Windows Procrastination Foundation (WFP)

Windows Vista was released on Nov 30 for businesses – OK about time
.NET framework 3.0 was included which includes the runtime for the Windows Presentation Foundation – it is also available as a download for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 – lovely
Visual Studio 2005 has no designer support for WFP 4 months later – hoorah, oh… what? really?

Hard to believe that one of the huge fanfare technologies of Windows Vista has no serious tool support isn’t it? Well there’s Notepad and the erm… XAMLPad… and… 3rd party tools and convertors…

So when will there be Microsoft support for WFP?
Well there was a Nov CTP of designer support in VS 2005 but the download page is quick to mention that it make not be the same as the final support in Visual Studio codenamed Orcas.
When can I get Orcas? That’s due um… sometime later in 2007, with a March 2007 CTP available. So I’d need to use a less than beta version to get that support.

So I’m now left to consider things like Flash, Direct3D or some serious owner-drawing for a funky interface.

Wait, do I even want a funky interface? Perhaps all that UI consistency that Microsoft has instilled with their many UI design guideline documents will go out the window.

Well, it would make some pretty kiosk and web-launched applications (if everyone has Vista or the .NET 3.0 runtime download installed that is).

Oh well…

2 thoughts on “Windows Procrastination Foundation (WFP)”

Have you looked at Expression Blend? It’s pretty awesome for interface design. I imagine the support in VS Orcas will be similar to Blend. It’s currently in RC1 I believe.

http://www.microsoft.com/expression/

Yes – pka “Interactive Designer”. The fact Scoble that was still at Microsoft when this was still being shown on Channel9 shows how long this thing has been in development though…

Blend is something I’d like to get a few graphics colleagues to use. If that goes RTM soon though, we’ll have to choose between paying for a Blend license (because Expression is not currently in the Microsoft Partner license benefits), using the old November VS extensions CTP, or using a VS Orcas Beta. Horrible tools provision for a platform piece that was being raved about at the first Vista PDC years ago…

I did some WPF today in VS2005 without the extensions, which requires some project file editing and manual reference adding, but it works. I’m just having hassle dealing with sample code written pre-.NET 3.0 RTM that doesn’t work in RTM.

Mack D. Male says:

Thursday April 5 2007 at 19:56

Have you looked at Expression Blend? It’s pretty awesome for interface design. I imagine the support in VS Orcas will be similar to Blend. It’s currently in RC1 I believe.

http://www.microsoft.com/expression/
colinizer says:

Thursday April 5 2007 at 20:10

Yes – pka “Interactive Designer”. The fact Scoble that was still at Microsoft when this was still being shown on Channel9 shows how long this thing has been in development though…

Blend is something I’d like to get a few graphics colleagues to use. If that goes RTM soon though, we’ll have to choose between paying for a Blend license (because Expression is not currently in the Microsoft Partner license benefits), using the old November VS extensions CTP, or using a VS Orcas Beta. Horrible tools provision for a platform piece that was being raved about at the first Vista PDC years ago…

I did some WPF today in VS2005 without the extensions, which requires some project file editing and manual reference adding, but it works. I’m just having hassle dealing with sample code written pre-.NET 3.0 RTM that doesn’t work in RTM.