problem with this approach is that now when stepping between, the window opens in random positions, and by steppign through the wizard with next, the next window pops up randomly which is really distracting and frustrating.
So how can I develop a wizard properly? I don't get why this is so hard...not exactly rocket science... replacing text and controls and storing input after pressing next/previous!
Thanks
Check this link:
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/WPF/InternationalizedWizard.aspx
This is the article about building wizard in WPF by Josh Smith, it's seems to be nice pattern.
I found it's helpful for me, hope you'll too.
There is also an open source Avalon Wizard control on codeplex.
I'd probably aproach this using data binding and template selectors. Have the wizard form bind to a "WizardData" class, which exposes a list of "WizardPage" base classes.
The WizardData class can expose properties defining the correct info on the forms, and display a control for the main page that uses a template selector to determine the proper control to display based on the actual type of the particular wizard page.
It sounds like more work than it is, really. It also gives you the benefit of good separation between code and UI (all "work" is done by the WizardData and WizardPage classes), and the ability to test logic independent of the UI.
It's also a very WPF/MVVM way of approaching the problem.
I recognize this does not directly address your question, but I thought I'd mention it as a possible alternative. I've used Actipro's Wizard control with pretty good results, and when I have needed support, they have been very responsive. I am not affiliated with them in any way; I just like not having to write the plumbing to manage a wizard.
The property is called "Visibility".
I find that I do better when I dynamically add and removing controls rather than hide them.
I was looking for a Wizard solution too. I have the need to stick with stock WPF components so I implemented the wizard using a standard form and a tab control.
I only hide the tabs at runtime so there available in the IDE. At runtime just use Back, Next, Finish... to navigate thru the tab items
works good

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