- About This eBook
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Contents at a Glance
- Table of Contents
- Preface
- About the Author
- Dedication
- Acknowledgments
- We Want to Hear from You!
- Reader Services
- Part I: Windows Phone App Development Fundamentals
- Chapter 1. Introduction to Windows Phone App Development
- Chapter 2. Fundamental Concepts in Windows Phone Development
- Understanding the Role of XAP Files
- The Windows Phone Capabilities Model
- The Threading Model for XAML-Based Graphics and Animation in Windows Phone
- Understanding the Frame Rate Counter
- The Windows Phone Application Analysis Tool
- Reading Device Information
- Applying the Model-View-ViewModel Pattern to a Windows Phone App
- Property Change Notification
- Using Commands
- Argument Validation
- A Platform-Agnostic Dialog Service
- Consuming Local Web Applications
- Summary
- Chapter 3. Understanding the Application Execution Model
- Chapter 4. Controlling Page Orientation
- Part II: Essential Elements
- Chapter 5. Using Content Controls, Items Controls, and Range Controls
- Chapter 6. Mastering Text Elements and Fonts
- Understanding Text Element Types
- Displaying Text Using the TextBlock
- Controlling Font Properties
- Understanding the Built-In Fonts
- Using Third-Party Fonts via Font Embedding
- Receiving Input Using a TextBox
- Receiving Password Text Using a PasswordBox
- Displaying Rich Content Using a RichTextBox
- Placing Text on the Clipboard
- Summary
- Chapter 7. Employing Media and Web Elements
- Displaying Images with the Image Element
- Providing a Drawing Surface with the InkPresenter Element
- Playing Audio and Video with the MediaElement
- Harnessing the XNA Game Loop Via the GameTimer Class
- Saving Music to the Media Library
- Viewing High-Resolution Images with the MultiScaleImage Element
- Displaying Web Content with the WebBrowser Element
- Summary
- Chapter 8. Taming the Application Bar
- Chapter 9. Enriching the User Experience with the Windows Phone Toolkit Controls
- Getting Started with the Toolkit
- In-Place Selection Using the ListPicker
- Suggesting Text with the AutoCompleteBox
- Displaying a ContextMenu
- Selecting Date and Time Values with the DatePicker and TimePicker
- Providing Custom Looping Lists with the LoopingSelector
- Providing Touch Feedback with the TiltEffect
- Providing a Boolean Option with the ToggleSwitch
- Using Flexible Layouts with the WrapPanel
- Summary
- Chapter 10. Creating Jump Lists with the Long List Selector
- Chapter 11. Creating Expansive and Engaging Apps with the Pivot and Panorama
- Part III: Windows Phone App Development
- Chapter 12. Processing Touch Input
- Chapter 13. Portraying Your App with Live Tiles
- Chapter 14. Leveraging Built-In Apps via Launchers and Choosers
- API Overview
- Choosers and the Application Execution Model
- Launchers and Choosers in Detail
- Retrieve Driving Directions Using the BingMapsDirectionsTask
- Displaying a Location on a Map Using the BingMapsTask
- Navigating to a Connection Setting Page Using the ConnectionSettingsTask
- Selecting an Email Address with the EmailAddressChooserTask
- Preparing an Email with the EmailComposeTask
- Saving a Contact’s Email Using the SaveEmailAddressTask
- Navigating to an App on the Marketplace with the MarketplaceDetailTask
- Launching the Marketplace App with the MarketplaceHubTask
- Allowing the User to Review Your App Using the MarketplaceReviewTask
- Searching the Marketplace with the MarketplaceSearchTask
- Playing a Media File Using the MediaPlayerLauncher
- Placing a Call with the PhoneCallTask
- Selecting a Phone Number with the PhoneNumberChooserTask
- Saving a Contact’s Phone Number with the SavePhoneNumberTask
- Searching the Web with the SearchTask
- Sending Contacts a Link Using the ShareLinkTask
- Posting a Status Update to Social Networks Using the ShareStatusTask
- Preparing an SMS With the SmsComposeTask
- Navigating to a Web Page Using the WebBrowserTask
- Selecting a Contact’s Address Using the AddressChooserTask
- Saving a Contact to the Phone’s Contact List Using the SaveContactTask
- Taking a Photo with the CameraCaptureTask
- Inviting Game Players with the GameInviteTask
- Selecting a Photo from the Photo Hub Using the PhotoChooserTask
- Sharing Images with Other Devices Using NFC or with Other Registered Phone Services
- Creating a Ringtone with an Audio File Using the SaveRingtoneTask
- Contacts and Appointments
- Saving an Appointment Using the SaveAppointmentTask
- Summary
- Chapter 15. Receiving Messages from the Cloud Using Push Notification
- Push Notifications Types
- Benefits of Push Notification
- Understanding Push Notification
- Getting Started with Push Notification
- Subscribing to Push Notification
- Power Management and Push Notification
- Sending Push Notifications
- Toast Notifications
- Tile Notifications
- Raw Notifications
- Identifying Notifications in an HttpWebResponse
- Notification Classes
- Cloud Service Authentication
- Building a Stock Ticker Application
- Summary
- Chapter 16. Sensing Motion and Attitude
- Chapter 17. Building Location Aware Apps
- Chapter 18. Incorporating Map-Based Positioning
- Getting Started with the Map Control
- Overview of the Sample Map View
- Adjusting for Low Light Conditions
- Changing Cartographic Modes
- Panning and Zooming the Map Control
- Adjusting Pitch and Heading
- Location Tracking
- Overlaying Custom Map Content
- Calculating and Displaying a Route
- Modifying Page Elements Using Visual States
- Showing a Location with the Built-In Maps App
- Showing Directions with the Built-In Maps App
- Downloading Maps for Offline Use
- Summary
- Chapter 19. Supporting Multiple Cultures and Languages
- Chapter 20. Extending the Windows Phone Picture Viewer
- Chapter 21. Capturing Images and Video with the Camera
- Chapter 22. Recording Audio with the Microphone
- Chapter 23. Creating Speech Driven Experiences
- User Input with Speech Recognition
- Getting Started with Speech Recognition
- Overview of Recognition Grammars
- Recognizing Speech Using the Dictation and Web Search Grammars
- Recognizing Speech with Phrase List Grammars
- Recognizing Speech with SRGS Grammars
- Speech Recognizer Settings
- Providing a Custom Speech Recognition UI
- Recognizing Speech in Other Languages
- Launching Your App via Voice Commands
- Making the Phone Speak with Text-to-Speech
- Summary
- User Input with Speech Recognition
- Chapter 24. Unit Testing Apps
- Automated Testing
- Introduction to the Windows Phone Unit Test Framework
- Creating a Test Project
- Creating a Test Class
- Tag Expressions
- Metadata and Assertions
- TestClass Attribute
- TestMethod Attribute
- Metadata for Test Initialization and Cleanup
- Miscellaneous Metadata
- WorkItemTest: The Base TestClass Type
- Verifying Conditions with Assertions
- Verifying Collection Conditions with CollectionAssert
- Verifying String Conditions with StringAssert
- Hiding the Expressions Editor
- Testing Multiple Assemblies
- Testing Nonpublic Members
- A Testable Chat Client
- Inversion of Control (IoC)
- Testing Trial Conditions
- Testing with Launchers and Choosers
- Summary
- Chapter 25. Manage Payment Instruments Using Wallet Extensibility
- Part IV: Building Data Driven Apps
- Chapter 26. Validating User Input
- Defining Input Validation
- Input Validation Using Property Setters
- Defining Validation Visual States in Windows Phone
- Asynchronous and Composite Validation
- A Reusable Implementation of the NotifyDataErrorInfo Interface
- Provisioning for Asynchronous or Synchronous Validation
- Asynchronous Validation of All Properties
- An Example of Asynchronous Input Validation
- Detecting a Change of Data Context
- Adding INotifyDataErrorInfo Support to the ValidationSummary Control
- Incorporating Group Validation
- Summary
- Chapter 27. Communicating with Network Services
- Network Service Technologies
- Monitoring Network Connectivity
- Introduction to OData
- Consuming OData
- Using an OData Proxy
- Building an eBay OData Consumer Application
- Fetching Data When the User Scrolls to the End of a List
- Simulating Real-World Conditions with the Simulation Dashboard
- Moderating Data Usage with Data Sense
- Summary
- Chapter 28. Preserving App State and Settings
- Chapter 29. Storing App Data in a Local Database
- SQL Server Compact
- Deployment of Local Databases
- LINQ to SQL on the Phone
- LINQ to SQL Platform Differences
- Getting Started with Local Databases
- Sample Twitter Timeline Viewer
- Using the Column Attribute
- Data Context Change Tracking
- TwitterUser Class
- Multiplicity and the Association Attribute
- Twitter DataContext
- Database Utilities
- Connection Strings
- Leveraging a Custom Twitter Service
- Gathering the User’s Credentials with the Sign-In View
- Viewing Tweets with the Timeline View
- Viewing a Local Database Schema
- Database-First Using SqlMetal
- Deploying a Database to Isolated Storage
- Abstracting the Navigation Service
- Observing LINQ to SQL Queries with a Custom Log
- Updating a Database Schema
- Mapping an Inheritance Hierarchy
- Concurrency
- Summary
- Chapter 30. Auto-Launching with File and Protocol Associations
- Chapter 31. Extending the Search Experience
- Chapter 26. Validating User Input
- Part V: Multitasking
- Chapter 32. Conducting Background Activities with Scheduled Actions
- Chapter 33. Performing Background File Transfers
- Chapter 34. Coordinating Background Audio Playback
- Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 20. Extending the Windows Phone Picture Viewer
,In This Chapter
Photo Extras applications
Reading images using the XNA MediaLibrary class
Saving images to the Pictures Hub
Processing image pixels
Photo Share applications
Uploading an image to a custom WCF service
The Windows Phone photo experience is a key aspect of the phone OS. These days, just about everyone who uses a smartphone wants to be able to alter and share photos with friends and family via social networks.
The Windows Phone picture viewer app displays local or online photos in a consistent way. You can reach the picture viewer on a Windows Phone by navigating to the Windows Phone Pictures Hub and then selecting any image. The picture viewer’s menu is activated by tapping the three dots at the bottom of the page.
Whereas most of the built-in Windows Phone apps do not offer points of extensibility, the built-in picture viewer app is one exception.
With the picture viewer, it is possible to give users the capability to launch your app directly from the picture viewer itself, to provide extended image-processing capabilities, or to send an image to a third-party cloud service.
The picture viewer provides two extensibility points: photo extras applications and photo share applications.
Photo extras application extensibility allows you to integrate your photo altering app with the OS, giving users the capability to launch your app from the picture viewer, alter a photo, and save it back to the phone’s picture library.
Photo share application extensibility allows you to integrate your photo upload app into the picture viewer application, giving users the capability to upload an image to a third-party service via your app.
This chapter begins by looking at photo Extras applications. You see how to add an app to the picture viewer’s Extras menu and how to create an Extras application that traces the edges within an image and allows the user to save the image back to the phone’s picture library.
Finally, this chapter looks at photo Share applications. You learn how to add an app to the picture viewer’s Share menu and how to create a photo Share application that uploads images to a custom WCF service.
For developing Windows Phone apps, we are fortunate to have a number of technologies at our disposal. In Chapter 7, “Employing Media and Web Elements,” you saw how an XNA API was used to play sound effects efficiently. In this chapter, you see how some of the picture and media capabilities are, again, provided by XNA APIs.
Note
Windows Phone supports either 16 or 32bpp (bits per pixel). By default Windows Phone apps use 16bpp, which can cause some images to appear to be of low quality. Gradients in particular are most subject to the apparent effects of low pixel density, and when using 16bpp, banding may be detected in some images.
To use 32bpp in your app, modify its WMAppManifest.xml file by adding a BitsPerPixel attribute to the App element, as shown in the following excerpt:
<App ...
BitsPerPixel="32">
</App>
Be aware that using 32bpp may impact the performance of your app, especially if you are rendering a lot of images in a list, for example. Where possible, apply dithering as preprocessing to image assets instead.
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