I have to develop a windows store app which will be usable on public devices, that means users aren't supposed to be able to quit my application.
On iOS devices, an option called "Guided Access" allows to do this easily, buttons are disabled and you can specify an area where user can interact.
After some researches, I haven't found a way to do that, it seems that Microsoft has not implemented this option in Windows 8, so I'm looking for a way to do this with some code, directly in my app but I have no idea on how to do that precisely. Please, can you tell me if it's possible and, if it is, can you give me a point where I can start ?
Thanks.
I´m not sure whether or not this made it into the newly released preview of the Windows 8.1 Update, but check for "Assigned Access" it was rumored to be a new feature especially for Windows store apps
Edit: See the offical 8.1 product guide here, it only mentions it two times but maybe it is worth installing the preview.
Related
I have purchased a simple biometric fingerprint reader that is usually used for laptop security through a USB connection. It is just called biomentric finger print reader, not branded! It came with the software for creating security for laptop, and it works great.
However, I had a different idea for it: I am intending to create a database of users fingerprints so that I can identify which user swiped their fingers on it, ie, to use it for different users' authentication using fingerprints. I don't seem to be making any head or tail on how to go about that.
I would like to find out if there is other kind of software to install that will make this gadget print the fingerprint or a code to say a spreadsheet or database whenever I swipe a finger on it? I was thinking it would be a simple as when I use a bar code scanner to print codes of various items to a spreadsheet.
Could someone please advise how to go about this. I believe it should do that but I just dont know where to start.
thanks.
As an alternative wrapper to WinBioNET as mentioned by Robinicks there is WinBiometric.Net.
Disclaimer: I do not own this project.
It has a really nice test project for playing around with the different API functions available in the Windows Wiometric Framework. This test project was monumental in helping me understand the Windows Biometric Framework.
The WinBiometric.Net wrapper has a claim of 100% API coverage, a NuGet package and has the MIT license.
I found it to generally have a very high quality of code as well.
As for storing the fingerprints in a database you could use the WinBioCaptureSample API function to capture a sample, which can then be stored in a database.
The sample can be converted into an image as well, there is a nice example of this in the wrapper.
I know this is an old question but I figured I'd post anyway.
You can use the WBF (Windows biometric Framework) API that is free, but you must first verify if your biometric device is WBF compatible. The documentation and samples for WBF are for C++, but there is a wrapper sample in C# that you can download here: Cirrostrata biometrics Regarding how to convert the scanned data into an image, you can check this post: How to convert winbio data into image. Hope this helps to start.
You can use the WinBioNET .NET wrapper for Windows Biometric Framework (WBF). It has a demo winforms app in the solution. Just open it up, select the demo app as the "startup project" and run. If you have any devices connected it will enumerate it at startup.
I'm developing an app on the Windows desktop so Win7 users have the app, but for Win8 users I'm also developing a Metro app.
My problems are,
if a user opens a file (e.g. "Blue.xyz"), I want an app to come up that asks which environment to open it in, but first it has to find all the apps that can open the file and display them.
Then I need to pass the data as a parameter to the app Chosen.
In the .NET framework 4.5.1, I can't find the System.GetEnvironmentVariable command so I can create a common location for both environments to access. These are my options:
Comment for clarification.
Regarding your 3rd question, the function is there, just now showing on MSDN page:
After having an inspiration, I found some code that can get pretty close to what I want.
Dim filepicker As New Windows.Storage.Pickers.FileOpenPicker
CommonFolder = Windows.Storage.Pickers.PickerLocationId.DocumentsLibrary
I should just be able to tack this on the end after that:
CommonFolder.Replace("\Documents","")
and it should give me "C:\Users\someuser" and then I can add "\MyAppStorage"
Thanks for all the help though! This code isn't very clean, so feel free to edit and make it better!
Is going through the Windows Shop within Windows 8 the only way to know about the apps that are currently available (and if an app idea is already taken)? I've seen Windows 8 app links like this one -
http://apps.microsoft.com/webpdp/en-in/app/bigflix/cd3aa73b-e60e-44b6-bbe9-6898050a3502
...but going to the root site throws a "403 - Forbidden: Access is denied" and a search for "Windows 8 Store" doesn't provide any useful results. I guess there will be something after the official Windows 8 launch but is there anything else I'm missing? As a developer, I would love to see a summary listing of apps that shows a brief description, its features and Capabilities used.
Unfortunately for us, Microsoft is not providing any such information regarding the Store apps. All we can do is glean a bit from here and there. Zdnet has mentioned the number of apps, for example.
Have a look here and here
This link in particular maybe of some use because it provides estimated app category breakdown.
I created site http://metrostorescanner.com/ to see what's new in apps for all countries (but you can also use country filter).
I found a file with a site map that you may be able to use for a listing of apps:
http://apps.microsoft.com/webpdp/sitemap/sitemap_1.xml
http://www.greatwindowsapps.com is a searchable directory on the web. It's not the entire Store, the content is filtered to remove poor quality apps. Disclosure: this is my site, so clearly I think that's an advantage :)
http://drunktester.azurewebsites.net/ is the full Store using the Australian content. He published the source code (https://github.com/VikingCode/DrunkStore) so you could set this up for any country if you wished.
Update - It is now possible to search for Windows Store & Windows Phone apps even from non-Windows 8 machines and also view apps by category from the official Microsoft websites.
As #mamata-dalal & #gyurisc have mentioned, there is currently no official Windows 8 app directory.
I came across the website Windows8Apps (though not perfect) that comes close to what I'm looking for.
Currently there is no other place than the Windows 8 Store is the only place, but I am sure soon there will be plenty of sites categorizing these apps.
I am working on a solution to a problem at work where we can't tell if someone is on the phone or just sitting there. We use Microsoft Lync to place our calls and I was hoping to be able to add a bit of code to an existing .net application to show the presence of the person logged into the machine. That info will send that out via USB to an indicator light I previously built.
So basically I am trying to create a .net version of those 'ON AIR' lights you see at radio stations.
I have been searching for the last few days and haven't found a solution. I also downloaded the Microsoft Lync Controls SDK, but no luck with that either.
The following site provides a couple of ways of getting the user availability: http://rcosic.wordpress.com/2011/11/17/availability-presence-in-lync-client/
You may also be interested in the BusyLight if you still haven't implemented this solution. It's a USB light which shows your presence, as you describe.
There's a video demo of it in action here.
I am developing an iPad application where in there is a requirement that application should be able to print using any WiFi Printer even though it does not support AirPrint.
I need to do it without the use of AirPrint and AirPrint Hactivator.
I have referred to almost all questions on StackOverflow but none did seem to help.
I have seen a sample application which is on app store and which implements this.
Printing for iPad By Ndili Technologies, Inc.
What are my options to make this work?
Thanks
I found this API/SDK, which I haven't used, but looks promising :
http://www.e-workshop-dev.com/PC_EN/develop_title_e.html
I don't think there is any way of doing this. As far as I know Apple will not let you install printer drivers on the iDevice. And even if you could you would have to get all of them yourself (there are a lot and you would likely miss some). And then you would have to find a way to implement all of them so that they would work. If you have found a way to do this, then kudos to you, but I do not know of any App Store developer that has accomplished this yet, and I doubt it is possible.
I think you could develop some sort of system that relies on connecting to a service on computer that has a printer. When apple originally Released the beta of AirPrint you could send a print to iTunes and then it would send it to the printer.
The Print n Share Pro (product page, iTunes) app has drivers for most WiFi printers and print email/webpages & files etc. direct without a computer. They also have an API to allow other apps to print using their app but you will need to contact them about that.