Archive for the ‘General’ Category

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Fireworks to XAML Converter Update

Author: granthnk
Filed under: .NET, Fireworks, General, WPF, XAML

Tuesday
Apr 17,2007

Fireworks to XAML Exporter I’ve released an updated version of the Fireworks to XAML panel along with a new article at the Fireworks Developer Center at adobe.com. The article provides a nice overview of the panel, the features it offers, and how you can tailor the settings to meet your specific needs. The latest version includes a number of bug fixes, support for textures and patterns (ahh yeah!) and replaces the current masking implementation with clipping paths. You can download the latest version from the article posting.

The article is featured in the all new Fireworks Developer Center, updated along with the new CS3 launch. Fireworks CS3 has a ton of great new features that you definitely need to check out. There are lots of great new articles and walkthroughs in both the Developer Center and the Design Center.

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Fireworks Gradient Panel

Author: granthnk
Filed under: Fireworks, General

Tuesday
Apr 17,2007

Just in time for the CS3 Launch – my Fireworks Gradient Panel that I wrote about in January now has a nice new face and a handful of additional features — the ability to change the fill mode to solid, linear gradient or radial gradient and set the orientation on gradients. I also added the ability to synchronize the color and opacity nodes, a requirement by gradients in Flash. I’ve added a slider to the opacity stops so you can quickly set their value as well. I’m using this panel all the time and find it really streamlines my work.

I have a new article at the Fireworks Developer Center that digs a little deeper into the features — you can download it from there.

Article and Download

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Using the Reflection Control in Code-Behind

Author: granthnk
Filed under: .NET, General, Styling, WPF, XAML

Monday
Feb 26,2007

I’ve had a few people ask how to use the Reflection control in code-behind instead of purely through xaml, so I decided to post a quick example here. There’s not much to it, but it may not be obvious at first, so…First, create an instance of Reflector (either via XAML or procedurally). Below, I’m creating an instance named ref1. Next, set the ReflectionTarget property to the object you wish to reflect (in my case, a Rectangle named ‘rectangleToReflect’). That’s it! I have a little extra code to set the margin and alignment properties of ref1, then I add it to my outermost Grid, ‘LayoutRoot’.

Are you using the Reflection control in any of your projects? If so, send me a link or a screenshot and I’ll post it here.

private void Button_Click(object sender, System.Windows.RoutedEventArgs e)
        {
            // Create new Reflector object
            Reflector ref1 = new Reflector();
            // Set ReflectionTarget (the element to reflect)
            ref1.ReflectionTarget = rectangleToReflect;
            // Set a few layout properties
            ref1.Margin = new Thickness(50, 50, 0, 0);
            ref1.HorizontalAlignment = HorizontalAlignment.Left;
            ref1.VerticalAlignment = VerticalAlignment.Top;
            // Add reflection to LayoutRoot grid
            LayoutRoot.Children.Add(ref1);
        }

Download Reflection Sample Project

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Dx3 Conference in May

Author: granthnk
Filed under: General

Sunday
Feb 4,2007

This May brings the first Dx3 Conference to Boston, “a four-day conference and expo filled with intensive workshops and sessions, created for interactive designers and developers who are moving beyond the web browser to deploy rich experiences to the desktop, game consoles, and mobile devices.” Lynda.com events, producer of the FlashForward Conference and Film Festival, is producing Dx3, and I’m excited to be presenting a session entitled Lay of the Land – WPF Tools, Utilities, and Resources.

Dx3 stands for “Design/Develop/Deploy.” Because this conference is not technology or platform specific (i.e. only Flash, or only WPF), the sessions and material presented cover a range of topics you don’t typically find at a design conference. I would definitely put this on your must attend list if at all possible.

Dx3 Conference Info
May 15 – 18, Marriot Copley Place, Boston

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Fireworks Gradient Panel

Author: granthnk
Filed under: Fireworks, General, Styling

Tuesday
Jan 23,2007

I’ve been working on a custom Gradient Panel for Fireworks off and on for a while and wanted to go ahead and get it posted. It’s not in a final state, but it’s definitely usable as is. Having worked with XAML for quite a while now, I’ve grown to expect the ability to hand-tweak the offset values of GradientStops. Now I can do the same thing in Fireworks, all from the comfort of a panel!

I’m providing two ways to edit with precision: a zooming gradient stop interface and a grid of values. The attached photos show the Gradient Panel in action.