Windows. Windows. Windows.
One of the running jokes around Windows 8.0 was that modern applications from the Store didn’t run in Windows but, instead, were full-screen immersive experiences with the exception of ‘snapped view’ and ‘filled view’.
That changed with Windows 8.1 where there was more flexibility around how Windowing worked for applications and I wrote a blog post about that at the time of the Windows 8.1 preview;
While watching some of the content from //Build I came across a good session on Windowing and Navigation;
which contained some interesting ‘nuggets’ including that the multi-Windowing APIs are part of the UWP and so work on non-PC devices like phones.
I thought that I’d give that a try out which gave rise to the little video below;
which is just me experimenting around with the APIs across PC/Phone on the preview build 10074 (I’m a little behind the times here).
I’d also say that there’s a couple of other ‘interesting’ nuggets in that //Build session including;
- What happens to your 2nd/3rd/etc. Windows when your app suspends/resumes.
- The considerations around tablet/desktop mode on a device that supports more than one of those.
- APIs for setting the size and so on of your Windows.
- Possibilities for smarter interactions when your app is “protocol activated”.
It’s well worth a watch if you can find the time for it.
Mike Taulty 