I was recently involved in a conversation on how to have the easiest way to maintain a XAML view across a UWP (Universal Windows Project) a Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 projects. There are a few options and the most straight forward way to do it with a UserControl residing in a Portable Class Library. However… What…
I recently wanted to make a header with tabs for my app’s pages that have a Pivot. Something like Office Mobile, but without the drop-down menus. Here’s the result I got in my upcoming app. I decided to post a tutorial and provide a sample app. Notice the fast fade-in of the background color of the tab, this is…
Normally, if you want different page transitions (NavigationThemeTransition) for your Universal XAML Windows Phone 8.1 app, you’d set it on the page’s XAML directly. For example, let’s do a ContinuumTransition: However, if you have a XAML page in your Universal app’s shared folder, you can’t use XAML because page transitions are not available for Windows 8.1 apps. Since…
As we approach Windows 10, many of you are considering updating your SL 8.0 apps to WinRT. In fact, Larry Lieberman and team recommend you do this and have shared some resources to help facilitate the move. I’ve done this for a couple apps so far and wanted to share some of my experience while migrating…
One of the best things you can do for your app’s users is to report the progress of an operation. Showing a progress bar can greatly increase the patience of the user, not knowing how long something is going to take can make the operation just feel longer. Luckily, many WinRT Tasks will return an IAsyncActionWithProgress. I’ve seen…
For those of you who are building multimedia related apps, you’ll want to consider disabling the display timeout of the user’s device. This prevents the screen from dimming or locking while the user is playing/recording media. In my case, I have a view where the user is doing some video recording. so I don’t want the…
Unfortunately, there is no EmailMessage class for big Windows. It is such a nice feature of Windows Phone to be able to quickly compose an email programmatically and launch the built-in email app. However, I have created a working approach for the windows portions of my Universal Windows apps and I wanted to share it…
Quick, four step, tutorial to adding Telerik Universal Windows Control to your application.
Learn how to add a read-only WebView address bar to your Windows and Windows Phone application
We are now seeing the beginning of the fast decline of Windows Phone 7 as it exits the market over the next several months, many of you will need to act to update your app to at least Windows Phone 8. I did this for all of my WP7 apps and there was one error…
If you’re like me, you like to fiddle and tweak things to get just the right result. Recently, Microsoft has really beefed up App Studio apps and if you explore the downloaded source code you’ll see a new Universal app structure leveraging MVVM. Let’s start with the before and after photo (click any image to view larger):…
Since the prizes are really awesome for this event (May 17th), I’m going to start off with them. We will be rewarding the best student, best individual, and best company in each of the categories below: Top Windows 8.1 app Trip to the 2014 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix in Austin, TX. 9 runner-up…
Originally posted on Sharp Snippets:
Windows Phone 8.1 Dev Preview Windows Phone 8.1 developer preview is totally awesome. So what is one of the most important things app devs can do right away, without much fuss, to make their apps look great with Windows Phone 8.1? Revisit your app’s Live Tile images. Why? In 8.1,…
This year’s Microsoft Build conference was jam packed with Windows Phone goodness. In fact, there is too much to take in at once. So what I’ve done for you is break it down into sections so that you can bookmark this page and come back at your leisure. These videos are in no particular order, so review…
12 hours, 250 developers, 150 feet of Subway, 68 pizzas… one awesome day, priceless. At the beginning of the day, I performed the developer equivalent of crowd surfing… the Vine surf Photos There lots of pictures taken and shared, you can see all of them here at #DVLUPday photos Here are some of my favorites:…
One of the best things you can have when developing a Windows Phone app is design-time sample data. I will show you in this post how to create sample data from a class using Blend. (click images to view larger) You can apply this technique to an existing class you have, but for the purposes of this…
UPDATE: The winner for March is Shawn Murphy, congratulations! To reward developers staying active, I am giving away a Nokia Lumia (winner’s choice of the 1020, 928, 925 or 920). Eligibility is simple:: Publish or update a Windows Phone app between Feb 1st and March 31st You live in one of the following states: MA, RI,…
So, you’d like to put some ads in your awesome App Studio app? No problem! I thought I would write a post to show just how easy it can be. Follow these easy steps and you’ll start earning money from ads… Ad provider The ad provider is the service the AdControl in your app gets the ad…
For most applications that provide dynamic content, using an API is critical. It’s the engine of the engaging experience in a data based app. APIs can also be a powerful muse when you’re looking for a new idea for an app. Take a look at the two items below to start exploring the vast world of APIs and spark your…
The Windows Phone developer community is amazing in and of itself, but what happens when you add something like #makeAnAppDevHappyDay? You get pure awesomeness. What is #makeAnAppDevHappyDay? Nokia DVLUP added fuel to an idea started by Dan Colasanti for developers to help them get the word out about their apps and generate app reviews. Share your…
UPDATE: This event is sold-out! If you were not able to register in time and need help getting your app published, send me an email and I’ll help you directly. WPDev Day Me and several other experts will be spending 6 hours with you on Saturday February 1st, 2014 to help you over come any obstacles that is…
UPDATE The winners have been picked, congratulations to all (I emailed you directly if you were a winner)! If you did not win, keep your app up to date (update at least once every 60 days) and you’ll always be eligible for my giveaways. ___________________________________________ I’m raffling off all my remaining gadgets and swag in two…
Now that you’re published, get this kit from my friends at Microsoft… Get your app noticed with your personalized Windows Developer Success Kit. With customized promo materials specifically for your app, plus a little fun thrown in, we want to help you reap the rewards of your hard work. Your Windows Developer Success Kit contains: 100 customized…
Registration has ended! UPDATE Registration is closed, the hard deadline for stragglers was 12:00 PM 11-16-2013. Thank you for making this one of the highest registered events I’ve ever held at 90% of max building capacity! IMPORTANT: Make sure you are present at the welcome presentation at 10 AM on the 4th floor. You will learn the…
[UPDATE] This offer ends midnight, Sunday, October 20th, 2013. If you have been stalling, now is the time to get it finished up. Here’s my current offer for all you devs who are sitting on the fence about creating a Windows Phone app: I will give you a Nokia Premium Developer Program token ($1500 value)…
Boston Windows Developer 
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