Part 1: Series Introduction
In this lesson Bob kicks off the series talking about the organization, required setup and goals of the lessons, and provides some motivation and guidance for getting started. Download Visual Studio...
View ArticlePart 2: Getting Started with the Grid App Template
In this lesson Bob takes the first steps towards building the Contoso Cookbook by creating and walking through a new Grid App Template project and modifying the project name displayed on the start page.
View ArticlePart 3: Understanding the Execution Environment
Before we dive too deeply into the lab instructions, we'll take a moment and understand more about how your HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript are used to create Windows Store apps, how they execute, and the...
View ArticlePart 4: Quick Tour of WinJS (1 of 2)
In this lesson we explore WinJS to learn more about what it can do for our apps. We learn about creating namespaces, classes, simple binding to objects, observability, and more. Introduction to...
View ArticlePart 5: Quick Tour of WinJS (2 of 2)
Continuing on our exploration of WinJS, we look at Lists, binding ListViews to Lists, adding an App Bar, and more.
View ArticlePart 6: Modifying the Grid App Template with Branding Elements
In this lesson, we follow the Hands On Labs to modify the branding elements of the app by adding images and configuring our app to use them. We also learn about the Package.appxmanifest and how it...
View ArticlePart 7: Binding to Cookbook Data (1 of 2) - Reviewing the data.js
In this lesson, we become familiar with the data.js, the organization of items and groups, working with helper methods of WinJS lists to group items together, and more. WinJS.Binding.List...
View ArticlePart 8: Binding to Cookbook Data (2 of 2) - Modifying the data.js
In this lesson, we first learn about the composition of the JSON file containing our apps data, then we make changes to the data.js to retrieve JSON data containing information about the recipe groups...
View ArticlePart 9: Understanding JavaScript Async Promises
In this lesson, we backtrack and learn about the Async features in the WinJS Library. We cover the basics of processes and threads, how the Windows 8 execution model has changed, how apps have...
View ArticlePart 10: Customizing the UI (1 of 3) - Understanding the ListView Templates
The ListView control from the WinJS library manages how data is bound to a series of templates. Exactly *HOW* that works is really the crux of this lesson.
View ArticlePart 11: Customizing the UI (2 of 2) - Modifying the Start and Group-Detail...
In the previous lesson, we looked at the plumbing that makes the ListView data binding work. Here, you're asked to make changes to the HTML and CSS that comprise the ListView's templates.
View ArticlePart 12: Customizing the UI (3 of 3) - Modifying the Item-Detail Page
In this lesson, we examine the itemDetail.html page, remove invalid bindings to the sample data, and bind to the ingredients list and the directions data.
View ArticlePart 13: Accommodating Orientation by Creating Portrait and Landscape Views
In this lesson, we learn about the Simulator in Visual Studio to help us simulate the process of changing the device's orientation as well as discussing how CSS Media Queries and JavaScript event...
View ArticlePart 14: Enabling Snapped Mode
The Grid App Template provides a basic CSS3 Media Queries framework for handling snapped mode. In this lesson, we enhance the default layout of our Group Detail and Item Detail pages to accommodate...
View ArticlePart 15: Enabling Semantic Zoom
In this lesson, we allow users to use the reverse-pinching motion to see a high-level overview of the different groups of recipes we offer—a process referred to as "Semantic Zooming." This allows the...
View ArticlePart 16: Allowing Recipes to Be Shared
Windows 8 charms can be tightly integrated into our app. Here, we implement the Share Contract, allowing users to select a recipe and share the recipe text and images with other apps such as email.
View ArticlePart 17: Allowing Recipes to Be Searched
In this lesson, we learn how to respond to the user's request to search using the Search charm in Windows 8. We see all of the changes to our app that are automated by including a search results page...
View ArticlePart 18: Adding an App Bar
In this lesson, we add an AppBar and AppBar buttons to allow the user to select additional options on the Recipe Item Detail page.
View ArticlePart 19: Adding Photo Capture
In this lesson, we demonstrate how easy it is to take a photo and share it directly from our app.
View ArticlePart 20: Adding Video Capture
In this lesson, we demonstrate how easy it is to record a video and share it directly from our app.
View ArticlePart 21: Lifetime Management: Saving and Restoring State
In this lesson, Bob explains how Windows 8 manages the resources of the computer in regards to our apps. We learn how to respond to Suspend notifications from Windows 8 so that we can store state or...
View ArticlePart 22: Adding an About Page
In this lesson, we learn how to add Settings pages to our project. These are used to respond to the Settings charm in Windows 8, and can be used for About pages, Preferences, or other related purposes.
View ArticlePart 23: Adding a Preferences Page
In this lesson, we use the ToggleSwitch WinJS control to capture a user's preference for how to deal with remembering the state of the app prior to it being terminated. We talk about the different...
View ArticlePart 24: Implementing the Preference
In this lesson, we follow the instructions of the Hands On Lab to tie up the loose ends and actually implement the desired functionality.
View ArticlePart 25: Incorporating Secondary Tiles
The Windows 8 start page is a distinctive feature and this lesson demonstrates how to implement secondary tiles to allow "deep linking" in the app.
View ArticlePart 26: Incorporating Push Notifications
Continuing from Part 25, this lesson demonstrates how to utilize push notifications from Windows Notification Services to provide information or state updates from the cloud to the user on the Windows...
View ArticlePart 27: Incorporating Scheduled Toasts
This lesson demonstrates the use of scheduled toasts to remind or notify the user of a task or change in the app.
View ArticlePart 28: Detecting Trial Versions
In this final Hands On Lab, we use the CurrentAppSimulator class to simulate interaction with the Windows Store API. Here, we simply use the configuration file to declaratively modify the user...
View ArticlePart 29: Simulating App Purchases
Continuing on from the previous lesson, we learn how to unlock the app and its features by allowing the user to purchase a full version of the app directly from the app.
View ArticlePart 30: Simulating Product Purchases
Finally, we learn how to enable in-product purchases to unlock certain features or allow for the purchase of in-app items making it possible for us to use a "free-mium" business model.
View ArticlePart 31: Where to Go From Here
Bob reviews the topics discussed throughout the series and provides some additional resources and guidance regarding how you should approach your career as a software developer. Windows 8 UX...
View Article
More Pages to Explore .....