Overview

This book has one primary goal: to get you working in Expression Blend 4 effectively using the features and functionality of the tool.   This book is not about XAML, not about code nor explicit work flows. It is about simply dragging, dropping, drawing, and defining the experience and vision for a user interface and rich interactive experience.   You will learn how to work with the core features of Blend, edit Styles and Templates, and more importantly, understand what they all mean. You will also work in detail with Parts, States, and Behaviors to understand how collectively they can provide your solutions advanced functionality without the need for code or hand-cranked XAML.   Animations and Storyboards will allow you to bring life to your vision, as will working with data efficiently and learning how to create and manage Resources.   In short, this book will give you the answers to many questions asked in forums by new and experienced users alike.   Microsoft Expression Blend 4 Unleashed is a stunning, full-color resource with hundreds of screenshots and informative figure references. It has also been authored sequentially, to enable you to build your knowledge step-by-step and gain confidence through repartition and fearlessness in discovery.   Detailed information on how to… Create, edit, and work effectively with Styles and Templates Master Parts, States, and Behaviors to enable XAML and code free functionality Use Blend’s Animation and Storyboard workflows to bring life to your solutions Create and manage Resource Dictionaries, Skins, and Themes Create sample and live data Implement effective XML, CLR Data binding, and Control Template binding using Expression Blends advanced data support tools Use Blend as part of your designer/developer workflow to create rapid prototypes with SketchFlow Use design resources to start creating solutions for Windows Phone 7 Work with WPF, Silverlight, and Silverlight for Windows Phone 7 platforms

Full Product Details

Author:   Brennon Williams
Publisher:   Pearson Education (US)
Imprint:   Sams Publishing
Dimensions:   Width: 17.80cm , Height: 1.90cm , Length: 23.10cm
Weight:   0.704kg
ISBN:  

9780672331077

ISBN 10:   0672331071
Pages:   384
Publication Date:   05 May 2011
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   Out of stock  

Table of Contents

Introduction    1 What Will You Learn in Expression Blend 4 Unleashed?    1 The Topics Covered in Expression Blend 4 Unleashed    2 How This Book Is Structured    2 Sample Applications Covered in This Book    3 1  Expression Blend 4 Overview    5 What Is Expression Blend and Who Is It For?    5 What’s New in Expression Blend 4?    7 A Brief History Leading to the Future…    8 Why the Focus Shifted Away from WPF    8 Enter Silverlight    9 What Does This All Mean for the Big Picture?    10 What Does Expression Blend have to do with HTML5, CSS, and Expression Web?    11 Summary    11 2  Discovering the Expression Blend Interface    13 The Expression Blend Interface Theme    13 How the Experience Changes    16 Project Panel    21 Expression Blend Options Dialog    22 The Artboard    27 The XAML Editor    30 The Code Editor    31 Objects and Timeline Panel    37 Tools Panel    39 Assets Panel    49 Properties Panel    49 Resources Panel    57 Data Panel    58 Summary    59 3  Using Expression Blend for the First Time    61 Keeping Things Simple to Start With    61 It All Starts with a Button!    62 Transformations    72 Simple Animation    74 Summary    78 4  Common Properties and Functionality    79 Controls, Controls, Elements…    79 Border    80 The Checkbox    83 The RadioButton    85 TextBlock Versus Label    88 The TextBox    89 The ProgressBar    92 The Slider    93 The ComboBox    97 The ListBox    100 Summary    102 5  The Art of Layout    103 Layout Panels    103 The Grid Control    104 Canvas    117 The Viewbox    119 Scaling Text    120 StackPanel    121 ScrollViewer    122 Summary    124 6  Element Styles and Templates    125 What Is the Difference Between a Style and a Template?    126 What Is a Style?    126 What Is a Template?    132 Creating the Easiest Button Ever    140 Simple Styles    142 Summary    144 7  Working with Parts    145 It’s the Parts That Make Up the Whole    146 Element to Element Binding    147 Building Your Own Slider Control    151 Summary    156 8  Working with States    157 What Is a State?    157 Working with the VSM    158 The Base State    160 The Unchecked State    160 Control Level States    163 State Transitions    168 Transition Effects    170 Transition Effect Priority    172 Summary    173 9  Working with SketchFlow    175 The User Centered Design Process (UCD)    176 It’s All About the Process    176 Collaboration Isn’t Easy    181 Creating a Basic SketchFlow Solution    183 Summary    215 10  Expression Blend Data Support    217 Designing Sample Data    217 Thinking About the Data    218 Defining Sample Data    219 Editing the Data Template    224 Editing the ItemContainerStyle    227 Working with the Details    229 The ValueConverter Solution    234 Switching to Live Data    239 Summary    246 11  Animations and Transitions    247 The Storyboard Editor    247 Animation Keyframes    250 Transformations    251 Plane Projections    258 Easing Functions    260 The Spline Editor    261 Repeating the Animation    263 Duplicate and Reverse the Storyboard    266 HandOff Animation    267 Managing State Animations with Storyboards    268 Summary    272 12  Shapes, Paths, and Effects    273 Taking Shape    273 Is it a Path or a Line?    274 The New Silverlight PathListBox    282 The Magic of Effects    289 Summary    290 13 Skins, Themes, and Resource Dictionaries    293 Does It Come in Blue?    293 Resource Dictionaries    293 What Is the Difference Between a Skin and a Theme?    297 Multiple Style Resources Within a Single Skin    305 Using the ResourceVault in Your Solution    307 Creating a Default Skin    309 Using Themes in Expression Blend    310 Summary    312 14  Advanced Controls    313 Introduction    313 The WPF and Silverlight Toolkits    313 The DataGrid Control    314 The DataForm    316 Silverlight Charts    317 InkPresenter    319 AutoComplete Textbox    320 WPF Extended Toolkit    322 Summary    323 15  Windows Phone 7    325 And on the 8th Day…    325 Style and Substance with Metro    327 Tools and Add-Ins    329 Building a Simple WP7 Application    335 Adding Rotation Animation Support    346 Summary    349 A  Resources for Going Further    351 Finding Out More…    351 Short URLs    351 Expression Blend Resources    352 SketchFlow Resources    352 XAML Resources    353 Silverlight Resources    353 WPF Resources    354 Windows Phone 7 Resources    354 Surface Resources    354 C# .NET Development Resources    355 M-V-VM Resources    355 Summary    356 Index    357  

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Author Information

Brennon Williams is the Chief Technology Officer for the award-winning UK design and development agency, Splendid. Brennon is also a technical advisor to several companies around the world, specializing in the implementation of designer/developer collaboration and workflows.   For almost two decades, Brennon has worked in several countries as a consultant software developer and technical advisor.   Owner of the ExpressionBlend.com website which is due to be launched in 2011, Brennon’s technology insights can also be followed at his personal blog, brennonwilliams.com   Brennon was awarded a BS in Computer Science from NYU and has received the Microsoft MVP award for Expression Blend 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011.  

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