Expression

The ultimate guide to creating and managing websites using Microsoft Expression Web 4.

Pro Expression Blend 4 is for .NET developers wanting to learn how to use Expression Blend when creating their WPF and Silverlight applications. The book focuses on the Blend IDE and is comprised of two parts.

The first part of the book provides a detailed examination of the key Blend topics, including workspace customization, graphics, layout, styles, themes, data binding, and the use of SketchFlow. At the end of this part you will have an excellent understanding of the Blend product and what it can do for you.

The second part of this book makes it unique.  It contains a series of walkthrough ‘lab’ sessions to build four fully working applications. This part of the book is more detailed and modeled on the tutorial support that you might receive in a good training class or hands-on lab. You’ll work with both Blend and .NET code to finalize fully working projects that will provide both valuable insights and a foundation of working code for your future WPF and Silverlight projects.

What you’ll learn

• Go on a complete tour of the Blend IDE and understand its potential.
• Learn how Blend can be used to simplify your WPF and Silverlight workflows making you both faster and more productive.
• Understand how to rapidly prototype your ideas using the powerful SketchFlow tools
• Build a fully working video game as a proof-of-concept for your new-found skills

Who this book is for

This book is for developers who find themselves needing to work with Blend. As you'd expect from a Microsoft technology, the underlying code is C# but the focus is squarely on the Blend IDE, making the book suitable for for both .NET developers and experienced programmers from other technology areas moving to Blend for the first time.

Pro Expression Blend 4 is for .NET developers wanting to learn how to use Expression Blend when creating their WPF and Silverlight applications. The book focuses on the Blend IDE and is comprised of two parts.

The first part of the book provides a detailed examination of the key Blend topics, including workspace customization, graphics, layout, styles, themes, data binding, and the use of SketchFlow. At the end of this part you will have an excellent understanding of the Blend product and what it can do for you.

The second part of this book makes it unique.  It contains a series of walkthrough ‘lab’ sessions to build four fully working applications. This part of the book is more detailed and modeled on the tutorial support that you might receive in a good training class or hands-on lab. You’ll work with both Blend and .NET code to finalize fully working projects that will provide both valuable insights and a foundation of working code for your future WPF and Silverlight projects.

What you’ll learn

• Go on a complete tour of the Blend IDE and understand its potential.
• Learn how Blend can be used to simplify your WPF and Silverlight workflows making you both faster and more productive.
• Understand how to rapidly prototype your ideas using the powerful SketchFlow tools
• Build a fully working video game as a proof-of-concept for your new-found skills

Who this book is for

This book is for developers who find themselves needing to work with Blend. As you'd expect from a Microsoft technology, the underlying code is C# but the focus is squarely on the Blend IDE, making the book suitable for for both .NET developers and experienced programmers from other technology areas moving to Blend for the first time.

The ultimate guide to creating and managing websites using Microsoft Expression Web 4.

Build standards-based Web sites with Expression Web: a step-by-step tutorial that helps you do it right the first time

Expression Web 4 offers a fundamentally different, more powerful approach to web authoring. To make the most of it, both beginners and seasoned web professionals will benefit from a thorough, simple introduction that covers both the programs program's features and its new workflows. Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Expression Web 4 in 24 Hours is that book. In just 24 lessons of one hour or less, it will help readers gain true mastery, so they can build state-of-the-art standards-based Web sites and applications with far less work. In this book's straightforward approach, each lesson builds on everything that's come before, helping readers learn all of Expression Web 4's core features from the ground up - including breakthrough features like Dynamic Web Templates and SuperPreview. Friendly, accessible, and conversational, it takes readers from concept through delivery, teaching powerful techniques for designing, constructing, and even re-designing web sites for easier management and repurposing. By the time they're finished with these lessons, readers won't just understand Expression Web 4: they'll be comfortable using it in real-world projects.

Foundation Expression Blend 4 with Silverlight takes you through your first steps in creating Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) using the latest release of Microsoft’s technology. You’ll explore features such as custom user controls that you can reuse throughout your projects and the media element that allows you to easily add sound and video to your applications. Silverlight 4 enables you to rapidly develop compelling, cross-platform RIAs using the extensive .NET 4 libraries, the powerful, design friendly Blend 4 Integrated Development Environment, and an enhanced workflow that allows designers and developers to work on the same set of files at the same time. At the end, you’ll put everything you have learned together to create a sample Silverlight 4 website.

Whether you’re an experienced .NET or web developer, or you’re just starting out, this book will provide you with all you need to create RIAs with Expression Blend 4.

• Develop stunning RIAs in a short time using Blend 4 and Silverlight 4.
• Learn basic Object Oriented Programming Principles.
• Get familiar with the Blend 4 development environment.

What you’ll learn

• Learn the Blend 4 and Visual Studio 2010 Integrated Development Environments (IDE).
• Learn how to create stunning animations using Silverlight 4 Storyboards and incorporate video and sound into your RIAs with the Silverlight MediaElement.
• Learn how to develop quickly and efficiently using Silverlight 4’s reusable resources such as UserControls, ControlTemplates and DataTemplates.
• Learn about the Visual State Manager and the State panel in Blend 4 to easily add MouseEnter and MouseLeave states to your UserControls.
• Put everything you have learned together to create a sample Silverlight 4 website.

Who is this book for?

Web designers and developers wanting to learn Expression Blend 4 from the ground up. Those who have a background in the development of RIAs and want to learn this new technology.