Simple Styles for Silverlight
This is a long time coming. I finally created a version of Simple Styles that is designed for Silverlight. Woohoo! This was a rewrite, a complete departure from the WPF Simple Styles and it may still be a little rough around the edges so please send me feedback!
What are Simple Styles?
Simple Styles are a set of styles and (more importantly) control templates that are designed to be a starting point for creating your own custom templates. The idea is to include all of the essential elements of the template and no extras. It’s a stripped down version of the control template, presented in full color (well, two colors) for your tweaking pleasure.
I’m a Silverlight geek and I want some details
Simple Styles should work great for XAML geeks (handcoders) and Blend nerds alike. They use the VSM (as all good Silverlight control templates should) and include all states that I deemed common (someone had to be the deemer here, let me know if I missed something). In many cases I don’t do anything with the state, but I still included it. That was to increase Blend friendliness so that the states show up in the states editor.
I also (and this was a tough decision) chose to (in most cases) not use a lot of template bindings to propagate properties through the control. Unfortunately, the VSM editor / animation editor in Blend doesn’t like bindings. Since I really believe in the Blend state editor, I decided to pull the plug on those bindings. For handcoders, this might not be the right decision. Sorry handcoders, I think it’s for the best.
Where do I get them?
You can get Simple Styles for Silverlight by clicking on any of the links in the sample app above, or you can download the entire project (including the sample app) right here. They are also hosted on the labs page.
How do I use them?
Well, it’s kind of up to you. If getting started isn’t intuitive, then you probably want to read a little about Resources, Styles and Control Templates in Silverlight. Then you want to learn about editing Control Templates in Blend. If you feel like you understand these things and still feel lost, then email me and maybe I can get you pointed in the right direction.
Rob Houweling
18 jul 2009
Hi Robby,
I’m not sure what’s wrong but I get the default Install Silverlight button on this page and the other lab pages.
I have Silverlight 3.0.40624.0 installed.
Cheers,
Rob Houweling.
Robby Ingebretsen
18 jul 2009
@Rob thanks for the heads up! Looks like I had an old include in the php that loads the Silverlight plugin. Hopefully things are working now! Then again, for some reason it worked all along on my machine.
Justin Angel
18 jul 2009
Hi Robby,
Excellent work, thanks for porting creating and continuing to update Simple Styles for Silverlight.
Just a thought, Have you considered setting it up with it’s own ImplicitStyleManager theme container?
That would be an excellent Visual Studio “New Theme” project template.
– Justin
)
(Once a PM always a PM
XAML Templates
20 jul 2009
Hi, at http://www.xamltemplates.net/sl you can see another theme for all the silverlight controls.
NewsPeeps
20 jul 2009
nerdplusart.com | Simple Styles for Silverlight…
Thank you for submitting this cool story – Trackback from NewsPeeps…
Cory Plotts
20 jul 2009
Very nice. Definitely giving this to our new designer here at work! (And, keeping a copy for myself.
)
Robby Ingebretsen
20 jul 2009
@Justin That seems like a great idea. I’ll look into it.
@Cory Perfect, that’s what they’re made for–let me know if you or your design have any feedback.
The-Oliver.com » Neuer Style für Silverlight: Simple Styles
24 jul 2009
[...] Download und genau Beschreibung: http://blog.nerdplusart.com/archives/silverlightsimplestyles [...]
This Week C9: Windows 7 RTMs, 7 Sins of App Compat, & cool Silverlight apps | Tech-monkey.info Blogs
24 jul 2009
[...] visualization (TreeMap!), controls, theming, and more, via Greg Duncan – Robby Ingebretsen – Free Silverlight Simple Styles – Pete Brown – Silverlight Audio Synthesizer – Roger Guess – Coding4Fun – Build a Simple Shooter [...]
This Week C9: Windows 7 RTMs, 7 Sins of App Compat, & cool Silverlight apps [This Week C9: Windows 7 RTMs, 7 Sins of App Compat, & cool Silverlight apps ] | Tech-monkey.info Blogs
25 jul 2009
[...] visualization (TreeMap!), controls, theming, and more, via Greg Duncan – Robby Ingebretsen – Free Silverlight Simple Styles – Pete Brown – Silverlight Audio Synthesizer – Roger Guess – Coding4Fun – Build a Simple Shooter [...]
This Week C9: Windows 7 RTMs, 7 Sins of App Compat, & cool Silverlight apps | it-news@opidum.de
05 aug 2009
[...] (TreeMap!), controls, theming, and more, via Greg Duncan – Robby Ingebretsen – Free Silverlight Simple Styles – Pete Brown – Silverlight Audio Synthesizer – Roger Guess – Coding4Fun – Build [...]
Kris Athi
29 aug 2009
Hey Robby,
Awesome resource, thanks a bunch
Out of interest, what is the font you have used on the background picture?
Clean & Simple Control Styles for SILVERLIGHT 3 - Think. Create. Deliver.
21 dec 2009
[...] the “Bubble Creme” or “Shiny Red” theme for a real client project. Inspired by the “Simple Styles” post by Robby Ingebretsen, I wanted to create a small set of styles that aren’t overly complicated but [...]