WEBfactory 2010

SmartEditor provides the simplest way of working with the controls library. Every control is available in the Toolbox panel by default, without any referencing or other user intervention. Simply drag the desired control from the Toolbox on the Page and configure it in the Properties panel.

SmartEditor controls library available in WEBfactory 2010The

To use the WEBfactory 2010 controls library in Blend, the user must reference the control library DLL files in the Silverlight Application project. See Adding references in Blend projects.

The required DLL files are located by default at: C:\Program Files (x86)\WEBfactory 2010\Silverlight\Standard

After referencing the DLL files in the project, the controls will be available in Blend's Assets panel.

The Blend's Assets panel displaying the WEBfactory 2010 controls library

To use the WEBfactory 2010 controls library in Visual Studio, the user must reference the control library DLL files in the Silverlight Application project. See Adding references in Visual Studio projects.

The required DLL files are located by default at: C:\Program Files (x86)\WEBfactory 2010\Silverlight\Standard

After referencing the DLL files in the project, the controls are accessible in XAML via namespaces.

<UserControl
    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
    xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
    xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
    xmlns:sdk="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation/sdk" 
    x:Class="SilverlightApplication2.MainPage"
    mc:Ignorable="d"
    d:DesignHeight="300" d:DesignWidth="400"
    
    xmlns:WFAlarms="clr-namespace:WFSilverlight.Alarms;assembly=WFAlarms">

    <Grid x:Name="LayoutRoot" Background="White">
        <WFAlarms:WFAlarmViewer></WFAlarms:WFAlarmViewer> 
    </Grid>
</UserControl>

Once the appropriate namespace is declared, Visual Studio will provide suggestions when accessing the declared namespace in XAML, displaying all the controls available in that namespace.

Visual Studio displaying the controls via intellisense

Many WEBfactory 2010 controls like Dynamic Symbols, Indicators or various buttons, feature rich visual states that can be dynamically influenced by signal values. This feature is extremely valuable when visualization elements need to reflect different operating states. The visual states are editable at design-time via two methods: using direct states properties or using the States Editor.

Various visual states of the Dynamic Symbols

The following articles make good use of the dynamic visual states in a realistic scenario, so check them out for more guidance:

Another common feature of the WEBfactory 2010 controls is the ability to open pop-up windows when clicked and pass parameters to the content of those windows. These windows can provide additional information about the control or can even host complex controls like WFAlarmViewer.

Pop-up window opened by WFIndicator2

The following article describes the usage of pop-up windows, so check it out for more details:

One of the most common features is WriteSecure, which adds an extra security layer to visualizations. When this option is enabled, the user can write the value of a signal only after confirming its password. The run-time security can also be enhanced by conditioning the control's visibility or state using authorization groups or signal value masks.

WriteSecure at run time

The article linked below describes the usage of the security settings at design-time, so make sure to check it out:

All WEBfactory 2010 controls are translatable at run-time. Using symbolic texts, the WEBfactory 2010 control can instantly adapt their texts to the language selected by the user at run-time.

The WFAlarmViewer control switching between English and German at run-time

All WEBfactory 2010 controls can be styled to match the project's visual code. Customizing the colors, fonts faces, text sizes and layout can be easily achieved using the dedicated Appearance and Layout properties at design-time, in any editor tool.

If using Blend or Visual Studio, the customization can go even further with the ability to create custom skins for every control available.

The Appearance properties allow the user to customize the visual style of the controls at design-time. Some control may expose more detailed appearance properties, which are described in control's specific section. Other control may expose only some of the below properties. The most common ones are listed in the table below.

The Layout properties allow the user to configure the position, angle and alignment of the control and it's contents at design-time.

The General properties allow the user to configure the translatable text displayed by the control at run time.

The Misc properties allow the user to configure the control's name at design-time. The control can be further referenced in the project using this name.

The Security properties allow the user to set up advanced security for most WEBfactory 2010 controls.

The Signals properties allow the user to assign a signal name to the control. The signal name can be its original name (alias) or can be composed from prefix and base.

* Some older WEBfactory 2010 controls might a different set States properties. These different properties will be described in the control's section.

The States properties allow the user to configure multiple visual states which can be controlled by signal values. They can be usually found under the Signals category and are available only for those control that support visual states. Some older WEBfactory 2010 control might have different parametrization for visual states.

The Template properties allow the user to set up pop-up windows that will open at run-time when clicking the control. The pop-up windows can inherit parameters from the parent control. These parameters can be used to define the contents of the pop-up window.