I would like to use both Telerik WPF UI Controls and WPF own controls in the same project. I think WPF is quite good and I need only a few controls and themes from Telerik. However, when I mix them, not all WPF controls benefit from the themes of Telerik. I read that, Telerik only support a few of WPF controls like TextBox and etc. However, I could not find a way to achieve a WPF Window with a looking like RadWindow. I have been searching and found some answers about this topic, but I think they are a little bit disorganized.
In brief, I would like to use styles from Telerik for also other WPF Controls (non-Telerik ones), but I am not sure whether it is possible or not? When I use WPF Window and RADProgressBar together, of course it does not look very good. If mixing is not a good idea I am considering completely switching to WPF. I do not have much experience with Telerik and I do not want to struggle in a mess due to this mixed environment. I want to use both if it is possible to achieve a unified style for both controls (Telerik and non-Telerik).
Take a look at MahApps Metro (http://mahapps.com/), a WPF control toolkit that has styles to give your application a metro feel, as that is what a lot of the Telerik UI kit does as far as I can tell.
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Not sure if this an appropriate forum for this, but I need some guidance from those who are further down the road than I am with WPF.
I've used Telerik Winform controls for a years and have mixed feelings about them. They look good, but they are deeply nested, have a steep learning curve, and sometimes don't perform the best. For example, just working with a RadWindow in the WPF designer, it's slow compared with native wpf controls.
I like Caliburn.Micro MVVM framework and MahApps metro styles, but to keep the same look and feel for a ribbon bar I'd need to use another third party tool (like Fluent) or just use the Microsoft Ribbon View control and figure out how to use templates and styles myself (or find an existing metro template for it).
I tried to combine Telerik and Caliburn but had trouble getting them to work. There is a Caliburn Telerik library but its based on Caliburn Micro 1.5.2 and I'm trying to use Caliburn.Micro 2.0.2. Problem is I always get an aero-looking full window title bar and frame wrapped around the Telerik styled window.
I just don't know enough about conventions and such to make it all work together. And frankly, not sure it's worth the trouble. I'm looking for a more streamlined approach that lessens my dependence on pricy and heavy third party controls.
So, I'm looking for guidance on whether I should use straight Telerik, straight caliburn or go through the work of trying to get them to work together.
What I would prefer is to use Caliburn as the mvvm framework with a layer of styling, like what MahhAps provides. And for those controls that aren't styled, like the Ribbon Bar, to either use Microsoft's ribbon bar and find templates and styles that would work or maybe a 3rd party control like Fluent. But would I be getting in over my head in trying to learn templates and styles?
Sorry for the ramble, but I'm frustrated and need some help in working through this. Thanks.
I found a great resource that maybe others new to WPF and struggling with similar questions would benefit from: MarkPad, a Code52 project on CodePlex.
It's written in WPF using Caliburn Micro MVVM framework (although it's version 1.5.2 rather than the current 2.0) and MahApps metro styles with some "roll your own" windows. It's a great looking app with the kind of simple menuing system I was looking for AND an MDI implementation. It's also a good example on how to organize a somewhat complex WPF application, something I was also unsure about.
It answers the question: Do I need to use Telerik? The answer is a definite NO. It's a great learning tool for me and maybe will be useful to others.
I want to make lists in a WinForms project like this one:
Is there an easy way to do it? or I have to code it by my self??
Would depend on whether or not you re using WinForms or WPF. In WPF, you could use list box templates:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc189093(v=vs.95).aspx. I think it would be harder in WinForms and I'm not aware of any controls that match the appearance you are looking for although you might check out the Telerik and DevExpress WinForm controls.
In a WinForms project there are a number of controls such as MenuStrip, OpenFileDialog, SaveFileDialog.
After a quick look, I can't seem to see the equivalents for these controls in the WPF toolbox.
Is there any way to gain access to these or do they exist in another form?
There are a number of different resources you can use for finding the type of control you need.
Have you looked in the WPF Toolkit?
Have you investigated any third party control vendors?
(Telerik, DevExpress, ComponentOne, Infragistics)
Here's an excellent link comparing the WinForms and WPF control equivalents.
You'd probably recieve a more detailed answer if you gave specifics as to which control you're looking for.
you can add a winforms host into the project but which controls are you after as the wpf does have a decent amount of controls and generally does more in the ui department (but pays in speed usually)
Which technology (WPF or Winforms) should be used if UI supposed to be highly customizable like controls layout/design could be change by user and such sort of UI customization.
Kindly mention best practices along to achieve that...
I just recently developed a designer in both WinForms (company req) and WPF (to see how much better it was). WPF has a definate edge, especially when it comes to nicer looking controls and control transparency.
This was my first actual WPF project, other than just messing around, so I was learning as I went. I found this series on creating a diagram designer very helpful. I didn't really do the same things that this article talks about, but more of a hybrid between that and my WinForms app.
I have to admit that the UI functionality was up and running much faster in the WPF version than with the WinForms version.
WPF I have found the easiest to create controls on a fly. Because I can just attach them as child controls to the parent, and the Grids, Dock Panels, just make life easier.
I found WinForms to be clunky to always work with. However I come from a Web background and Xaml makes sense to me.
WPF controls are design and lookless. That means you have a default view of them, but everything detail of a WPF control can be overridden. It's almost akin to using CSS. In the WPF world, you do not create custom controls like you do in WinForms. The main thing in WPF world is "styling" controls and defining a style for them. It just happens that the style also controls the layout and the form of the controls.
WPF is FAR superior for designing and style of UI. Check out these two top WPF companies and tell me if this stuff is easy to do in WinForms:
Cynergy Systems: http://www.cynergysystems.com/
Thirteen23: http://www.thirteen23.com/
Do you know any good WPF control library (even commercial) and what experiences have you made with them?
Telerik has a commercial line of WPF controls, as well as WinForms, and Silverlight. They are very high quality, and on the high end in terms of $$$, but they're worth their weight in gold if you're going to utilize them.
I've used their web products and they are well made. They even have sample code on their site and demos so you can get started easily.
Odyssey is a nice set of controls with a Ribbon menu control and Outlook-style bars.
You may have problems using them in XBAP applications though.
DevExpress have a rich set as well.
Infragistics has some excellent WPF and WinForm controls (commercial). I'll admit I have only used their WinForm controls, but if their WPF controls are anything similar, they will be great.