Four Free XAML Editors Reviewed

I like to type XAML.

It’s an extremely flexible and expressive way to work when sketching out the logical structure of a new piece of UI.

A graphical design tool like Blend is best for some things, like creating a non-trivial gradient brush, but at some point it all comes down to the code.

To satisfy my need for speed and create a sense of flow I need a fast editor that can provide instant feedback.

XAML editors exist on a continuum from the fast and lightweight to the more powerful but cumbersome. The professional tools (Visual Studio and Blend) occupy the heavyweight end, but there are also a number of free tools that provide a more basic but responsive experience.

In this post, I’ll look in detail at four free XAML editors all of which are quick to start up and responsive as you type.

Code Snippets for INotifyPropertyChanged

The INotifyPropertyChanged interface is one of the mechanisms available to update WPF bindings when a property value changes.

If you work with the Model-View-ViewModel pattern, you probably implement INotifyPropertyChanged in your ViewModel classes.

To help myself create properties with support for INotifyPropertyChanged, I created a couple of simple code snippets with literal replacements for the property name and type.

Click here to download and install the snippets.

Step-by-step Shiny Button Template with Expression Blend 3 – Part 3

Introduction

This is the third of three posts showing how to use Expression Blend 3 to create a shiny button template for WPF and Silverlight.

Part 1 Creating the static template (WPF and Silverlight)

Part 2 Adding transitions using triggers (WPF only)

Part 3 Adding transitions with the Visual State Manager (Silverlight and WPF)

In part 1 we created a static template that was applied to the button shown below:

In this part I’ll walkthrough adding different visual states and animated transitions using the Visual State Manager (VSM). I’ll be working with a Silverlight project, but the same steps should apply using the VSM with WPF.

Step-by-step Shiny Button Template with Expression Blend 3 – Part 2

Introduction

This is the second of three posts showing how to use Expression Blend 3 to create a shiny button template for WPF and Silverlight.

Part 1 Creating the static template (WPF and Silverlight)

Part 2 Adding transitions using triggers (WPF only)

Part 3 Adding transitions with the Visual State Manager (Silverlight and WPF)

In part 1 we created a static template that was applied to the button shown below:

In this part we’ll be creating different appearances for various button states, and animating some of the transitions between states.

Step-by-step Shiny Button Template with Expression Blend 3 – Part 1

Introduction

In this step-by-step walkthrough I’ll be showing you how to use Expression Blend 3 to create a template for shiny round buttons somewhat like the play button in Windows Media Player or the back and forward buttons in Internet Explorer.

The tutorial is split over three posts:

Part 1 Creating the static template (WPF and Silverlight)

Part 2 Adding transitions using triggers (WPF only)

Part 3 Adding transitions with the Visual State Manager (Silverlight and WPF)

The resulting template can be applied to standard WPF or Silverlight Button controls and styled with different colours to create buttons like these: