There are many instance when we have "Browser1" as the default browser in the system and we want our web application to be run inside a different browser (say "Browser2") from the Visual Studio IDE. To do this, we need to open the "Browser2" application and set it as default one, so that, the "Browser2" will start as the application handle from the IDE. After that, you have to revert back the default browser to "Browser1" by doing the same step.

 

This is really very difficult job. To simplify this thing, there is an Extension for the Visual Studio 2010 IDE. If you download and install that free extension, you will be able to do this very easily. In this post I will share the step and show you how this will improve your productivity.

Sometime we need to show a circular loader in WPF and/or Silverlight. We may need it in Windows Phone 7 too. In simple statement, we need to show a circular loader in various XAML applications like Silverlight, WP7 and WPF.

 

In this article, we will learn how to create a Circular Loader as shown in the screenshot. I will not use a single line of C# code to create this loader. Everything will be in the XAML file itself to keep the code behind file clean. Read to know more about it step-by-step and after reading this article, you will be able to create and use a circular loader like this. Source code is also available for download at the end of the page. Feel free to use it.

Do you know that, you can now access local files and folders in Silverlight 5? Yes, you heard right. Earlier to Silverlight 5 it was only limited to trusted location like My Documents folder, means it was only possible to read/write in My Documents. Now using Silverlight 5 you can do such operation in any files or folders.

 

Let's discuss more on this topic. After reading this post, you will be able to read/write to/from any file in local file system. Also you will be able to get information about System Resources. Read to know more.

Yesterday I attended the PUG Event and delivered 1 hour session on Silverlight 5 Beta features. I demonstrated some important features too. Here in this blog post, I am going to share the "What's New in Silverlight 5?" slides. You can view it online and if you want, you can download to view it offline.

 

Also, I am sharing the demo projects that I used during the session. You can freely download them from the attached links. Earlier I published some articles on these features, sharing their links too so that, you can read them and understand in depth.

Microsoft released the public beta version of Mango (Windows Phone 7.1) Developer Tools on 24th may 2011. In this post, I am going to share some of the new features that has been released with the Windows Phone 7.1 (Mango) Public Beta. You might already know about those from various resources but wanted to share some of them in my blog.

 

If you not yet downloaded the developer tools, Download Windows Phone Developer Tools 7.1 Beta. Read the complete post to know more about the new features.

Silverlight 5 has another new feature called Ancestor Relative source binding. It was already available in WPF and has been newly introduced in Silverlight 5 beta. Using this, you can now bind to the relative ancestor elements very easily.

 

Let's discuss it with a small example where we will create a Control Template for a Button and bind it's Tag property to the actual element to display text, instead of setting the Content property. Read to know more.

In my previous post that I did yesterday, I discussed about the Multiple Windows Support in Silverlight 5 Beta and there I mentioned that though it is a wonderful feature but there are some things that I didn't like. Though it is still in beta, so it is currently in development stage and may be the team is working on it.

 

Let's read the post to know the points those I didn't like or want in the future versions. Those are my personal opinions only and looking forward to see them implemented in future releases of Silverlight 5.

Multiple Window support is one of the important feature in Silverlight 5. Using this you can have additional top level Window on top of your trusted Silverlight Out-of-Browser application. Yes, you read correct. It only works in Out-of-Browser Silverlight application and hence you cannot open it inside a browser.

 

So, what is this new Window and how to use it in our application? Let's have some discussion on it. After it you will be able to know about it more.

Continuing to our discussion on Silverlight 5 features. In earlier post, we discussed about Text Advancement in Silverlight 5. In this post, we will discuss on another new feature called Binding on Style Setter. This feature is very useful for the XAML designer. If you are a XAML designer, you must be aware of this cool new feature.

 

Read the complete post where we will discuss how we can bind to a Style Setter.

Silverlight 5 has now support for Multi Column Text. By using this feature you will be able to show your text content in column wise. If you are working for a news publisher company or want to publish your text content in column format, this feature will help you definitely. If you implemented this in your application, your text content will automatically position itself in next column if user resizes the application.

 

So, want to learn about it? Let's discuss on it with a simple example. Read to know more.

Do you aware of the Line Stacking Strategy of Silverlight TextBlock control? If not, this post will help you to understand it and after that you will be able to use it whenever require.

 

So, what is this strategy? Was it available in earlier version of Silverlight or a new feature implemented in Silverlight 5? Let us discuss it in depth.

There are many new feature announced to support Text advancements in Silverlight 5 Beta. Among them, one is the character spacing. This feature adds spacing between characters inside a TextBlock, RichTextBox and other control elements.

 

In this post we will demonstrate the use of this new feature and also showcase a simple demo to make you understand better. Read it and start learning Silverlight 5 features.

In my latest two tips we have seen that we can customize the string using Run, Span tags as well as StringFormat in the XAML page. What about if I want to format it for proper DateTime, Currency or Numeric style? As I told you in my last post that, we can achieve the same using the StringFormat parameter in XAML too.

 

Here in this post, I will demonstrate you the process in depth. Read to know more about it and make your life more comfortable designing your Silverlight application.

Yesterday in this post "Tips: Formatting Silverlight TextBlock Control", I shown you how to use various tags like Run, Span, Bold, Italic and Underline to format the text of TextBlock control, present in your XAML code. I also described the use of Run to bind multiple strings inside a TextBlock control.

 

Today in this small post, I will show you a different method to concatenate multiple text content inside a single control. This tip will help you next time while doing the same. Read to know more.

In general we use multiple TextBlock controls inside a StackPanel to format a single line. In this post I will show you a different way to format a single line. This is very useful if you want to bind any data in the middle of the text string. Also this is useful if you want to format the line with multiple formatting option. Read to know more about it.

Many of you don't aware of it in depth, mainly the freshers who just started doing their hands dirty with the light of Silver. In this post I am going to describe you about AppManifest.xaml file and it's uses in depth. Read the complete post to know more about it.

 

Don't forget to leave your feedback and/or any queries at the end of this post. Appreciate for reading this post.

Today, I received my Code Project MVP Certificate by courier. This is my first MVP Certificate from CodeProject. Feeling very proud to be part of the Global MVP team. I am happy that, my contribution towards community and their regular support gave me the chance to achieve this. This recognition I will contribute to each and every supporter of mine, who helped me in various way to achieve this award.

In this post find the certificate that I received.

In this post, I am going to give a Tip of using Expression Blend to create a Gradient color from any color pattern. Sometime, you might have a color pattern that you have to use in your UI and don't know how to pick the exact color to your UI. This simple post will help you to understand it properly.

After reading this post, you will be able to pick any gradient color from a pattern and use as easily as 1-2-3. Hope, this will help you. Feedbacks are always appreciable.

That's a good question came up after the series in my blog. Someone asked why should one use Custom Control instead of User Control? Hence, let's extend the series and discuss about that. I apologise the delay of this post. I should explain this at the start of the series, but actually my goal was to explain you how to create and use Custom Control in Silverlight.

 

It is better to do it later than never. Also, you are now familiar with Custom Control creation. Hence, start describing it. You will come to know more about this here. As always, don't forget to share your feedback at the end of this page.

Here is the last chapter of the series for Silverlight Custom Control. In this article, we will learn how to access the template parts from code behind to do various operations in the UI front.

 

Hope, you read the previous three articles and familiar with the Custom control as of now. This article will help you to understand accessibility of the template parts from the code. So, let's start discussing now. Appreciate your feedback as always.