Make building better software your New Year’s resolution by taking advantage of our 30% sale on the Mega Pack.

For a limited time, pay only $699 and you’ll receive:

• LightSpeed O/R Mapper (normally $349)
• WPF Elements (normally $699)
• WPF Diagrams (normally $699)
• Silverlight Elements (normally $699)
• Phone Elements for WP7 (normally $299)
• NHibernate Designer (normally $99)
• SimpleDB Management Tools (normally $29)
• Web Workbench (normally $29)
• Visual Tools for SharePoint (normally $349)

Plus, you also get:

• 12 months of new releases, nightly builds and new products!
• The best support in the business!

Imagine that – a full range of developer tools across WPF, Silverlight, Windows Phone, Data Access, Web Development and Domain Modeling for just $699!

So, save thousands of dollars by getting all your tools at once with our 30% off Mega Pack Special now.

Hurry, promotion ends 1 Feb 2012!

5 superbly crafted themes
We have poured months of effort into creating pixel perfect themes both for the standard WPF controls and the WPF Elements controls. There’s Office Blue, Office Black, Office Silver, Expression (Alloy) and Expression Light (Alloy Light). You’ll be impressed by how easy these themes are to add to your project and your users will be really impressed at how great the application looks.

Autocomplete Text Box for WPF

Autocomplete text boxes are great. We’ve made some great additions to this control recently and it will really help bring your applications up a level. Check out the new multi-value autocomplete box support that was included recently.

Coverflow for WPF

Popularised in iTunes, Coverflow is a unique way of presenting data to your users. Beyond just static images and thanks to the power of WPF you will find you can set any arbitrary content as your covers — images, videos, other WPF controls, whatever you want! We’ve seen some imaginative uses of the Coverflow control over the years. You will be pleased to find everything you need in the box to configure the display exactly as you want it to be.

Prompt Decorator for WPF

This control adds a polish to your applications. Want to have hint text on your text box and drop down lists? Say “Search” appearing in your search box but disappearing when the user clicks in it? It couldn’t be easier with the Prompt Decorator control.

Get the free controls with the WPF Elements 5 installer. You’re welcome to use the controls and themes listed here at no charge, with no royalties.

Happy coding!

Here’s the run down on what’s new:

• Posting now uses the Stack Overflow Markdown editor that many of you will be familiar with
• New posts are done from a single tidy page – no more tabs!
• Attaching items to posts is simple and fast. AJAX based with progress indication and support for drag and drop are included.
• You can now attach multiple items to a post. No more mucking around with zip files just to post two files!
• No paging on threads. Our threads rarely go to multiple pages which means users often didn’t notice there were more pages.
• Searches can now be narrowed to just a specific forum
• Built on top of LightSpeed so it’s insanely fast from a database querying point of view

We hope you find the new faster forums great to use.

There’s undoubtedly some things we’ve missed, and we’re keen to keep improving the support experience, so I’d love to hear your feedback on how you find them. The best place for feedback is probably on this forum thread in particular: http://www.mindscapehq.com/forums/thread/4831

We’ve been blown away by the interest in the Mindscape Web Workbench. It seems .NET web developers were hungry for Sass, Less and CoffeeScript inside Visual Studio as we’ve now passed 14,000 installs! We’ve had a boat load of feedback and we’ve been incorporating the smaller bug fixes into our nightly builds while in the background working on a grunty new version for you all!

Going Pro

We originally released this tool to scratch an itch. We wanted to play with some of the cool new tech that was being used in the open source camps and so the idea of the Web Workbench was born. With the massive uptake in interest of the product though we’re thinking it would be fantastic to spend even more time investing in making it the best Visual Studio Extension possible. To be able to achieve that we need to fund the development while still keeping this as inexpensive as possible and also keeping what is currently there free.

Here’s what we have done:

• There will always be a free version and everything in version 1 continues to be free.
• None of the existing features will require you to have a Pro version and in fact they will just continue to run better than v1!
• Some new features will be for Pro users only by way of thanks for supporting the new developments.
• The price of the Pro edition should be low enough that it’s a no brainer to support future development.

That last point is the key one I want to make. We’ve been swamped with great ideas, feature requests and things we could improve. By purchasing a Pro license you’re helping support the future development of the tool and as a sign of appreciation we want those that help to get some nice extra bits and pieces.

So what is new in Version 2?

V8 Engine Enabled – Free Feature
Feedback on the initial version was great… until folks had BIG files. Like 1000+ line CoffeeScript files. Unfortunately the JavaScript engine we used, while very cool, wasn’t quite fast enough to keep up with such large files. We have spent the last few weeks baking in Google’s V8 JavaScript engine that ships with Google Chrome to super charge the speed when working with larger files. Early feedback on a test release was very promising:

“I am using win7 x64 – I just applied the update and I am seeing a great improvement! Woohoo!” – Dan

“10 words: “Awesome job”!” – Bagosm (aka Binary Man)

This improvement is included for everyone, including the free users.

LESS compilation – Pro Feature
Initially we did not compile LESS files into .css files as we assumed folks used the JavaScript parser. Feedback was that it would be really cool if the Web Workbench would just create the CSS files on save in the same way that we do with Sass. So this is now included.

CSS & JavaScript Minification – Pro Feature
Editing the files is great, but having another step to do minification was proving to be a hassle to users. In the pro edition we now include the option to minify both the CSS output and the JavaScript output, saving you even more time!

Thanks again for all your feedback to date and we hope this release makes the Web Workbench even more compelling for you. Thanks to everyone who helps support the ongoing development effort by upgrading to the Pro edition — we have some really great ideas for the future and you’re helping it become a reality.

You can obtain version 2.0 by doing an update from the Extension Manager in VS 2010, or by clicking here to download it free. If you wish to support further development the purchase options are available within the Web Workbench itself. And if you don’t, well, all the features you love are still there and we hope you enjoy the free V2 enhancements as well!

 

 

File-per-class generation
Currently the NHibernate Designer outputs all of the generated classes into one file. Even though this is code generated and shouldn’t be edited we got strong feedback from developers that they preferred a file per class approach. NHibernate Designer 2 will include the option to generate a file per class if desired.

Set up NHibernate configuration in more detail
NHibernate Designer already gives developers a starting point for their NHibernate configuration (right click the design surface -> getting started). To help new users get started quicker we’re overhauling this much loved feature to include the ability to visually configure how you would like NHibernate configured and then generate the appropriate configuration block! It can’t get easier than that.

Migrations support
We’re looking at porting the Visual Studio integrated migrations framework from LightSpeed into the NHibernate Designer. This provides for schema migrations that can be created and executed from within Visual Studio, creation of migration SQL scripts and also includes command line tools for running migrations on servers without Visual Studio installed. The LightSpeed migration engine includes support for several database engines (SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, etc).

Migrations can be created based on your model changes within Visual Studio, giving you a big leg up in creating your migrations.

We’ve also had feedback asking about third party migration frameworks. Is this important to you? Why? Leave a comment and let us know!

More chocolate sprinkles
Other ideas we’re tossing around include the ability to execute queries from within Visual Studio, model checking (validation and ‘lint’-type advice), and filtered views a la LightSpeed. If you like the sound of any of these then do let us know — your feedback helps us to prioritise features and decide where to make the cut!

We want to hear from you
This post as highlighted some of the key improvements we’re adding to the NHibernate Designer for version 2. There are plenty of other tweaks and improvements that will be included. Much of the current roadmap has come from user feedback — thank you to those who have provided it to date! And if you haven’t told us about your fondest wish then leave a comment to let us know — it’s not too late! (Heck, it’s never too late. Even after we ship it, it still won’t be too late.)

Some of the topics covered:

• Creating Domain Models
• Basic operations with LightSpeed
• Building web applications with LightSpeed
• Controlling database mapping
• Working with entities
• Advanced querying
• Search engine indexing
• Much more

Pricing and availability

The eBook version is free – no charge. The physical version of the book is priced at $14.99 USD which covers production costs.

You can obtain either version from the Mindscape Lulu page.

Action shot

 

 

New shape diagrams…

To the existing repertoire of flow diagrams and star diagrams, we’ve now added absolutely positioned or ‘shape’ diagrams. Unlike flow diagrams and star diagrams, shape diagrams don’t have any logic associated with them, so they can be used for a wide variety of situations — from instructional graphics to UI prototyping to kitchen design! Users can move shapes around and connect them up as required.

…and goodbye separate products!

Part of our massive set of improvements in WPF Diagrams 2 is to merge the old Flow Diagrams and Star Diagrams products into a single product. We did this because WPF Diagrams 2 brings together all the capabilities of cyclic and acyclic diagrams — as well as adding so much more. And you’re not limited to shape, flow and star diagrams: we’ve made it easier to define your own diagram types so if you’re building anything from a BPMN editor to a circuit diagramming solution, WPF Diagrams is the product for you!

Pre-built shapes

We’ve also hugely expanded the number of shapes built into WPF Diagramming. Nearly 80 shapes are pre-defined, from basic geometrical shapes like rectangles, stars and ellipses, through block arrows including curved arrows, callouts and multi-way callouts, to conventional flowchart and system design shapes like decisions, sort or merge operations, storage and the ever popular punched tape.

Of course, you’re not limited to our shapes: it’s easy to define custom shapes so if you’re building the next Balsamiq clone or circuit diagramming solution you’ll be right at home with WPF Diagrams 2.

Smarter layout options

We’ve improved and added new layout algorithms for diagrams and connections, including an A* pathfinder for fast, non-colliding connection routing and a force based layout algorithm for that sproingy effect everyone loves so much. The layout classes now work with all diagrams, not just flow or star diagrams.

New toolbox control

We’ve always had great support for creating diagram nodes and connections from a toolbox, with a variety of interaction modes and handy previews. In WPF Diagrams 2.0 we’ve added a dedicated toolbox control with grouping and filtering to make it easy to work with large numbers of node types.

Simpler API

The WPF Diagrams Foundation API provides a huge amount of flexibility, but many applications don’t need that flexibility. So for applications that just want to get it done, we’ve added a simpler API which makes it much easier to build shape-oriented diagramming applications. The new high-level API allow you to use pre-built shapes, define your own shapes and style your diagrams in just a few lines of XAML, without diving into the Foundation API.

We’ve also taken the opportunity to clean up the existing API a little. We’ve merged some overlapping properties, and significantly reworked the XML serialiser to make it easier to extend to support custom data and custom node types. (These are breaking changes so if you are an existing 1.x user you may want to keep a copy of the 1.x DLLs around until you have time to migrate. We’ll provide more info about this in a subsequent post.)

Learn more

WPF Diagrams is bursting at the seams with capability – your imagination really is the only limitation for what you can achieve with the new version. Find out more about what is can do, and see more examples of the awesome visuals you can create on our WPF Diagrams page. Check it out!

Try it out

Want to take it out for a spin? You can download the trial edition of WPF Diagrams 2.0 for free. And we’re offering a limited launch discount.

Existing Mega Pack and WPF Diagrams customers already have the version 2 installation files in their accounts.

Take it for a spin and let us know what you think!

I’m really pleased to announce the world’s first comprehensive suite of Windows Phone 7 controls is now available! We’ve got some great controls in the box that will really make delivering Windows Phone 7 applications a lot easier. This post covers some of the controls and what they can do however we will be posting more over the coming weeks about specific controls as there is simply too much to cover in one post. We also have a great offer for the next two weeks on how to get a free license for yourself.

Performance

We have put considerable effort into performance tuning the controls on the phone. There’s been a lot of talk about the performance of WP7 applications not being as good as it could be and we wanted to make sure our users don’t suffer from that. Jason has been buried in his profiler digging around finding places that we could improve performance — you’ll get the benefits of the countless hours of performance tuning that has been done.

Charting

We raised the bar by incorporating a first class charting suite into our WPF Elements and Silverlight Elements suites. Many vendors expect you to buy a charting suite as separate product but we wanted to maximise the value to the end user instead. We’ve done the same with Phone Elements by porting over the full charting suite from the existing control suites. This means our charts don’t just look great but there’s amazing smooth panning, the ability to handle millions of data points and zooming all built in. Pictures don’t do this justice – it’s a great experience just flicking around the charts in your hand.

Here’s one of the 14 different chart types included in the box:

Everything you’d expect

Of course on top of charting we’ve included the foundational controls that are so important when building a great user experience. There’s date pickers, time pickers, a gesture library, color pickers, infinitely scrolling list boxes — the list goes on. We’ve worked hard to make sure they all work the way you would expect with the Windows Phone so that you can deliver a natural experience really quickly.

And, as always with Mindscape products…

• Our software is alive – we’ll be posting nightly builds and you’ll get new features, controls and enhancements every day
• We don’t ship bloat – download the trial and you’ll get just the Phone Elements install. We don’t sucker punch you with a multi-hundred mega byte download of everything we build. You’ll get just what you want.
• Only the controls you need – Why ship a “window” control for a phone when it doesn’t fit with that paradigm? We don’t add controls that only exist to build our control count. We build controls you’ll actually use, even if it means our control count is less than others. We’d rather build great controls you’ll use and love.

Our offer launch offer
As you know, we always offer a special deal when we launch a new product. We love getting the initial feedback from people so here goes.

• Tweet this link using the button below
• Follow @MindscapeHQ on twitter
• Post a comment below telling us what control you’d like to see for Windows Phone 7
• Do all of these and we’ll give you a free license! Valued at $299 USD! We will email you at the email address you use for your comment below.

Also, if you have a blog, post a review of Phone Elements and we’ll happily provide some free licenses for you to give away to your readers. Just email me and I’ll help you out.

We’re really excited to see what you build with this offering and would love to hear back when you deploy and application using Mindscape Phone Elements!

How to get hold of Phone Elements

• Download the trial here
• Buy a license here
• If you’re a Mindscape Mega Pack customer with an active subscription, it’s already applied to your account. Download it now!

Happy coding!

There has been a tremendous outpouring of support for those impacted by the massive Christchurch earthquake that hit Christchurch on Tuesday. A lot of this support has come by the way of accommodation being offered in other parts of New Zealand so that people have somewhere to sleep, eat and bath. There’s a fantastic support site run by our friends at Trade Me for those wanting to offer accommodation.

The Mindscape office in Wellington has 5 desks spare at the moment with comfy chairs. We’re opening our space for you to come and do your work or just get out of the house! While we have five spare desks, we only have a few spare computers so if you do happen to have a laptop that would be great, but not essential. You’re welcome to use our internet, power, table tennis table and anything else we can offer.

This offer is also open to the large IT firms around that may have Christchurch based staff in Wellington but are running out of desks for them – we’re very central and happy to have them in our office.

If you’re interested in coming to the Mindscape office next week please email me so I can manage numbers: jd@mindscape.co.nz

Honestly, I’m not sure what the mindset will be of those who have relocated for the time being or if this offer will appeal to anyone. It just seemed like something we could do to help at this stage of the disaster.

If you’ve read this far and you’re one of our blog subscribers not based in New Zealand the best way that you could help is by donating to the cause.

John-Daniel Trask, on behalf of the Mindscape team.

Beautiful data visualisation with WPF Elements charts

The big news in WPF Elements 4 is a gorgeous set of charting controls. Silverlight users have been enjoying these for a while and now they’re available for its big brother too. Take a look at some of the cool charts you can now create:

And there’s more examples here!

Packed with controlly goodness

Of course, WPF Elements is also stuffed to the brim with other controls for business and media applications, including:

• Scheduler (Outlook-style calendar)
• Property grid
• CoverFlow animated list control
• Dual progress bar and slider controls
• Numeric and currency text boxes
• Date and time pickers
• Colour pickers
• And many more!

WPF Elements 4.0 includes enhancements to many of these controls, such as new recurrence and work hour options in the Scheduler and item-level visibility control in the OutlookBar.

Get it now

WPF Elements 4.0 is available for download now. You can get the free trial edition from the Downloads page or purchase it from the store. And if you’re a current user of WPF Elements, it’s a free upgrade — grab it from the store now!