NotificationWindow in Silverlight (Out of Browser Apps)

Silverlight 4 brings another feature to desk - NotificationWindow.  NotificationWindow is different from PopUp in following ways:

• NotificationWindow opens as a Splash Screen, while PopUp does not.
• NotificationWindow has an expiry time (set in MilliSeconds); while PopUp needs to be closed explicitly
• NotfificationWindow can be implemented only for Out-Of-Browser applications; PopUp can be used for both Web and Out-Of-Browser applications

With that, let's see how to implement NotificationWindow for Silverlight Applications.

Statement - Create NotificationWindow to denote a Upgrade Window

First, we will design a NotificationWindow - Create a New Silverlight UserControl and give it name: UpgradeWindow

[sourcecode language='xml']

   
       
           
               
                   
                                                   
                           
                           
                                           
                   
               
               
           
       
   
 

[/sourcecode]

Next, we define a Model class for UpgradeWindow - UpgradeWindowModel.cs

[sourcecode language='csharp']

public class UpgradeWindowModel : INotifyPropertyChanged
    {
        private string _title;
        public string Title
        {
            get
            {
                return _title;
            }
            set
            {
                _title = value;
                OnPropertyChanged(value);
            }
        }

        private string _content;
        public string Content
        {
            get
            {
                return _content;
            }
            set
            {
                _content = value;
                OnPropertyChanged(value);
            }
        }

        public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;

        public void OnPropertyChanged(string propertyName)
        {
            if (PropertyChanged != null)
            {
                PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
            }
        }
    }

[/sourcecode]

Further, we invoke this UpgradeWindow in our MainPage.cs

[sourcecode language='csharp']

public partial class MainPage : UserControl
    {
        public MainPage()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
            LoadPopUpWindowInOutofBrowser();
        }

        private void LoadPopUpWindowInOutofBrowser()
        {
            NotificationWindow win = new NotificationWindow();
            UpgradeWindow un = new UpgradeWindow();
            un.DataContext = new UpgradeWindowModel { Title = "Checking for upgrades",
                                                    Content ="Downloading content..." };
            win.Width = un.Width;
            win.Height = un.Height;
            win.Content = un;
            win.Show(10000);
        }
    }

[/sourcecode]

And, the NotificationWindow will be displayed when the application is executed.