Phone calls Windows Phone 8 vs. Windows Phone 8.1

Problem:

I am migrating a windows phone 8 app to windows phone 8.1.  The move forward involved changes to the namespaces where the phone tasks occur

Solution:

Making a call in Windows Phone 8

1. Add the following statement to your code.

   using Microsoft.Phone.Tasks;

2. Add the following code to your application wherever you need it, such as in a button click event. To test this procedure, you can put the code in the page constructor. This is the code to launch the task.
   
   

   PhoneCallTask phoneCallTask = new PhoneCallTask();
   phoneCallTask.PhoneNumber = "2065550123";
   phoneCallTask.DisplayName = "Gage";
   phoneCallTask.Show(); 

Making a call in Windows Phone 8.1

Add the following code to your application wherever you need it, such as in a button click event. To test this procedure, you can put the code in the page constructor. This is the code to launch the task.

Windows.ApplicationModel.Calls.PhoneCallManager.ShowPhoneCallUI("phone number", "display name");

Source:

1. https://msdn.microsoft.com/de-de/library/windows/apps/hh394025(v=vs.105).aspx
2. http://stackoverflow.com/questions/23555640/make-a-phone-call-in-windows-phone-8-1

Access Existing SQLite database in Crossplatform solutions

Background:

I am trying to build out a crossplatform mobile solution using MVVMCross.  Stuart Lodge's N+1 series does a great job explaining how to use a new sqlite database.  The missing use case is how to implement the solution for an existing sqlite database.  I am working on that solution currently.

Problem:

My immediate issue was how to get the Windows Phone sqlite database from the installation into the app storage.

Solution:

private async Task CopyDatabase()

{

    bool isDatabaseExisting = false;

    try

    {

        StorageFile storageFile = await ApplicationData.Current.LocalFolder.GetFileAsync("people.db");

        isDatabaseExisting = true;

    }

    catch

    {

        isDatabaseExisting = false;

    }

    if (!isDatabaseExisting)

    {

        StorageFile databaseFile = await Package.Current.InstalledLocation.GetFileAsync("people.db");

        await databaseFile.CopyAsync(ApplicationData.Current.LocalFolder);

    }

}

Source:

1. http://wp.qmatteoq.com/using-sqlite-in-your-windows-8-metro-style-applications
2. http://wp.qmatteoq.com/import-an-already-existing-sqlite-database-in-a-windows-8-application/

Localized Strings does not exist in namespace

Problem:
Having completed the iPhone version of our MVVM cross project, we are back to the Windows Phone version.  I created the baseline phone project and added reference to the Core.  Then I built the Windows Phone 8 project and kept getting this error:
The name "LocalizedStrings" does not exist in the namespace

Solution:
Close Visual Studio. Than, delete sub folders 10.0 and 11.0 from "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Phone Tools\CoreCon\" Open Visual Studio and rebuild solution.

Where
%LOCALAPPDATA% = C:\Users\[USER]\AppData\Local

Source:
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/23237549/vs-2013-the-name-localizedstrings-does-not-exist-in-the-namespace

Missing certificate for authenticated push notifications: Certificate for authenticated push notifications

Problem:
Finally we have approval to push this application and I was getting the following warning in Windows Phone Store

"Missing certificate for authenticated push notifications: Certificate for authenticated push notifications"   I have no more options than before. I have no push notifications in use.   Solution:   You should check your WMAppManifest.xml file. Do you have ID_CAP_PUSH_NOTIFICATION defined there?

Unauthorized Access Exception - MvxLocationWatcher in Windows Phone 8

I have been working through Stuart Lodge's MvvmCross tutorial.  Session 12 is working with location watchers.  I was able to compile the solution but at run time I received the Unauthorized access error.

Solution:
1.) Solution Explorer
2.) Expand properties of the Windows Phone project
3.) Open WMAppManifest.xml
4.) Capabilities tab
5.) Select ID_CAP_LOCATION check box

The application must grant this permission in order to use the onboard location features.

How to simulate a low-bandwidth connection or poor signal for Windows Phone 8

Problem:

Testing the Windows Phone with limited bandwidth for cell coverage has been something you need to do with a device attached to a VS debug session.  This obviously is not an optimal solution.  Visual Studio now has the Simulation Dashboard.

Solution:

To open the Simulation Dashboard, in Visual Studio, on the Tools menu, click Simulation Dashboard. After you open the dashboard, it remains open and available even when you open and close projects in Visual Studio.

Source

1. http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/jj206952(v=vs.105).aspx

MVVM and Windows Phone application bar

Working a cross platform mobile solution.  I have the Commands defined in my mvvm core View Model.  I need to bind my View in the Windows Phone 8 application to the command in the ViewModel. 

Problem:
"Windows Phone AppBar's are naive rather than Silverlight controls - so they are not bindable"

Solution:
Get an addon which will support app bar binding for windows phone 8. 
https://bindableapplicationb.codeplex.com/


Source:
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/25466816/how-to-do-binding-for-a-global-applicationbar-in-windows-phone-with-mvvmcross

Code Sample: Return Office element from Json query in Windows Phone

I wanted to capture this deprecated piece of code which I no longer need in my phone app.
We are supplying a list of office specific information to the phone client via a JSON query.

Calling Method:


using System.Net.WebClient;
using Newtonsoft.Json.JsonConvert;

private static Dictionary<int, Office> _officeLookup;
private static List<Office> theOffices = new List<Office>();

WebClient webClient = new WebClient();
webClient.Headers["Accept"] = "application/json";
webClient.DownloadStringCompleted +=
              new DownloadStringCompletedEventHandler(webClient_DownloadStringCompleted);
webClient.DownloadStringAsync(new Uri(apiUrl));



private void webClient_DownloadStringCompleted(object sender,             DownloadStringCompletedEventArgs e);
{
      try
      {
           if(e.Result != null)
          {
           var offices = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Office[]>(e.Result);
           theOffices = offices.ToList();
           int id = 0;
           foreach(Office office in offices)
           {
                _officeLookup.Add(id,office);
               id++;
             }
          }
         }
         catch (Exception ex)
         {
               //Error handling here
         }


}

Using progress indicator in windows phone systemtray

I am going to add a progress bar to my existing phone app and found a good explanation at Microsoft's site.  It includes an example for implementing the progress bar programmatically or
declaratively.


Code Behind
using Microsoft.Phone.Shell;

namespace SystemTrayTest
{
    public partial class MainPage : PhoneApplicationPage
    {
        ProgressIndicator prog;

        public MainPage()
        {
            InitializeComponent();

            SystemTray.SetIsVisible(this, true);
            SystemTray.SetOpacity(this, 0.5);
            SystemTray.SetBackgroundColor(this, Colors.Purple);
            SystemTray.SetForegroundColor(this, Colors.Yellow);

            prog = new ProgressIndicator();
            prog.IsVisible = true;
            prog.IsIndeterminate = true;
            prog.Text = "Click me...";

            SystemTray.SetProgressIndicator(this, prog);
        }
    }
}


XAML
<shell:SystemTray.ProgressIndicator>
    <shell:ProgressIndicator IsIndeterminate="True" IsVisible="True" Text="Click me..." />
</shell:SystemTray.ProgressIndicator>

Source:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windowsphone/develop/ff626537(v=vs.105).aspx

Connecting Windows Phone 8 Emulator to localhost.

A while back I blogged on connecting to localhost from windows phone emulator.  I was trying out a new dev build today and having issues.  Debugging was failing to connect on my VS 2013 build. I realized that I was having firewall issues.
I started by turning off all the firewalls to determine if this was the issue. Once the firewall was down I was able to connect from the emulator to localhost. I then modified the netsh command.

Change the profile to public on the firewall connection.

> netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="IISExpressWeb" dir=in protocol=tcp localport=58938 profile=public remoteip=localsubnet action=allow

Windows Phone 8 photo/image resizing

Problem:

I am trying to wrap up my first phone application which submits text and photos to an email server.
I wanted to control file size since the user can send anything on their phone.  I had been using the BitmapImage captured directly from the e.ChosenPhoto Task.  There are a number of great tutorials on basic photo capturing.  What they overlook is the the whole resizing issue.   The object for that is WriteableBitmap but you can't just cast the BitmapImage to WriteableBitmap.

The BitmapImage is pretty much immutable once you create it.  That is there is no implicit cast to an object like WriteableBitMap.  Most solutions involve reading the content of the BitmapImage as a stream or array into an image and then casting to to WriteableBitmap.


Solution 1:

Mike Ormond's post was very helpful.  He used a memory stream and saved the resulting byte array to the MediaLibrary.

void task_Completed(object sender, PhotoResult e)
{
  if (e.Error == null)
  {
    BitmapImage bi = new BitmapImage();
    bi.SetSource(e.ChosenPhoto);
    Image image1 = new Image()
    {
      Width = 800,
      Height = 600,
      Visibility = System.Windows.Visibility.Collapsed,
      Source = bi
    };
    ScaleTransform st = new ScaleTransform()
    {
      ScaleX = 0.1,
      ScaleY = 0.1
    };
    WriteableBitmap wb = new WriteableBitmap(image1, st);
    ThreadPool.QueueUserWorkItem(callback =>
    {
      MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream();
      wb.SaveJpeg(ms, 80, 60, 0, 80);
      using (MediaLibrary lib = new MediaLibrary())
        lib.SavePicture("Test", ms.ToArray());
    });
  }
}

Solution 2:
Take the resulting source photo directly to a WriteableBitmap.


WritableBitmap bitmap = new WritableBitmap(); //Use appropriate constructor
bitmap.SetSource(e.ChosenPhoto);
or

ScaleTransform st = new ScaleTransform()
{
ScaleX = 0.1,
ScaleY = 0.1
};
WriteableBitmap wb = new WriteableBitmap(e.ChosenPhoto, st);

Source:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd638675(v=vs.95).aspx
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/8252001/wp7-5e-chosenphoto-issue

 Solution 3:

public void DecodePhoto(byte[] byteVal)
        {
            if (byteVal == null) return ;

            try
            {
                MemoryStream strmImg = new MemoryStream(byteVal);
                BitmapImage myBitmapImage = new BitmapImage();
                myBitmapImage.BeginInit();
                myBitmapImage.StreamSource = strmImg;
                myBitmapImage.DecodePixelWidth = 200;
                myBitmapImage.EndInit();
                MugShot.Source = myBitmapImage;
            }
            catch (Exception ex)
            {
                string message = ex.Message;
            }
        }
Source:
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/8897210/byte-to-bitmapimage
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/14718855/how-to-create-writeablebitmap-from-bitmapimage

Writable bit map SDK

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8256225704949716108#editor/target=post;postID=5955005466364600781

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5774038/resizing-resulting-camera-stream

Windows Phone 8 Samples

Microsoft has been kind enough to post a whole slew of sample code.
http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/wpapps/

I am headed over to load it all on my dev machine.

Calling Web API from a Windows Phone 8 Application

Robert McMurray has posted a great tutorial on the ASP.Net site from Microsoft.
It combines some APIs want to get a better handle on Web API, HttpClient and
the Windows Phone API


http://www.asp.net/web-api/overview/web-api-clients/calling-web-api-from-a-windows-phone-8-application

How to do a multipart post with file upload using WebApi HttpClient

Problem:  My app needs to submit a user form to a web backend.  There are a number
of easy ways to do this via the WP8 SDK to upload files.  These are all done pretty much
with GETs vice POSTS.  I looked around for some solutions to do a multipart submittal since
my form will have files as well as text to submit. The only issue is getting the files as byte arrays.
I will do a post on this particular issue at another time.



Solution:

Form:

     <form action="/api/workitems" enctype="multipart/form-data" method="post">
        <input type="hidden" name="type" value="ExtractText" />
        <input type="file" name="FileForUpload" />
        <input type="submit" value="Run test" />
    </form>


Code behind
 using (var client = new HttpClient())
{
    using (var content = new MultipartFormDataContent())
    {
        var values = new[]
        {
            new KeyValuePair<string, string>("Foo", "Bar"),
            new KeyValuePair<string, string>("More", "Less"),
        };
        foreach (var keyValuePair in values)
        {
            content.Add(new StringContent(keyValuePair.Value), keyValuePair.Key);
        }
        var fileContent = new ByteArrayContent(System.IO.File.ReadAllBytes(fileName));
        fileContent.Headers.ContentDisposition = new ContentDispositionHeaderValue("attachment")
        {
            FileName = "Foo.txt"
        };
        content.Add(fileContent);
        var requestUri = "/api/action";
        var result = client.PostAsync(requestUri, content).Result;
    }
}

Source:
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10339877/asp-net-webapi-how-to-perform-a-multipart-post-with-file-upload-using-webapi-ht

Windows Phone 8 - How to get a certain IsolatedStorageSetting Key

Problem

I was puzzling over this issue due to isolated storage which I am using on one of my applications.
I need to retrieve a setting from storage but was could not assume that the key exists.  If I attempted to query a null value then I would get an error. 

Solution

ICollection<string> sKeys = (ICollection<string>) IsolatedStorageSettings.ApplicationSettings.Keys
if(!sKeys.Contains(AppResources.SavedReportKeyName))
{
//Create key in isolated storage
}


Source:
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/wpapps/en-US/529d6dad-fcfe-4609-9a64-097dcd0bae33/how-to-get-a-certain-isolatedstoragesetting-key?forum=wpdevelop

Screen Masking for Windows Phone 8 Textbox Control

This is a pretty common theme on google.  Given the variety of explanations which were quite interesting and thorough but not exactly what I needed.  I finally reverted back to MSDN and found
what I was looking for.  the Textbox control in Silverlight supports a property called InputScopeNameValue.  This allows one to determine the keyboard layout of the SIP (software input panel).    One just sets the property to the desired setting to control input on the textbox.

<TextBox Text="HelloWorld">
    <TextBox.InputScope>
        <InputScope>
            <InputScopeName NameValue="Url" />
        </InputScope>
    </TextBox.InputScope>
</TextBox>

SIP layout	XAML or enumeration value	SIP description
Default	Default, and other standard input scope values	Standard QWERTY layout
Text	Text	Standard layout with features such as autocorrect and text suggestion
Web	Url	Standard layout with .com and customized Enter key for typing URLs.
E-mail address	EmailSmtpAddress	Standard layout with .com and @ key.
E-mail name or address	EmailNameOrAddress	Standard layout with .com and @ key, and easy access to phone number layout.
Maps	Maps	Standard layout with a customized Enter key. Used to type a location to search for on a map
Phone number	TelephoneNumber	12-key layout
Search	Search	Semi-transparent layout with a Search and .com key.
SMS contact	NameOrPhoneNumber	Standard layout with access to phone number layout. Used to type in the SMS To field
Chat	Chat	Text input that uses intelligent features such as abbreviations

Source:http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff426929(v=vs.95).aspx

Getting out of the SIP (Soft Input Panel) programmatically

I have been cranking on my first phone application and working with some basic user requirements.
I did not get to far in before I ran into this issue.  Most of the how apps just blow by the simple issue
of going from one text element to the next.  I just assumed it was like working with a web form.  Well forgot I am not working with a the benefit of a browser which defines a lot of this default behavior. 

The text box control will display the SIP as soon as you focus on it.  The issue is when you want to leave the textbox.  The return key and tab key will not kick you back out to the page level.  You need to handle the event Keyup or LostFocus.


XAML

<TextBox Name="Input" KeyUp="Input_KeyUp" LostFocus="Input_KeyUp"  FontSize="40"></TextBox>
 

C# Code Behind

private void Input_KeyUp(object sender, KeyEventArgs e){ if (e.Key == Key.Enter) { this.Focus(); }}


The call to the main page will return the focus from the current textbox back to the phoneapplicationpage. 


Source:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/silverlight_sdk/archive/2010/07/02/programmatically-dismiss-the-sip-keyboard-in-windows-phone-silverlight-app.aspx