COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL. viii. About the Authors...v Acknowledgments...vii Introduction...xxvii

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1 About the Authors...v Acknowledgments...vii Introduction...xxvii Part I: Designing Next-Generation User Experiences Chapter 1: Exploring New User Interface Techniques...3 Chapter 2: Working with the Workspace...29 Chapter 3: Designing a Next-Generation Interface...69 Chapter 4: Deploying Your Application Securely Part II: Creating and Transforming Vector Graphics Chapter 5: Drawing Shapes and Manipulating Paths Chapter 6: Manipulating Color, Fills, Gradients, and Transparency Chapter 7: Creating Styles and Using Resources Chapter 8: Using Principles of Graphic Design to Create Next-Generation Interfaces Part III: Designing with Type Chapter 9: Creating Flow Documents and Formatting Text Chapter 10: Styling Text and Using WPF Typographical Features Chapter 11: Using Principles of Typographic Design to Enhance the User Experience Part IV: Creating Cinematic User Interfaces Chapter 12: Using 3D Models Chapter 13: Employing Principles of 3D Design to Add Depth to the User Experience Chapter 14: Adding Audio, Video, and Animation Chapter 15: Applying Principles of Animation to User Interface Design COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL viii

2 Part V: Constructing Controls and Layouts Chapter 16: Creating and Customizing Controls Chapter 17: Employing Principles of Usability in Next-Generation User Interface Construction Chapter 18: Arranging Layout Panels Chapter 19: Applying Principles of Usability to Panel Layout Part VI: Coding, Data Binding, and XAML Chapter 20: Writing Code Chapter 21: Data Binding Chapter 22: More XAML Chapter 23: Putting It All Together Glossary Index ix

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4 About the Authors v Acknowledgments vii Introduction xxvii Part I: Designing Next-Generation User Experiences 1 Chapter 1: Exploring New User Interface Techniques Building Rich Interactivity with Vector Graphics, Animation, 3D, Video, and Audio...4 Designing your application with vector graphics...5 Designing with type...6 Incorporating animation into your design...7 Including 3D models and animation...8 Playing video...10 Using audio...10 Adding images...11 Creating Innovative and Elegant User Interfaces...12 Choosing and customizing controls...13 Choosing layout panels...14 Nesting panels and controls for a hierarchical design...16 Adding bitmap effects...17 Using styles and templates...18 Linking to data...18 Increasing Productivity by Increasing Collaboration...19 Exploring Examples of Innovative User Interfaces...20 Big windows...21 Rooms...22 Minimized interfaces...22 Drag-and-drop desktop tools...23 Visibility on demand...23 Mouse-overs...24 Memory dots...24 Transparencies and shadows...24 Metawindows, drawers, and scrapbooks...25 Even more ideas...26 Summary...27 xi

5 Chapter 2: Working with the Workspace Creating and Testing a Project...29 Viewing the code files...31 Resizing your window or page...33 Building and testing your application...34 Customizing the Blend Workspace...34 Using the Artboard...36 Adding vector objects...37 Drawing simple paths...37 Adding controls...38 Adding layout panels to the artboard...38 Using object handles...39 Selecting objects with the Selection tool...40 Selecting objects with the Direct Selection tool...40 Positioning your object in the artboard...41 Adding text...41 Formatting text using the Text palette...42 Zooming the artboard...46 Snapping objects to snap lines and grid lines...46 Using layers...48 Adding 3D objects...48 Auto sizing...50 Your Panels and Palettes at a Glance...52 Using the Properties panel...52 The Results panel...58 The Interaction panel...59 The Project panel...61 The Resources panel...63 Working with the Toolbox...64 Using the Asset Library...65 Summary...66 Chapter 3: Designing a Next-Generation Interface Conceptualizing the User Experience...69 Using Metaphors...71 Moving from Thumbnail Sketches to Mockups...72 Starting with thumbnail sketches...73 Creating the user interface...74 Inserting controls...79 Adding Animation and Video...81 Data binding controls...83 Planning your navigation system...90 Assigning Hyperlinks...90 Adding frames into windows to navigate between pages...91 xii

6 Converting to Full Functionality...92 Adding and Editing XAML Code...93 Adding code to the code-behind files...96 Summary Chapter 4: Deploying Your Application Securely Considering Deployment Options Quick and Easy Deployment of Your Standalone Applications Deploying with ClickOnce Deploying with XBAPs or Other Methods Using ClickOnce Striving for a true ClickOnce experience Trusted publishers Publishing your project using ClickOnce Opening your project in Visual Studio Using the Security tab Signing your application manifest and deployment manifest Choosing the options for updates Using the Publish Wizard Creating an XBAP Creating the XBAP in Visual Studio Working with an XBAP in Blend Transforming a Standalone Application into an XBAP Adding an XBAP or Loose XAML to Your Web Site Calling a XAML Browser Application from a Web page Using Iframes Creating and deploying loose XAML files Summary Part II: Creating and Transforming Vector Graphics 129 Chapter 5: Drawing Shapes and Manipulating Paths Drawing and Combining Shapes Drawing circles, squares, and rounding corners of rectangles Combining shapes with other shapes or paths Drawing Paths Creating and adjusting curves using the Alt key Creating and adjusting curves using control handles Adding nodes, deleting nodes, or closing a path using the Pen tool Converting shapes into paths Editing Nodes with the Direct Selection Tool Transforming Objects Using Render Transform and Layout Transform Auto Sizing xiii

7 Embellishing Strokes Assigning Stroke End Caps Assigning Stroke Line Joins Creating Complex Line Drawings Creating vector art by tracing your photos and line drawings Drawing vector art from real life Summary Chapter 6: Manipulating Color, Fills, Gradients, and Transparency Using Color Spaces Creating and Using Color Resources and Brush Resources Applying system color resources Creating and using local color resources Applying a system brush resource Creating and applying a local brush resource Editing color or brush resources Creating and Applying Gradients Adjusting gradients with the Brush Transform tool Repeating and reflecting the gradient Transferring Colors, Gradients and More Using the Eyedropper Using the Paint Bucket Using Images Adding and linking images Assigning the Stretch Property Adjusting the initial size and resizing using the Layout palette Deleting or removing images from your project Using Image, Drawing, and Visual Brushes Creating and using an image brush Creating and using a drawing brush Creating and using a visual brush Editing your Drawing, Image or Visual brush resource Using the Tile Brush Working with Bitmap Effects Creating bitmap effects Using BevelBitmapEffect Using BlurBitmapEffect Using DropShadowBitmapEffect Using EmbossBitmapEffect Using OuterGlowBitmapEffect Combining Bitmap Effects Changing Transparency Working with opacity masks Setting the Opacity of an object xiv

8 Creating beams of light Creating spotlights Making your vector art glow Making shadows Summary Chapter 7: Creating Styles and Using Resources Creating, Applying, and Editing a Style Creating a new style Applying a style as a resource Editing a style Deleting a style Using Resources Advantages of using resources Importing and using an external resource dictionary Copying and pasting resources Linking to resource dictionaries Importing vector objects from Expression Design as resources Using Expression Design Getting started with Expression Design Using the tools Applying colors and gradients Choosing the stroke Combining objects Using blend modes Applying filters and effects Using Expression Media to Enhance your Images Improving your images with Expression Media filters Exporting images from Expression Media Summary Chapter 8: Using Principles of Graphic Design to Create Next-Generation Interfaces Increasing Usability Through the Aesthetic Usability Effect Applying Universal Principles of Design Making form follow function, and more Optimizing figure/ground relationships Taking advantage of the picture superiority effect Evoking archetypes Using the rule of thirds Deploying color Creating meaning by grouping Summary xv

9 Part III: Designing with Type 227 Chapter 9: Creating Flow Documents and Formatting Text Introduction to Windows Presentation Foundation Flow Documents Creating Flow Documents in Blend Creating the FlowDocumentScrollViewer and RichTextBox in Blend Adding a toolbar to the FlowDocumentScrollViewer Creating a FlowDocumentReader and FlowDocument PageViewer in Blend Auto Sizing your flow document viewers Adding and Positioning Text, Images, and UIElements in your Flow Documents Adding text into your flow document Adding an image into your flow document Moving your image or paragraph to another location in your flow document Adjusting the size of your image Adding a button or other UIElement into your flow document Adjusting the sizes and locations of your images and UIElements in your flow document Adding hyphenation and optimal paragraph enabling in flow documents Wrapping text Wrap and WrapWithOverflow Using a Figure or Floater to create a sidebar Figures versus Floaters Wrapping text around an image or UIElement Formatting your Flow Documents Adjusting the spacing between paragraphs in your flow document Specifying the column width in your flow documents Setting Options for Flow Documents and other Text Controls Making your text box focusable, assigning a cursor, and adding a tool tip Assigning IsHitTestVisible and IsEnabled Spell-checking Adding Labels and Access Text Data binding a slider to enable text scaling in a RichTextBox, TextBox, and TextBlock Summary Chapter 10: Styling Text and Using WPF Typographical Features Advanced Typographical Features Available with Windows Presentation Foundation Adding Swashes Choosing from a variety of capital letters Working with ligatures Assigning Alternates Assigning Variants Working with Numerical Styles Customizing Text Controls Scaling and stretching your text Rotating, skewing, and flipping text xvi

10 Auto sizing your text box Setting maximum and minimum scaling values for your auto sizing Converting Text into Vector Graphic Objects Applying Colors and Other Visual Effects to Text Assigning solid colors and gradients to text Assigning drawing and image brushes to text Using a visual brush to play animations inside text Using an opacity mask with text Adding bitmap effects to your text Using the Powerful Text Tools of Expression Design Creating text in Expression Design Using the Text palette Applying strokes and fills with the Appearance palette Rotating text in 3D space Warping text Aligning text to a path Creating Superscripts and Subscripts in Design and using them in Blend Considerations for importing text into Expression Blend Summary Chapter 11: Using Principles of Typographic Design to Enhance the User Experience Creating Meaning by Thoughtful Selection of the Shape, Scale, Position, and Color of Letterforms Choosing and applying the right font Finding fonts Selecting Text Size and Color Positioning Text Taking Advantage of the Gutenberg Diagram Integrating Type and Message Summary Part IV: Creating Cinematic User Interfaces 305 Chapter 12: Using 3D Models Getting Started with 3D Moving, Rotating, and Resizing 3D objects Using the Camera Orbit tool Working with the Transformation Handles Using the Transform palette to move, rotate and scale 3D objects Importing 3D models Importing OBJ and MTL files Importing Zam3D Models and Animations Into Blend Importing from other 3D programs Finding 3D Models on the Web xvii

11 Adding Materials and Applying Textures Adding and editing the Diffuse Material Adding and editing the Specular Material and Emissive Material Wrapping text onto a 3D model Wrapping text onto the Back Material of a 3D model Adding and Editing Lights Adding and deleting lights Modifying spot lights Modifying point lights, directional lights, and ambient lights Using and Positioning Cameras Creating a dynamic reflection with the visual brush Combining Models in a Viewport3D Adding Data Binding to Your 3D Model to Allow the User to Manipulate It Using Zam 3D to Create Models and Animation Creating and deleting models Adding materials Positioning, rotating, and resizing models Advanced modeling Adding and manipulating lights Adding animation Importing into Zam 3D from other 3D programs Exporting 3D Models from Zam 3D Summary Chapter 13: Employing Principles of 3D Design to Add Depth to the User Experience Adding the Illusion of Depth Taking Advantage of the Savanna Preference Creating Immersion Summary Chapter 14: Adding Audio, Video, and Animation Creating Simple Animations and Motion Paths Animating linear movement Adding a simple motion path Editing Motion Paths Using the Timeline Timeline basics Manipulating Keyframes Adding Event Triggers Creating Additive and Handoff Animations Easing in, easing out, and assigning KeySpline values Assigning Ease In, Ease Out, and Hold Out Setting KeySpline values xviii

12 Testing Your Animation Using the playback controls Setting the Snap Resolution Using the Playhead Position display Importing Animations Creating a Slide Show or Presentation Adding Transitions Adding straight cuts using Hold Out Adding wipes by animating opacity masks Adding dissolves by animating opacity Creating 3D transitions Adding Video Adding a video file Adding video into a flow document Creating a start button for your video Creating a pop-up window for your video Adding playback controls to your video Adding Audio Audio Formats Creating an Audio Player Using the Visual Brush to Enhance the User Experience Using a visual brush to reflect animations Reflecting video using a visual brush Playing your video inside 2D objects using the visual brush Mapping video onto a 3D image using a visual brush Mapping animation onto a 3D-animated object using a visual brush Animating 3D Objects Animating 3D images and objects Animating 3D lights Animating the camera Animating textures of 3D objects Animating in a User Control Summary Chapter 15: Applying Principles of Animation to User Interface Design Designing Your Animation Using squash and stretch Timing and motion Staging Overlapping action and follow-through Arcs Creating a Story-Based Animation Storytelling Creating anticipation Pacing a story xix

13 Designing Sound Types of sounds Mixing sounds Summary Part V: Constructing Controls and Layouts 417 Chapter 16: Creating and Customizing Controls Adding Interactivity Using System Controls and Simple Controls Customizing the default look of the system and simple controls Nesting objects in controls Resizing your controls Setting the Focusable property Setting HitTestVisible and IsTabStop Enabling and disabling your controls Naming your controls Adding Buttons, Check Boxes, and Radio Buttons Adding buttons Adding rich content to buttons, check boxes and radio buttons Using check boxes and radio buttons Using Viewboxes and ScrollViewers Using the Viewbox Working with the ScrollViewer Adding Sliders, Grid Splitters, Progress Bars, and Ink Canvas Adding a slider Using the progress bar Using the grid splitter Using the Ink Canvas Creating List Boxes and Combo Boxes Creating a list box Creating a combo box Editing items using the Collection Editor Adding interactivity to your list box or combo box items Creating Menus and Other Headered Items Controls Working with menus Creating tab controls Working with tree views Creating toolbars Using group boxes Adding an expander Using the list view Creating a Custom Button xx

14 Editing Control Templates Editing a copy of a template Setting Property Triggers Adding animation to a template Modifying Styles of Controls Setting property triggers and animating the resizing of controls Combining property triggers when animating the selected index of a combo box Radically Changing the Appearance of Your Controls Data binding Creating a User Control Summary Chapter 17: Employing Principles of Usability in Next-Generation User Interface Construction Favoring Recognition Over Recall Kinesthetic and audio recognition Recognition bias and the exposure effect Using recognition memory in user interfaces Observing Fitts s Law Heeding Hick s Law Understanding the Trade-offs Between Flexibility and Usability Ensuring Accessibility Overcoming handicaps Forgiving and Minimizing Mistakes Requiring confirmation Setting constraints Incorporating Feedback Letting users know where they are and where they are going Letting users know what is happening Anticipating users intentions Minimizing unwanted interactions Providing Levels of Control Summary Chapter 18: Arranging Layout Panels Positioning, Sizing, and Arranging Layout Panels and Their Objects Adding panels into the artboard Making your panels visible in the artboard Sizing, positioning, and auto sizing panels Changing a panel from one type to another Working with child elements The Grid Panel Using Grid Layout Mode Creating columns and rows in the grid Resizing objects in the grid xxi

15 Specifying how an object resizes using the Layout palette Specifying margins and alignment The Canvas Panel The Stack Panel Assigning alignment and margins to objects in a stack panel Resizing objects in stack panels The Wrap Panel Selecting the ItemHeight, ItemWidth, and Orientation Resizing wrap panels Adding margins in wrap panels The Dock Panel Sizing and resizing objects in a Dock panel The Uniform Grid Panel The Border Panel The Bullet Decorator Summary Chapter 19: Applying Principles of Usability to Panel Layout Prototyping Concept prototyping Throwaway prototyping Evolutionary prototyping Creating Advance Organizers Designing the Entry Point Minimal barriers to entry Points of prospect Progressive lures Applying Ockham s Razor to Panel Layout Managing Complexity with Progressive Disclosure Building inverted pyramids Using panel layout to control progressive disclosure Enhancing System Visibility Making features visible Adding status visibility Summary Part VI: Coding, Data Binding, and XAML 531 Chapter 20: Writing Code Using Event Handlers Creating event handlers Deleting event handlers Using Preview events Creating an event handler to change an image in the code-behind file xxii

16 Adding Navigation and Pop-up Windows Navigating pages Adding pop-up windows Creating frames Navigating with user controls Showing and hiding layers in a window Adding Visual Basic or C# Code Creating variables and constants Assignment statements Doing arithmetic Working with conditional statements Creating loops Color-coding syntax Accessing the.net Framework Using IntelliSense Reading the IntelliSense tooltips Searching the.net Framework Adding Using statements Creating Event Handlers to Change Brushes, Opacity and Bitmap Effects Assigning a solid color in the code-behind file Changing opacity in the code-behind file Adding bitmap effects in the code-behind file RenderTransform vs. LayoutTransform in the Code-behind File Customizing the Cursor Assigning a ready-made cursor in the code-behind file Creating a custom cursor in Blend Animating a custom cursor in Blend Creating a.cur file using Art Cursors Allowing the User to Drag and Resize Objects Enabling the user to drag objects Enabling the user to resize objects using the ResizeGrip Adding Controls and Children in the Code-behind File Adding Open File and Save File Dialog Boxes and Message Boxes Using Message boxes Opening text files using the Open File dialog box Using the Open File dialog box to open images Using the Save As dialog box Adding a Timer to Create Clocks, Drawers, and Other Animations Creating a digital clock using a timer Creating an analog clock using a timer Creating drawers Starting a timeline from code xxiii

17 Creating Forms, Error-checking, and Outputting to an XML File Building the form Adding error-checking abilities Outputting user-entered data to XML format Summary Chapter 21: Data Binding Understanding XML data sources Exploring a simple XML Data source Exploring an XML data source with multiple elements in an array Dealing with images in your XML data source Data binding an XML data source to a Tab control Working with multiple arrays in an XML data source Creating an RSS News Feed Reader Linking the RSS feed to your project Activating the links in your RSS feed using hyperlinks Navigating with a List Box, Frame, and Data Binding Creating the XML file and adding it to the project Editing the generated items Creating your frame and your links Data binding Creating and Data Binding a List View Control Looking at the XAML of Data Binding More on Data Binding Element Properties Specifying data flow Creating and using a Value Converter Connecting to CLR object data sources Filtering Items in an XML or CLR Object Data Source Summary Chapter 22: More XAML Understanding XAML Understanding the relationship between XAML and XML Touring the XAML code file Editing XAML code Adding opening and closing tags, and nesting objects Adding panels, controls, text, and vector objects Adding event handlers in XAML that refer to the code-behind file Debugging XAML Editing Resource Dictionary XAML files and the Application XAML file Searching in the XAML view Modifying XAML code files outside Blend Opening and editing your XAML code file in Visual Studio Opening and editing your XAML code file in Notepad or other code editor xxiv

18 Adding and deleting XAML namespaces More About Flow Documents Adding Tables Summary Chapter 23: Putting It All Together Integrating Windows Forms Applications with Windows Presentation Foundation Applications Adding Windows Forms controls to the code-behind file Adding Windows Forms controls in XAML Integrating Blend applications into Windows Forms applications Adding References Increasing Your Performance Getting Help Online Forums and newsgroups Newsgroups Blogs Webcasts Technical Chats Summary Glossary Index xxv

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