Visual Studio 2008:

Windows Presentation
®

Foundation
Module 1: Creating an Application by Using
Windows Presentation Foundation
• Overview of WPF

• Creating a Simple WPF Application

• Handling Events and Commands

• Navigating Between Pages

Lesson: Overview of WPF
• What Is WPF?

• WPF Architecture

• Defining User Interfaces in WPF

• WPF Capabilities and Features

• WPF Application Types

What Is WPF?
It is a new foundation for building Windows-based
applications by using:
• Media

• Documents

• Application UI

Windows Windows
Presentation Workflow
Foundation Foundation
(WPF) (WF)
Windows
Communication Windows
Foundation CardSpace
(WCF) (WCS)

.NET Framework 2.0

WPF Architecture

WPF Core Components

PresentationFramework
Managed Code
PresentationCore

Common Language
Runtime

milcore Unmanaged Code

User32 DirectX

Kernel
Defining User Interfaces in WPF

<Window ... >

...
<Label>Label</Label>
<TextBox>TextBox</TextBox>
<RichTextBox ... />
<RadioButton>RadioButton</RadioButton>
<CheckBox>CheckBox</CheckBox>
<Button>Button</Button>

</Window>
WPF Capabilities and Features

WPF provides the following capabilities and features:

• XAML-based user interfaces

• Page layout management
• Data binding
• 2-D and 3-D graphics
• Multimedia
• Animation
• Documents and printing
• Security
• Accessibility
• Localization
• Interoperability with Windows Forms controls
WPF Application Types

Stand-Alone Applications XAML Browser Applications (XBAPs)

Lesson: Creating a Simple WPF Application
• Demonstration: Creating WPF Applications by Using Visual
Studio 2008
• Defining the Application

• Defining Windows or Pages

• Adding Controls

• Building and Running a WPF Application

Demonstration: Creating WPF Applications by
Using Visual Studio 2008
In this demonstration, you will see how to:
• Create a stand-alone WPF application

• Create a browser application

• Add controls to your application

Defining the Application
Visual Studio generates a XAML application file that specifies:
• The code-behind class for the application
• The startup window or page
• Application-wide resources

<Application xmlns:x=… xmlns=…

x:Class="MyApp.App"
StartupUri="Window1.xaml">

<Application.Resources>
…
</Application.Resources>

</Application>
Defining Windows or Pages
A stand-alone application contains windows or pages

• They are represented by <Window> or <Page> elements in the

XAML file
• The code-behind file contains event-handler code

<Window xmlns:x=… xmlns=… <Page xmlns:x=… xmlns=…

x:Class="MyApp.Window1" x:Class="MyApp.Page1"
Title="My Window"> WindowTitle="My Page">

<Grid> <Grid>
… …
</Grid> </Grid>

</Window> </Page>
Adding Controls
Windows and pages contain controls
• The controls are represented by XAML elements
•<Button> and <TextBox> are examples of these

...
<Grid>
<TextBox Name="TextBox1" />
<Button Name="Button1">Click here</Button>
</Grid>
...
Building and Running a WPF Application
You can build and run a WPF application in Visual Studio
Stand-alone or browser application

Stand-Alone Application Browser Application

Lesson: Handling Events and Commands
• The WPF Event Model

• Handling WPF Control Events

• What Are Routed Events?

• Defining Routed Events

• What Are Commands?

• Demonstration: Defining Commands

The WPF Event Model
WPF controls generate events such as:
• Clicking buttons
• Entering text
• Selecting lists
• Gaining focus
Handling WPF Control Events
Specify an event handler in the XAML file
<Button Name="Button1" Click="Button1_Click">
Click here
</Button>

Implement event handler method in the code-behind file

public void Button1_Click(
object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
MessageBox.Show("Hello WPF");
}
What Are Routed Events?
WPF can route events up or down the element tree

Event tunneling:
Event routed down element tree
Root element
Event bubbling:
Event routed up element tree Tunnel

Bubble
Child element Child element
#1 #2
Bubble

Tunnel
Leaf element Leaf
#1 element #2
Item clicked
Defining Routed Events
Example of event bubbling
• Define leaf elements inside a container element
• Handle leaf events at the container level

<StackPanel Button.Click="CommonClickHandler">
<Button Name="YesButton">Yes</Button>
<Button Name="NoButton">No</Button>
</StackPanel>

private void CommonClickHandler(object sender,

RoutedEventArgs e)
{
Button b = e.Source as Button;
...
}
What Are Commands?
Commands separate the semantics of an action from its logic
• Multiple sources can trigger the same command
• You can customize the command logic for different targets

Examples of predefined commands:

• Copy, Cut, and Paste

Key concepts in WPF commanding:

• Commands
• Command sources
• Command bindings
• Command manager
Demonstration: Defining Commands
In this demonstration, you will see how to:
• Define menu items that perform Copy and Paste
commands
• Use the native ability of the TextBox to process the Copy
and Paste commands
Lesson: Navigating Between Pages
• The WPF Navigation Model

• Demonstration: Navigating Pages by Using Hyperlinks

• Handling Page Navigation Events

• Maintaining State by Using Navigation Services

The WPF Navigation Model

Navigate from one page to

another page

Navigate to a fragment in a
page

Navigate subcontent frames

in a page
Demonstration: Navigating Pages by Using
Hyperlinks
In this demonstration, you will see how to:
• Create hyperlinks to navigate to other pages

• Create hyperlinks to navigate between pages and page

fragments
• Create a Frame to contain pages in a Window
Notes Page Over-flow Slide. Do Not Print Slide.
See Notes pane.
Handling Page Navigation Events

Page Navigation Navigating

Request

NavigationProgress

Navigated

LoadCompleted

FragmentNavigation

NavigationStopped

NavigationFailed
Maintaining State by Using Navigation Services

Next

Page1.xaml Page2.xaml

Back

Page1.xaml • KeepAlive property

• FrameworkPropertyMetadata.Journal

• IProvideCustomContentState
Lab: Creating a WPF Application
• Exercise 1: Creating a Stand-Alone WPF Application

• Exercise 2: Handling Events and Commands

• Exercise 3: Navigating Between Pages

• Exercise 4: Creating an XBAP Application

Logon information
Virtual machine 6460A-LON-DEV-01
User name Student
Password Pa$$w0rd

Estimated time: 60 minutes

Lab Review
• Why would you want to inherit your window from the
NavigationWindow class?
• How do you add an event handler to the Click event of a
<Button> element in XAML?
• What is the name of the property that you use to
configure a button to use the NextPage command?
• What is the name of the event to which you connect a
handler if you want to manually determine if a command
is allowed to be executed?
• When your application is running in a browser (XBAP),
why are you not able to access the FileName property of
the OpenFileDialog class?
Module Review and Takeaways
• Review Questions

• Common Issues and Troubleshooting Tips

• Best Practices

• Tools