MS Expression Blend 4 Step by Step

Chris Leeds, Elena Kasinska

Organization of This Book

■ Chapter 1: Welcome to the Silverlight and WPF World

❑ Identify the basics of Silverlight and WPF technologies.

❑ Differentiate between designer and developer roles.

❑ Recognize products in Expression Studio 4.

❑ Understand how Visual Studio can fit into your design process.

■ Chapter 2: Exploring the Expression Blend 4 IDE

❑ Download and install Expression Blend 4.

❑ Open and run your first Silverlight project.

❑ Use and customize the Expression Blend 4 user interface.

■ Chapter 3: Designing an Interface

❑ Create a new project.

❑ Place visual elements and common controls in your project.

❑ Use layout panels as containers for arranging objects.

❑ Use image and video elements.

■ Chapter 4: XAML and C#

❑ Understand what Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML) is.

❑ List basic XAML objects and properties.

❑ Use the XAML editor and IntelliSense in Expression Blend.

❑ Understand the basics of C#.

❑ Explain the relationship of code-behind files to XAML files.

❑ Create objects in C#.

❑ Change properties of existing objects by using C# code.

❑ Respond to events with event handlers.

■ Chapter 5: Animations and Transformations

❑ Resize user interface (UI) elements.

❑ Scale, rotate, skew, and translate your objects.

❑ Change the center point of an object.

❑ Flip objects.

❑ Simulate three-dimensional space via projection.
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❑ Add storyboards.

❑ Use timelines and keyframes.

❑ Add animations and change object properties over time.

❑ Modify storyboards.

❑ Apply behaviors and run storyboards in response to events.

■ Chapter 6: Adding Interactivity

❑ Use default Expression Blend behaviors.

❑ Run storyboards based on behaviors.

❑ Use behaviors to change properties of objects.

❑ Use the ToggleButton control.

❑ Modify the properties of behaviors.

❑ Create visual states and switch between them.

■ Chapter 7: Creating Design Assets

❑ Use Expression Design and its tools and panels.

❑ Create graphic assets in Expression Design.

❑ Export Expression Design assets as XAML to integrate into Expression Blend.

❑ Import objects from Photoshop and Illustrator.

■ Chapter 8: Resources

❑ Create color resources and use them in Expression Blend applications.

❑ Create and apply gradient and image brushes.

❑ Convert property values to resource values and apply them to properties of the

same type.

❑ Modify existing resources.

❑ Organize resources by using dictionaries.

■ Chapter 9: Skinning Controls

❑ Create and use styles for controls and visual elements.

❑ Modify existing control templates and create custom templates for controls.

❑ Use states to change the behavior of controls.

❑ Create a theme for basic controls.

❑ Use color, brush, and other types of resources.

❑ Use implicit and key-based styles.
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❑ Optimize resources and styles.

❑ Set template binding for object properties within custom templates.

■ Chapter 10: Working with Data

❑ Generate sample data.

❑ Use styles and templates on data display controls.

❑ Work with sample data.

❑ Bind object properties to data.

❑ Change data templates.

❑ Use element property binding.

❑ Use Master/Details scenarios to display data.

■ Chapter 11: Using SketchFlow

❑ Create and run a SketchFlow application.

❑ Navigate between SketchFlow screens.

❑ Create an application flow.

❑ Add controls and use sample data for prototyping.

❑ Make your SketchFlow projects interactive.

❑ Understand the SketchFlow Player settings.

❑ Package your application prototype.

❑ Use the feedback functionality to collect new ideas and comments.

❑ Generate documentation in Word format.

■ Chapter 12: Designer/Developer Collaboration

❑ Identify key points in a typical design workflow.

❑ Differentiate between designer and developer tasks and roles within the

workflow.

❑ Identify mixed tasks.

❑ Share projects between Expression Blend and Visual Studio.