The ComponentOne Studio for LightSwitch HTML suite of controls contains an Events Calendar control that allows you to create some really incredible applications. In this example we will use it to build a Visual Studio LightSwitch application that will allow employees to enter their vacations and time off so that their organization can easily track employee availability…

In this article we will cover a project that implements the ComponentOne Excel control, from the Studio for Silverlight suite, in Visual Studio LightSwitch. Specifically, it will demonstrate importing and exporting Microsoft Excel files. The sample project expands on the Expense Report application covered in the article: Using the ComponentOne FlexGrid Control in Visual Studio LightSwitch.

This project enables the following scenarios:

• Allow employees to use an Excel spread sheet to create their expense reports.
• Display the Excel spread sheet in the ComponentOne FlexGrid control, with all formatting and formulas, and allow it to be edited before importing.
• Import the Excel spread sheet into the Expense Report application.
• Export existing expense reports to the control and save them as Excel files.

A strong point about ComponentOne is their ability to make great Silverlight controls that aggregate data. The LightSwitch Help Website previously covered their LightSwitch extension: Using OLAP for LightSwitch. That control is designed to be mostly configured by end-users. The article: The LightSwitch Control Extension Makers Dilemma...

It is important to know that you should only use the methods described here as a last resort. The methods described here should not be your first choice for implementing a custom Silverlight Control in LightSwitch. 99% of the time these other methods will work:

Creating A LightSwitch Custom Silverlight Control This Is How LightSwitch Does MVVM...

Hierarchical data is usually used to display data in a tree. The data typically is in a single table that is self-referencing, meaning it has one property that points to other records in the same table. This is how it is able to track the parent-child relationship between records. A Tree Control is usually used to visualize hierarchical data.

Karol Zadora-Przylecki (Microsoft) created an example, and included important code required by LightSwitch when using a Silverlight Tree Control. You can see the original post here: http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/lsextensibility/thread/bcdaa86f-459a-47d3-853a-3c5e56eb088a. In this article, we will follow the concepts outlined by that post.

Note: If you are new to LightSwitch, it is suggested that you start here: Online Ordering System (An End-To-End LightSwitch Example)

If you are not a Silverlight programmer, LightSwitch is still easy to use. You just need to use LightSwitch Control Extensions. It is important to note the difference between a Silverlight Custom Control, and a LightSwitch Control Extension.

Karol Zadora-Przylecki covers the difference in the article “Using Custom Controls to Enhance Your LightSwitch Application UI” (http://blogs.msdn.com/b/lightswitch/archive/2011/01/13/using-custom-controls-to-enhance-lightswitch-application-ui-part-1.aspx).

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From: Microsoft Visual Studio LightSwitch Extensions Cookbook.doc © 2011 Microsoft Corporation NOTE: See the updated article: Creating a Minimal LightSwitch Shell A LightSwitch application runs in a “Shell”. You can create your own Shell.

The first step is to download the “Cook Book”...

 

Note: There is a third method covered at this link.

It is easy to create a LightSwitch application using your own custom user interface (UI), composed entirely of Silverlight Custom Controls. The article This Is How LightSwitch Does MVVM,...

This article, Silverlight View Model Style: An (Overly) Simplified Explanation, explains what MVVM is. Basically:

Model – The Data View Model – Collections, Properties, and Commands View – The UI (User Interface) This article, covers some of the problems in implementing MVVM, mostly that is is verbose,  time-consuming, and difficult for many developers to understand and implement. That is not to say that MVVM is not a superior pattern once you have mastered it, but using a tool such as LightSwitch greatly eases it’s use.



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With LightSwitch, there is no built in Printing. Here is a method that works. This will also show you how to create a custom template to allow you to print exactly what you want, not just the current screen...

Printing in LightSwitch was previously covered here:

http://lightswitch.adefwebserver.com/Blog/tabid/61/EntryId/3/Printing-With-LightSwitch.aspx

The disadvantages of that approach are:

You have to make a custom control / You have to be a programmer to make reports Printing in Silverlight renders images that are slightly fuzzy In this article, we will demonstrate creating and printing reports in LightSwitch using Microsoft Report Viewer Control.

Note, you will need Visual Studio Professional, or higher, to use the method described here.

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With Visual Studio LightSwitch, you have a “get out of jail free card” in the use of Custom Silverlight Controls. With a Custom Silverlight Control, you can implement functionality that is outside the normal abilities of LightSwitch.

I’m sure your greatest fear is having to stand in front of the Chief Technology Officer, and explain why the LightSwitch application, that the company invested so much time and energy into, has to now be re-written as a regular Silverlight application because it “can’t perform the new requirements”.

Let’s put aside the fact that in normal business environments, you have several applications running...