WPF FAQ - Microsoft Expression Blend

Expression Blend supports custom controls to be added to a WPF application.

To add a custom control to a WPF application the following steps have to be performed.

1. Select Add Reference from Project Menu.

2. Browse and select the dll that contains the definition of the custom control.

3. Select Asset library from toolbox.

4. Select custom controls tab and select the necessary control from the list.

Animations can be added to objects in an XAML file when a particular event is raised. To add an animation to an object, select ’Animation Workspace’ from Tools menu or press ’F7’. In the triggers panel, Click on the ’Add Event’ button and select the event on which animation has to be played. Click on the (+) button and select ’Begin’ option from the combobox. Add a timeline and add animations to be applied over the timeline.

Yes. WPF application can be created using Expression Blend. When an object is placed, it automatically creates it’s corresponding XAML code and when saved, .csproj is created. This file can then be opened using the Visual Studio.NET and other procedural coding can be added. Similarly a WPF application created using the Visual Studio.NET can be opened using Expression Blend to apply design changes.