New Silverlight 4 Video Tutorial: How to use the COM API to Open Word in an Out of the Browser SL4 App

Hello All!

Finally my first Silverlight 4 video tutorial is here. I took a great video tutorial from Jesse Liberty on how to use this API to open Excel and create a new Workbook.  So, I thought it would be cool to show you how to use the COM API to open MSFT Word and create a new Document and add your own text to it.  So, that is what I did.  Please enjoy and leave me a comment to let me know what you thought of it!

Victor

Video URL :http://tw0.us/5NL
The Source Files:  http://tw0.us/5NM

My Silverlight 4 Presentation at LA C# Usergroup in Manhatten Beach, CA (12.01.09)

Hello All!

The LA C# Usergroup in Manhattan Beach was kind enough to invite me to present on Silverlight 4 last night and it went very well.  The members were very into everything .NET and very interested to hear what Silverlight had to offer.  As always I talked about Silverlight and then proceeded to code some cool samples for them right on stage. 

I made three applications while presenting: a SL4 Drop application, a simple physics enabled Asteroids game, and a Webcam application.  I also recorded the entire two hour session.  So, below you can download the source code for the demos I made, view the running demos and even watch the presentation.

Enjoy and thank you very much LA C# Usergroup, I had a BLAST!

Presentation Video | 1st half: http://tw0.us/5Kz

Presentation Video | 2nd half: Not Yet Posted

Webcam App:
Project Source Code: http://tw0.us/5JA
Running Application:  http://tw0.us/5Ky

  
DropDemo Source Code: http://tw0.us/5JB

Asteroids:
Project Source Code: http://tw0.us/5JC
Running Application: http://tw0.us/5Kx

Blog Page for LA C# Presentation:

My Blog: www.victorgaudioso.wordpress.com
Blog of all of my Video Tutorials: http://tw0.us/4cV

Ever Need a Sortable ObservableCollection?

Recently I had a ListBox bound to an ObservableCollection.  The powers that be wanted me to sort the items in the collection in alphabetical order.  Much to my surprise I found that this was not something built into a ListBox or into the ObservableCollection.  So, I set out to figure out how to do this in WPF.  I found a very cool posting on the Internet where this programmer (I’ll have to find his name and post it to give him credit) that showed me how to make a new class called SortableObservableCollection that extends the ObservableCollection but also adds functionality to sort it.  So, I built and it worked great.  So, I am sharing my code with you.  You can download my sample application here:

http://tw0.us/5Fz

You can either just add the reference assembly (found in the Debug/Bin folder of the zip) or you can just create a new class called SortableObservableCollection and copy the code from my class with the same name.

Enjoy!

Victor

A Rough Draft of my New Silverlight 4 Book (due out in 2010)

Apress/Friends of Ed has engaged me to write a follow up to my last book Foundation Blend 3 with Silverlight .  This new book will have all of the information from my last book as it is still relevant for Silverlight 4 but will also include the many wonderful new features of Silvelright 4.  I have created a rough draft for the Table of Contents for the new book and have decided to share it with you.  Please feel free to help me out and provide me with comments so that I can provide you with the best product to help those that are interested learn Silveright.

Table of Contents (working name: Foundation: Silverlight 4)

1. Setting up the development environment (Blend 3 probably Blend 4 when released, Visual Studio 2010, Silverlight 4 Tools, Silverlight 4 Runtime)
2. The Blend 3 (probably 4) Integrated Development Environment: The Toolbar, panels, artboard, workspace modes (Animation v Design)
3. C#, XAML, and Object Oriented Programming
4. Controls: Including the new Silverlight 4 Controls: ViewBox, RichTextArea ,  FlowDirection Property, the Improved DataGrid
5. Timed Storyboards: Creating a Newton Cradle application
6. Using the VSM and Blend 3’s State panel to create a Silverlight Media Player
7. Behaviors: Included behaviors and custom behaviors: Using the FarseerPhysics engine to create a simple Silverlight 4 video game
8. The Silverlight MediaElement: Create a video player application with Behaviors, XML serialization, and the new Silverlight 4 Drop property
9. Using RIA services with the Silverlight 4 Network Authentication
10. Events and EventHandlers including SL 4 right-click and MouseWheel event handling
11. Classes and Interfaces
12. ControlTemplates, Styles and Custom UserControls
13. Writing a Custom Silverlight 4 Content Panel
14. Writing a Silverlight 4 Out of the Browser application with Elevated Trust and the new Silverlight 4 COM API
15. DataBinding: What is it? Improvements in Silverlight 4: DependencyObject Binding, StringFormat, TargetNullValue, FallbackValue
16. Silverlight 4 Managed Extensibility Framework (MEF)
17. Building a Sketchflow Prototype
18.  The Silverlight 4 Printing and Open Save APIs: Create an Image Printer application
19. Creating a Photobooth application with the Silverlight 4 Microphone and Webcam API
20. Miscellaneous Silverlight 4 Features:  The Clipboard API,  Command support for Buttons,  HTML support, the Notification API, TextTrimming, Full Keyboard access in Full Screen,  Offline DRM support, Data Validation, ,Fluid user interface support, Implicit theming for Controls, Google Chrome support

 

 

New Silverlight Video Tutorial: How to use the FarseerPhysics.dll to create a Ragdoll with Simulated Physics

Hello All,

I was playing around with simulated physics in Silverlight.  I came accross a great, open source library called the FarseerPhysics library originated by Jeff Weber.  I watched a couple of videos on how to do a couple of cool things but I realized there was no tutorial on how to create a Ragdoll.  So, I decided to make one.  This video shows you how to easily incorportate simulated physics into your Silverlight applications all without writing a line of code! Enjoy!

Video: http://tw0.us/4p8

Sample Project: http://tw0.us/4p9

Farseer dlls: http://tw0.us/4pB

New SIlvelright Video Tutorial: How to Create a Reusable Functioning Login UserControl

In this video I show you how to create a reuseable Silverlight Login UserControl complete with login functionality.

Video: http://tw0.us/4o2

project: http://tw0.us/4ny

 

New Silverlight Video Tutorial: How to make a Timer Using the DispatcherTimer Class

In this short video I show you how to create a Silverlight Timer using the DispatcherTimer class. I then show you a real world example where you would use a timer in Silverlight.

Video: http://tw0.us/4o6

Project Download: http://tw0.us/4mr

New Codeplex Silvelright Project! Silverlight StoryboardHelper

Hello All!

I have finally done it; that is, add a project to codeplex! 

It consists of a Silverlight project (called StoryboarHelperProject) with a class called StoryboardHelper.cs.   Currently it has two public static methods called FadeInFrameworkElement and FadeIOutFrameworkElement. They allow you to specify a FrameworkElement to be faded in or out over a specified duration after a specified delay time.

It is my hope that people will add to the StoryboardHelper class to make this the most comprehensive Silverlight Storyboard helper class around!

Please take a look and start to contribute to your Silvelright Community today!

URL: http://slstoryboardhelper.codeplex.com/

Victor

All of My Video Tutorials in One Place (revisited)

Hey All,

This is a post that keeps growing day by  day so I need to update its postion to be at the top of my blog as the content grows. So, here it is again by popular demand:

Use the new Silverlight 4 COM API to make an Out of the Browser application that is able to open a MS Word document: http://tw0.us/5NN

How to make a Timer by using the DispatcherTimer class: http://tw0.us/4my

Create a Functioning Login UserControl: http://tw0.us/4o3

Use the FarseerPhysics Library to create a Ragdoll with simulated Physics: http://tw0.us/4pA

Create a Sortable ObservableCollection: http://tw0.us/5G0

Create a Silverlight Ragdoll with Simulated Physics: http://tw0.us/4pA

How to create a functioning Silverlight Login UserControl: http://tw0.us/4o3

How to create a Silverlight Timer using the DispatcherTimer class: http://tw0.us/4my

How to create custom RoutedEvents in Silverlight using Andrew Whiddett’s (IdentityMine) Eventing assembly reference: http://tw0.us/4cU

Use the Silverlight Toolkit’s WrapPanel to create a ListBox that displays three rows of Data: http://tw0.us/4aV

Create a Silverlight custom Silder: http://tw0.us/4LZ

How to create a Visual Tree Helper to locate FrameworkElements in the Visual Tree: http://tw0.us/46C

Using DataBinding to control the Visibility of any Silverlight Object using Blend and Visual Studio: http://is.gd/4jUYJ

How to create a complete Sketchflow Prototype in Silverlight: http://is.gd/41pjN

Creating a Custom Silverlight Button Just for Designers (using linear and radial gradients, the gradient tool and opacity masks): http://is.gd/3XAcr

Creating a Custom Silverlight Button: http://is.gd/3X1eZ

Creating a Storyboard Helper Class:  http://is.gd/3mjXW

Importing Photoshop PSD files into Expression Blend 3:
http://is.gd/3f53d

Creating Morphing Vector Path Storyboards in Blend
http://tw0.us/4oI

Re-Creating a Metallic Logo in Vector using Blend 3
http://tw0.us/4oL
 
Creating Timed Storyboard Animations
http://tw0.us/4oK
 
Using TemplateBinding to Replace a ContentPresenter in a Silverlight Button
http://tw0.us/4oJ
 
Working with Data in BLend 3
http://tw0.us/4oN
 
Silverlight 3 Behavior Tutorial Video
http://is.gd/3ajTP
 
This Tutorial will teach you how to create a Card Flipping Animation!
http://is.gd/3ajpa 

Observable Collection Tutorial
http://is.gd/3ajLK

Silverlight Extended Drag and Drop Behavior:
http://victorgaudioso.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/extended-drag-and-drop-behavior/q

Enjoy! Victor

New Video Tutorial: How to Create Custom RoutedEvents in Silverlight

My Good Friend Andrew Whiddett, CTO of IdentityMine wrote a great solution to be able to make Custom RoutedEvents available in Silverlight (currently custom RoutedEvents are only available in WPF).  RoutedEvents as you may or may not know, are the backbone of what makes the Model View View Model development pattern work.  Now, because of Andrew’s genius you can use it in Silverlight too!

Here is a link to the video showing you exactly how to use it: http://tw0.us/4oC

The URL to the dll: http://tw0.us/4cS

The URL to my project: http://tw0.us/4cT

Have fun and Enjoy!  And a Special thanks to my good friend and former mentor, Andrew Whiddett.

Victor