Hi,
For WPF, we supply numerous samples in our xamFeatureBrowser and xamShowcase, which are included with the NetAdvantage for WPF download. Also, we created a WPF exemplar called Tangerine, That is a full-fledged application and includes several papers to help you learn WPF in a realistic scenario.
If you have specific samples you think we should add to our browsers, please do share.
HTH,
I agree with mball.
I'm trying to compile some of the sample code in the xamFeatureBrowser. I figured then I could tweak the code and start to get a sense of how things worked.
However, - and I might be missing something obvious here - looking through the xamFeatureBrowser charting samples all of the source code examples reference have a reference to something like ResourceDictionary Source="..\..\Resources\xamChart\Default\Chart3D.xaml". I can't find that file, and so I can't get the sample code to compile at all.
I assume that the referneces farther down in the source code to things like, Style="{StaticResource PieRotation}" are refencing resources in the missing file.
Any help would be great - this is cool stuff and I'd like to get it working.
Guys,
I just installed NA for WPF 7.2 (from the Web site and using standard keys to emulate your experience as closely as possible). I have to say I thought it was pretty smooth.
From the Quick Start, I used the Open the xamFeatureBrowser Project Folder link in the Experience NetAdvantage for WPF section. After quickly upgrading the project to VS 2008, I look at the project files, and the Chart3D.xaml is right there in the resources\xamChart\Default folder.
I did a CTRL-F5, and it ran just fine. Clicked through some of the chart and ribbon samples w/ no problems.
I've attached the Chart3D.xaml to this message to help you keep moving, but I'm curious how it is that you're not finding the stuff that is right there for me. How were you using/looking at the samples such that you couldn't find the XAML? I'm not being critical or doubting your experience; I want to understand what's going on so we can maybe make it better/easier.
The feature browsers are supposed to be about as granular as we can get. They demonstrate how to use particular features of our controls, and features are pretty much always targeted at particular scenarios (that are driving the feature requirement). So you should be able to use those samples to understand and possibly even copy & paste in your own solutions.
Of course, if we don't have the sample you're after, tell us concretely what you want. Then at least we can see about adding it or writing an article, blog, or something. But be as specific and concrete as possible.
OK, here's one: Customizing the labels. I am using a XamDataGrid with field headers at the top row (traditional Table style). Let's say I want the labels to have a black background and white text, but otherwise behave the same, with the arrow, etc. I can do it programmatically with VisualTreeHelper, but cannot see if it can be done in XAML. Your doc does say some things cannot be done in XAML. Unfortunately, there is no existing class that I can simply subclass and then add as a Template. I have to either construct the LabelPresenter from scratch, or dig into the visual tree to manipulate its components. There are not even fields on LabelPresenter that I can use to access the subcomponents. Examples of how to do things programmatically would be nice, not just XAML.
Unless I'm misunderstanding, which is entirely possible, I think this is covered in this topic called "Working with xamDataGrid, xamDataCarousel, and xamDataPresenter Styling Points" in our docs.
I personally don't work on the docs, so I can say this w/o personal investment/pride, but I think our guys did a pretty good job covering a lot of the conceptual stuff for WPF. I recommend reading through the Developer's Guide to get a better understanding of both WPF and our controls. There's a lot of meat there to help you get a deep grasp of this stuff.
I know we're all on schedules and often need quick fixes, but at the same time, my approach has always been to try to get a deeper understanding of things so that I can apply that knowledge to all the little specific problems that crop up. FWIW, I also recommend Chris Anderson's Essential Windows Presentation Foundation as a good starting point for learning WPF.
Your feedback has been taken and appreciated. I apologize if my further attempts to help have been viewed as argumentative.
My intent is to help you as immediately as possible by providing pointers to our docs that might help you solve that scenario and hopefully explain that there is a fair amount of depth that will, if one took the time, give you a very good understanding of our WPF controls and even WPF itself, as it is different from both Win and ASP.NET in different ways.
For what it is worth, I found that styling topic by a link from the topic on Field Labels, specifically dealing with how you can style them (second to last paragraph). I clicked on LabelPresenterStyle, which has a link to the aforementioned styling topic. I am sharing this just so you and others know the context and how to get there (for future reference).
As I said, while I acknowledge we may not have a specific example showing how to specifically style field labels, we do have guidance on how to style pretty much everything, and that applies to field labels. In the (current) absence of the specific example you have suggested, my hope is that this will help you get to where you need to be. If not, I apologize. As I said, I am still looking into finding and/or creating the specific example that you suggested.
It does not mention field labels. My original post detailed very specifically the scenario that was problematic, and at any rate was in response to the question of what sort of examples were needed. I do not necessarily need advice, though it is appreciated, but was giving feedback as to what would be helpful in the future. You can take that feedback, or not, but at question is not whether your docs and examples are good, but how they might be improved.
I was talking about the whole WPF developer's guide being meat, not just that one topic. It did seem to me that that topic, though, addressed how to style the field labels. I am also looking into a more specific answer for you, too.
I read it. It's a one-page doc. There's no "meat" there.