Microsoft has published the third version of a series of professional design and Internet application tools combination, calling Expression Studio 3, which contains Expression Design, Expression Blend, and Expression Web and so on. As a full-featured professional design tool, Microsoft Expression Blend can be used to design beautiful and complicated UI for applications based on Microsoft Windows and Silverlight. That means, Blend is a useful and common tool to create WPF applications, including Silverlight, for that Silverlight is a subset of WPF. It allows designers to focus on creating while developers focus on programming. Today we will try to explain what is Microsoft Expression Blend, how it works, which tools it can be with, what it produces, what functions it has and what types of applications it can create.
How Expression Blend works
Expression Blend enables users to draw shapes, paths and controls, then change their appearances and behaviors, therefore design applications intuitively. Not only can users import images, videos & audios but also deal with 3D objects in Windows applications.
Besides, users can create Storyboards, which show dynamic viewable and audio elements. Users can decide whether these Storyboards can be activated when users communicate with applications. That seems to be very similar to Adobe Flash. In fact Silverlight is equal to Flash but the former may be more powerful.
Demo of a simple WPF storyboard:
When managing applications, the user can hide his files by using codes being treated, or define control files to update his project at any moment.
Other tools used combining with Expression Blend
With Expression Blend, you can:
Import pictures and XAML sources made in Microsoft Expression Design in Blend projects;
Import Silverlight media projects created in Expression Encoder and change concerned parts;
Import Silverlight to Microsoft Expression Web to add more Web contents or issue websites;
Perfectly do coding work in Visual Studio 2008 independently, and arrange applications with deployment tools in VS2008.
What Expression Blend produces
Blend will build WPF applications, meaning that the design project is showing by XAML. As HTML is the markup language of Web application, XAML is that of WPF. In addition Expression produces Silverlight projects, remember that Silverlight is a subset of WPF.
Functions of Blend
A total set of vector drawing tools, including text and 3D tools;
Viewable, easy-usable and original interface, with dockable panels and object-oriented context menus;
Real-time animation;
3D and media supports, enhancing user experience;
Advanced, flexible and reusable costom, and appearance options, applicable to various controls in common use;
Powerful data source and all in one external source;
Real-time design and label view;
Function to import files from Design and websites from Encoder;
Ability to integrate with VS2008 so that designers and developers can cooperate more tightly and efficiently.
Types of destination applications
Having been optimized, Blend can produce these types of applications below:
Production application, which help customers improve production capacity and efficiency, such as Microsoft Office;
Consumer application, like media players, safety tools and deskwidgets;
Game, simple entertainment desktop or online games included;
Information inquiry terminal, which run for clients to get information, search product content and check in at airport;
Professional IT tool, which aim at given companies or clients to execute small-scale work, like bug tracking tool.
