Now that we've released our first set of UI controls for Windows 8 apps, our next development priority is to finish off the new controls and features coming to our WPF controls in their 2012.2 version.

In today's post, we're going to take a first look at some major theme updates that are ready for 2012.2.  In the screenshot below you can see the new Metro Light theme combined with a new class that can convert any Window to render with this custom chrome:

There are a lot of new specialized features attached to what you see above such as:

• A complete new theme for the Metro style appearance, inspired by the latest Visual Studio and Office versions.
• Ability to convert any Window to use a custom chrome like above when the Metro theme is active.
• Window border color (when active) that matches the StatusBar color.
• Semi-transparent outer glow effect for window border.
• Window resizing via the outer glow effect area.
• StatusBar background, window border, and glow effect colors can all be changed based on app state.
• Full Aero snap support.
• Ability to render interop (WinForms, etc.) controls properly, even though transparency is used.

We'll get into more details on how all this works in future posts.  But trust me, if you want your apps to take on the latest Metro-like appearance, you'll definitely want what's coming.  We're very excited for these updates.  They will be part of the 2012.2 versions, which should be available in the next several weeks.

UPDATE:  Version 2012.2 is live and available for download now.

Yesterday we officially released our first WinRT XAML user interface controls!  These controls are designed to be used in any .NET-based Windows 8 app and are fully compatible with both the Windows 8 and Visual Studio 2012 RTM versions.

This first 2012.2 version includes all of the Micro Charts functionality found in the WPF and Silverlight versions, along with several new micro chart controls that we'll get into soon in upcoming blog posts.

These controls are full production-quality and are not a beta product.  We are excited to be one of the very first control vendors to release Windows 8 XAML UI controls for C# and VB developers.

Diving In - Windows 8 Sample Browser

The download for our WinRT XAML controls includes detailed product documentation and C#/VB Sample Browser app projects that show many sample usage scenarios for the controls.

When you first load our Windows 8 Sample Browser app, you'll be presented with a fluid Metro-style user interface for navigating to the many demos and samples we provide. 

The root page lists each product in its own group and quick access to several featured demos.  Clicking or tapping on the large logo item for each product dives down into a detail page for the product.

This page contains categorized lists of samples and access to the product's feature summary.  Click or tap any sample item to open it.

Arrow buttons on the left and right can be used to quickly navigate between samples.  You can see in this screenshot, one of our new micro charts controls (bullet graph - also coming to WPF/Silverlight in their 2012.2 versions) in action!

With this release of our WinRT XAML control products, we now have a very solid framework and samples infrastructure.  This will enable us to continue to expand our control offerings for this platform in the future.

Send Us Your Comments

After you get a chance to download our WinRT XAML controls and try out the sample, please contact us with your comments.  We'd love to hear what you think!

We have been working hard on finishing up our first Windows 8 UI control offerings, which will focus on our Micro Charts product.  Our upcoming WinRT XAML controls have been designed to be used with Visual Studio 2012 and fit perfectly into any .NET-based Windows 8 Metro style app.

Samples, Designer, and Documentation

We have full C# and VB sample projects ready to go that show off all the features of the WinRT XAML controls.  Visual Studio 2012 designer integration and complete API and usage documentation is included as well.

Micro Charts Product

Micro Charts is a set of charts that visualize quantitative data and are designed to render clearly in compact spaces, with common usage scenarios being within dashboards, reports, and grids.

Many chart types are supported, from basic line and bar charts to stacked area charts. The chart control includes numerous useful features such as multiple series, stacking, hot tracking, customizable palettes, and data aggregation.  Additional micro chart types such as heat maps and other unannounced new additions are included as well.

Overall, the WinRT XAML version of the Micro Charts product has the same feature set as our WPF Micro Charts product so be sure to check out that product's web site for more details on what features will be in this product.

Timeframe and Beta Testing

We are putting the finishing touches on the product at this time, and hope to publicly launch it in the next several weeks.

In the meantime, we are looking for some beta testers to help try out the controls and give us feedback on the installation process, run-time product usage, and our samples app design.  If you are someone who is seriously looking to use micro charts in your Windows 8 apps, please contact us at our sales address for more information.

UPDATE:  Our WinRT XAML Controls are live now.  Please download an evaluation!

In the previous Heat Maps post, we talked about the new MicroHeatMapPresenter control's size changing abilities. In today's post, we'll look at how the color and size changing abilities can be combined to display two sets of data in the same heat map.

Color and Size-Based Heat Maps

MicroHeatMapPresenter controls can change both color and size at the same time to display two different data values with each marker.  The sizing and color changing behaviors function independently, so they can represent two completely separate data sets.

In the example above, fifteen separate MicroHeatMapPresenter controls have been customized to render as circles and change size and color in order to display both the number of items sold, and the profit per item for three products in five cities. 

The color and size of each control is calculated based on the position of their given color and size values in the range of color and size data respectively.  Note that the tooltip displayed can be customized to display the formatted color and size values, minimums, and maximums.

Summary

Combining the color and size changing behavior of the MicroHeatMapPresenter control allows you to combine multiple instances into an engaging heat map.  A heat map using color and size changing markers displays a lot of data while still being easy to understand and feeling intuitive.  The MicroHeatMapPresenter control allows for the customization of the color gradient to choose from, the maximum size to render at, the shape to render, and the tooltip to display.  These many options allow for the creation of unique and effective heat maps that are excellent at displaying many kinds of data.

Heat maps are now available as of the latest WPF and Silverlight maintenance releases.  Download an evaluation and try them out!

WPF Studio 2012.1 build 562 has been released and is now available for download. Several very nice new controls and enhancements are part of this build.

This build has the following major new features:

• Micro Charts: Added new MicroHeatMapPresenter control that facilitates the creation of heat maps where each cell renders color and/or size differences to reflect data values.
• SyntaxEditor: Added a new NavigableSymbolSelector control, which can be used to provide type/member drop-down support for a language.
• SyntaxEditor: Added a INavigableSymbolProvider language service, related types and samples.
• SyntaxEditor .NET Languages Add-on: Implemented an INavigableSymbolProvider service on both the C# and VB languages, allowing for NavigableSymbolSelector support.
• All: Improved designer support compatibility with VS 2012.

See the announcement post for the detailed list of enhancements and updates.