XAML Tips and Tricks

[Jason Carr]

On 11/16/2021 at 4:38 PM, ksherfinski said:

Hey Jason,

I know this is a super old thread, but did you ever figure out a way to make those classes available for reference in VS or a WSIWYG xaml editor?

I believe those issues were resolved, but that's over 5 years old, so at this point it's most likely completely irrelevant. What particular issues are you running into?

[ksherfinski]

Hey Jason,

When I create a project in VS 2022 CE, using some existing Startup/Pause xaml files, I can't use the visual editor, since the Unbroken.LaunchBox.Wpf assembly can't be found.  I'm using a box that has BB/LB installed.  What namespace should I use to access the Unbroken libs?  Do I need to just buck up and forget about using a layout tool for startup/pause themes and stick to editing the xaml files by hand?  I'm ok with that, but was hoping I'm just missing something obvious.

Thanks again for an amazing product.  I've been using it for a few years now and you continue to improve it on a regular basis.

[Jason Carr]

On 11/24/2021 at 1:46 PM, ksherfinski said:

Hey Jason,

When I create a project in VS 2022 CE, using some existing Startup/Pause xaml files, I can't use the visual editor, since the Unbroken.LaunchBox.Wpf assembly can't be found.  I'm using a box that has BB/LB installed.  What namespace should I use to access the Unbroken libs?  Do I need to just buck up and forget about using a layout tool for startup/pause themes and stick to editing the xaml files by hand?  I'm ok with that, but was hoping I'm just missing something obvious.

Thanks again for an amazing product.  I've been using it for a few years now and you continue to improve it on a regular basis.

Unbroken.LaunchBox.Wpf is an old DLL file that no longer exists. It was replaced by Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows. So you might be able to fix the issue by adding a reference to that DLL file.

[Retrofrogg]

Just found this thread, very useful!

I'm editing one of my Launcbox views and trying to learn xml as I go along.

What I'm struggling with just now is inserting the platform video into a view. Can anyone help with the code for this?

[Rob_G]

 Things I wish I knew how to do, if possible:

 - Create an image slideshow

 - Display a total game count in gamewheel views  

 - Get previously played games, most played game

 - Count broken, hidden, completed, favorite games in platform and game wheel views

 - Auto capitalize first letter of text.  CTC doesn't support this right now and I'm not sure how to do it manually

 

Some stuff might be wishful thinking.  I have figured a few easy things out on my own like date formatting and such...  I have a lot of previous scripting and forms experience, I'm just new with xaml...

 

Rob

[y2guru]

11 hours ago, Rob_G said:

 Things I wish I knew how to do, if possible:

 - Create an image slideshow

 - Display a total game count in gamewheel views  

 - Get previously played games, most played game

 - Count broken, hidden, completed, favorite games in platform and game wheel views

 - Auto capitalize first letter of text.  CTC doesn't support this right now and I'm not sure how to do it manually

 

Some stuff might be wishful thinking.  I have figured a few easy things out on my own like date formatting and such...  I have a lot of previous scripting and forms experience, I'm just new with xaml...

 

Rob

To do image slideshows requires a plug-in, CTC already handles that.

some of the binding fields you mentioned are platform specific and not available or pertinent to game specific views, such as total game count

auto capitalize 1st letter of first word or each word would require a converter,  CTC can be modified to handle that

 

Edited December 4, 2021 by y2guru

[Rob_G]

18 hours ago, y2guru said:

To do image slideshows requires a plug-in, CTC already handles that.

some of the binding fields you mentioned are platform specific and not available or pertinent to game specific views, such as total game count

auto capitalize 1st letter of first word or each word would require a converter,  CTC can be modified to handle that

 

 Is that going to be in CTC 2.3?

 

 One thing I am currently doing outside of CTC is showing the last played time.  It's a bit of a headache manually editing code each time I do an update.  It's the same code as released date, just a different binding path..  I also set the format of month to MMM so it's shorter.   

<TextBlock x:Name="variableLPD1" Text="{Binding Path=ActiveGame.LastPlayedDate}" Visibility="Collapsed"/>
<TextBlock x:Name="variableLPD1Formatted" Text="{Binding ElementName=variableLPD1,Path=Text, Converter={StaticResource FormatDateTime},ConverterParameter='MMM dd, yyyy'}" Visibility="Collapsed" />
<TextBlock x:Name="variableLPD1withfallbacklogic" Visibility="Collapsed" Text="{Binding ElementName=variableLPD1Formatted,Path=Text, Converter={StaticResource UseValueOrFallbackWithFormat},ConverterParameter='Never;None;No'}"/>
<TextBlock x:Name="Text12text" Opacity="1.0" Foreground="White" FontFamily="LAUNCHBOX_ROOT_FOLDER/Themes/Unified Lives!/Fonts/taileb.ttf#Microsoft Tai Le Bold" FontStyle="Normal" FontWeight="Normal" TextAlignment="Left" TextWrapping="NoWrap" TextTrimming="None" VerticalAlignment="Top" RenderTransformOrigin=".5,.5" Text="{Binding ElementName=variableLPD1withfallbacklogic, Path=Text}" 
FontSize="{Binding ElementName=Canvas,Path=ActualHeight, Converter={StaticResource ScalePropertyValueD}, ConverterParameter=FontSize;17;720}" >    
 

 

 Another item on my wishlist is being able to compare binding path values.  For example, I want to compare 'Platform' and 'KnownPlatformOrPlaylistTitle'.  If they are different, I will show platform and playlist info.  If they are the same, I will just show platform info and hide the other.

 

Rob

 

[y2guru]

23 hours ago, Rob_G said:

 Is that going to be in CTC 2.3?

P

 One thing I am currently doing outside of CTC is showing the last played time.  It's a bit of a headache manually editing code each time I do an update.  It's the same code as released date, just a different binding path..  I also set the format of month to MMM so it's shorter.   

<TextBlock x:Name="variableLPD1" Text="{Binding Path=ActiveGame.LastPlayedDate}" Visibility="Collapsed"/>
<TextBlock x:Name="variableLPD1Formatted" Text="{Binding ElementName=variableLPD1,Path=Text, Converter={StaticResource FormatDateTime},ConverterParameter='MMM dd, yyyy'}" Visibility="Collapsed" />
<TextBlock x:Name="variableLPD1withfallbacklogic" Visibility="Collapsed" Text="{Binding ElementName=variableLPD1Formatted,Path=Text, Converter={StaticResource UseValueOrFallbackWithFormat},ConverterParameter='Never;None;No'}"/>
<TextBlock x:Name="Text12text" Opacity="1.0" Foreground="White" FontFamily="LAUNCHBOX_ROOT_FOLDER/Themes/Unified Lives!/Fonts/taileb.ttf#Microsoft Tai Le Bold" FontStyle="Normal" FontWeight="Normal" TextAlignment="Left" TextWrapping="NoWrap" TextTrimming="None" VerticalAlignment="Top" RenderTransformOrigin=".5,.5" Text="{Binding ElementName=variableLPD1withfallbacklogic, Path=Text}" 
FontSize="{Binding ElementName=Canvas,Path=ActualHeight, Converter={StaticResource ScalePropertyValueD}, ConverterParameter=FontSize;17;720}" >    
 

 

 Another item on my wishlist is being able to compare binding path values.  For example, I want to compare 'Platform' and 'KnownPlatformOrPlaylistTitle'.  If they are different, I will show platform and playlist info.  If they are the same, I will just show platform info and hide the other.

 

Rob

 

provide additional date and time formatting you may want and I'll add them

but i have allowed time formatting for Last Played Date

[The Mask]

In the wheel, if I use Endless = False, the wheel will visually stop as desired but how do I get the wheel to stop direction wise? If I press down on the last item in the wheel, it still jumps to the top of the list.

 

<coverFlow:FlowControl

x:Name="FlowControl"

HorizontalAlignment="Stretch"

VerticalAlignment="Bottom"

Height="{Binding ElementName=Canvas, Path=ActualHeight}"

CoverFactory="{Binding CoverFactory}"

CustomImageType="Steam Banner"

ClipToBounds="True"

RenderOptions.BitmapScalingMode="HighQuality"

CurveAmount="0.0"

CameraZPosition="3.12"

VisibleCount="4"

PageSize="4"

Spacing="1.001"

MaxVerticalImageResolutionOverride="800"

Endless="False">
</coverFlow:FlowControl>

Edited February 17, 2022 by The Mask

[faeran]

44 minutes ago, The Mask said:

In the wheel, if I use Endless = False, the wheel will visually stop as desired but how do I get the wheel to stop direction wise? If I press down on the last item in the wheel, it still jumps to the top of the list.

 

<coverFlow:FlowControl

x:Name="FlowControl"

HorizontalAlignment="Stretch"

VerticalAlignment="Bottom"

Height="{Binding ElementName=Canvas, Path=ActualHeight}"

CoverFactory="{Binding CoverFactory}"

CustomImageType="Steam Banner"

ClipToBounds="True"

RenderOptions.BitmapScalingMode="HighQuality"

CurveAmount="0.0"

CameraZPosition="3.12"

VisibleCount="4"

PageSize="4"

Spacing="1.001"

MaxVerticalImageResolutionOverride="800"

Endless="False">
</coverFlow:FlowControl>

Endless is a property that only designed to work using the new FlowControl, which is doesn't look like you are using there.

How exactly are you wanting to display your wheel?

 

[The Mask]

vertical. what do i change to convert it to the new wheel?

 

Edit: i used the exact example in the docs for the new wheel but the wheel still resets.

Edit2: Same with default theme.

Edited February 17, 2022 by The Mask

[faeran]

1 hour ago, The Mask said:

vertical. what do i change to convert it to the new wheel?

 

Edit: i used the exact example in the docs for the new wheel but the wheel still resets.

Edit2: Same with default theme.

If all you are looking for is the same type of wheel in the default theme, but you want it vertically straight instead of curved, you can set the CurveAmount to 0, like so:

<coverFlow:FlowControl x:Name="FlowControl" HorizontalAlignment="Stretch" VerticalAlignment="Stretch" CoverFactory="{Binding CoverFactory}" ImageType="Clear Logos" CurveAmount="0" CameraZPosition="3.0" VisibleCount="14" PageSize="6" Spacing="1.0" ItemZPosition="1.0" SelectedItemZPosition="2.0" />

The above was just taken from the default theme's vertical game view.

You only should convert to the new FlowControl if you are requiring a specific feature from it. It provides more flexibility, but there's a much steeper learning curve to use and makes the code more complex.

[The Mask]

the problem is the wheel not ending with directional control when using endless = "false" like it's supposed to. that was the focal point of my initial post.

Also, I'm not new to coding.

Edited February 17, 2022 by The Mask

[faeran]

6 minutes ago, The Mask said:

the problem is the wheel not ending with directional control when using endless = "false" like it's supposed to. that was the focal point of my initial post.

Also, I'm not new to coding.

I think I see what you want now, which wasn't entirely clear in the first post. If you are wanting the navigation to stop when you get to the beginning or end of a list, this is not currently possible (someone could prove me wrong here). The Endless property will not play a roll in what you want.

[The Mask]

oh ok

[chinagreenelvis]

I'm curious as to why there is no ImageVideoView.xaml file; I'd like to be able to change the alignment for videos and screenshots within the transitionpresenter element.

Edited March 14, 2022 by chinagreenelvis

[The Mask]

FlowImage (Introduced in 11.10) This control allows you to draw an image related to a Game, Platform, Platform Category, or Playlist. It is used as a control inside of a FlowTemplate.

FlowImage has the following properties: CreateFallbackImage (bool) When this property is set to true the control will create a fallback image if the image requested is not found. The default value of this property is true.

 

Can someone post a code snippet example using a flowtemplate/flowimage that only uses Createfallbackimage in it?

Edited October 1, 2022 by The Mask

[Jass_167]

Can someone help me edit the code to a theme I’m trying to edit? It is not major edits, basically removing two items and add an image. 

[Retro808]

35 minutes ago, Jass_167 said:

Can someone help me edit the code to a theme I’m trying to edit? It is not major edits, basically removing two items and add an image. 

Probably good to tell exactly what you need and provide pics of the view you want edited. Also what theme it is. 

[Jass_167]

sorry, it's not a theme, it's a game details view. so basically, what I'm trying to do is edit my game details list to move items over and a image. I have pictures here for better understanding.