DotNetKicks.com : Stories kicked by dereklakin

Check out my blog's Webslice (alt: how to add a Webslice to your blog)

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:59:21 GMT

(Developer and Platform Group, Microsoft Ireland) So having just installed IE8 beta 2 today I thought I'd have a go at creating a Webslice for my blog...Turns out it's pretty easy, and I was even able to put a version of the Popfly mashup from my last post in my preview (added my blog's logo to make the slice a bit more visually appealing - clearly I missed my vocation as a designer). Since it uses a mashup, it has active content (e.g. javascript) so as a result I needed to use an Alternative Display Source.

IE8 Beta2 - The RIA Slice (Silverlight WebSlice)

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 08:46:02 GMT

The Internet Explorer Beta 2 was released yesterday introducing quite some new features about which you already probably read in one of the various like the IE8 Homepage or the announcement on the official IE Blog. However there may be a feature that isn't mentioned too often which is the fact that now with beta2 RIA technologies like Silverlight are also supported in the flyout of a WebSlice. This is something that wasn't available with Beta1. And since it is not as obvious to integrate a Silverlight portion into a WebSlice I will give you a littel walkthrough on how to do that. First of all I want to introduce you to the concept of the different sources from which a WebSlice can retrieve its information. To understand that we first need to differentiate between the two main components of a slice which is the button in the favorites Bar on the one hand.

What's new in WPF 3.5 SP1: Splash Screen to improve perceived startup

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:16:12 GMT

Summary: To improve the perception of a more responsive startup experience many WPF applications added a Splash Screen to their startup. The Splash Screen, which does not use WPF code, shows as soon as possible and is displayed until the application main window is rendered. Up until 3.5 Sp1 we pointed developers to sample code available on this blog. In the .Net 3.5 SP1 release we added basic Splash Screen support and new APIs and we recommend that you take advantage of it. (See download locations below) We are distributing the Splash Screen Visual Studio 2008 Sp1 Item Template on WPF Futures sites on www.codeplex.com/wpf.

ShaderPad - WPF ShaderEffects Workbench

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:01:02 GMT

ShaderPad is a application like XamlPad / LinqPad , it is meant to server as WPF ShaderEffects Workbench. The ShaderEffect is a PixelShader based Effect that an be applied to any UIElement in WPF. This feature is available only in .NET 3.5 SP1 . Download it from codeplex

IntelliSense for Expression Blend

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:16:05 GMT

An add-in for Expression Blend 2.5 that adds IntelliSense for editing of XAML files.

Using Regions in Code Files

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 21:31:03 GMT

Recently I have been confronted with a movement that seems to hate using #Regions in source code files. Personally I really like using regions and I absolutely like the ability to collapse sections of code I am not directly working with.

Advanced Usages of LinqPad

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:01:02 GMT

A short screencast that will walk you though how to use some of the advanced features of LinqPad.

WPF Photo Print

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 08:24:16 GMT

Here's a small WPF utility to help make ad-hoc photo printing a little easier. Some features: - No need to import your photos into a "walled" library (great if your photos are on a network share like mine, or just want an ad-hoc print from a memory card). - Never changes the source image and doesn't require version history. - All operations are additive and vector-based. Currently supports rotate (90° clockwise), crop (with aspect ratios) and straighten (up to 45° each way). - It's fast (no need to "Apply" changes or undo them later).

Determing the Relative Path in XLinq with Extension Methods

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:55:49 GMT

This post describes how I used extension methods to build up the relative path from the XML document response from the Box.net service.

Launch Firefox Instead Of Internet Explorer When Debugging

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 05:46:02 GMT

This article tells you how to launch Firefox instead of Intenet Explorer when running an ASP.NET web application in debug mode. This is something I needed to troubleshoot a project that presented a problem only in Firefox.

Create and apply custom themes with WPF

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:46:04 GMT

Concise blog post demonstrating how to apply themes and styles using WPF.

WPF XAML MenuItem Styles

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 20:07:51 GMT

In this post I discuss how to create a Style for the MenuItem object in WPF. This style will display a black menu with white text and border.

IE on Acid

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 05:46:02 GMT

Cool wallpaper for those who like IE. more..

Finally, a Good Reason for an Extension Method

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 07:25:12 GMT

I finally understand why extension methods are useful.

How to implement workflow in VSTS - Case of Code Review

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:23:52 GMT

There are many occasions when we need to implement workflow in the environment of VSTS. In this article, we will be taking up a case of building a workflow for Code Review.

. Net development tools necessary:Snippet Compiler

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:16:03 GMT

Snippet Compiler is a Windows-based applications, you can use it to write, compile and run code. Snippet Compiler now has support. NET Framework 3.5, the latest version Snippet Compiler Live 2008 Ultimate Edition for Developers (Alpha).

Silverlight Photo Browser

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:12:10 GMT

Automatic on-the-fly image discovery and on-the-fly thumbnail creation make this Silverlight Photo Browser / Gallery application very easy to use.

WPF - Selecting TreeViewItems in code

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:54:10 GMT

Outlines some simple steps to leverage your data model and the WPF data binding system to manipulate a TreeView by using code.

Displaying Data Validation Messages in WPF

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:30:30 GMT

Great article on how to display and format validation messages using the IDataErrorInfo interface and styling templates in WPF.

WPF - Send to Flickr, Settings Dialogs and Security

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:05:56 GMT

A tale of how to create a settings window the WPF way, e.g. by using data binding to the Settings class and successfully handling the Cancel scenario, and storing secrets, like your GMail password, in plain sight e.g. by using a settings configuration file, also in a WPF friendly way.

WPF - Settings Dialog... the Movie

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:02:59 GMT

Video post on how to use the Settings feature in .NET with data binding in WPF, including how to handle the Cancel scenario.

Creating a Custom View Mode that Supports a Template Selector

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 07:26:56 GMT

The controls that inherit from ItemsControl (such as ListBox, ListView, and so on) expose an ItemTemplateSelector property that you can use instead of the ItemTemplate property to specify a DataTemplateSelector. The DataTemplateSelector enables you to specify your own custom logic that determines which DataTemplate should be applied to each item. This article shows how to create a custom view mode for the ListView control that supports a DataTemplateSelector to enable dynamic selection of the DataTemplate for each item.

10 Tools Which I Left After Using VSTS 2008

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:01:08 GMT

I have started using Visual Studio Team System (VSTS) 2008, recently. Previously I worked with Visual Studio 2005. As a matter of fact I had to use lots of external tools to perform and speedup my development process. However, while working with VSTS 2008, it's very exciting for me that, I found replacements for most of the external tools there. Here are 10 tools which I left after using VSTS 2008.

Regular Expression Visualizer-A Must Have Tool

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 03:48:52 GMT

A review and example of Roy Osherove's new Regular Expression Visualizer for Visual Studio.

Introduction to Moq

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:01:04 GMT

In this post, I provide an introduction to Moq which is the newest of the Mock Object Frameworks. Moq is promoted by its creators as easier to learn and use than other Mock Object Frameworks such as Rhino Mocks and TypeMock Isolator.