Monthly Archives: July 2012

How to display GIF images in a Windows Phone application

Some time ago I was talking with a friend that needed a special requirement for his application: displaying GIF images downloaded from the web. This image format is not supported by Silverlight nor Windows Phone: if you try to download … Continue reading

Posted in Windows Phone | Tagged | 14 Comments

How to get write access to a prepopulated SQL CE database in a Windows Phone application

SQL CE is one of the most appreciated features for developers introduced in Windows Phone 7.5: before SQL CE the only way to store data locally was serialization or remote services (for example, on the cloud). With SQL CE, instead, … Continue reading

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How to create cool custom tiles in a Windows Phone application

The APIs provided by Windows Phone to create secondary tiles or to update the main tile are very simple to use, but not very flexible: you can set a title, a background, a counter, etc., but you can’t use a … Continue reading

Posted in Windows Phone | Tagged | 4 Comments

How to open Internet Explorer by code in a Metro style application

Recently I’ve worked on a Windows 8 application to promote my blog: people can use it to read my posts within the application and to be notified (using both toast and tile notifications) every time a new post is published. … Continue reading

Posted in Windows 8 | Tagged | 2 Comments

Include a support page in the Settings panel of a Windows 8 application

One of the requisites to pass the certification for a Windows 8 application is to provide a support page, where the user can find all the information needed to get in touch with the developer. This requirement is inherited directly … Continue reading

Posted in Windows 8 | Tagged | 2 Comments