Live Tiles and Notifications in Windows Phone
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Live Tiles and Push Notifications allow developers to provide timely updates and notifications to users through Windows Phone's Live Tile functionality and push notifications, even when apps are not running. Live Tiles display dynamic content and app shortcuts. Updates can come from the app itself or through push notifications from a backend server. Notifications can update tiles, display toasts, or be delivered directly to the app. This provides a way for developers to engage users with relevant information on the home screen.
Live Tiles and Notifications in Windows Phone
- 1. Live Tiles and Push Notifications Dave Bost [email protected] http://davebost.com | @davebost
- 2. Topics • End-User Experience • Tile 101 • Multiple Live Tiles • Updating a Live Tile from a background process • Push Notifications Windows Phone
- 3. Consumer Experience Notifications offer Windows phone has developers a way to the unique ability to send timely provide the end information to the user glanceable end user’s device access to the even when the information they application is not care most about, via running, including Live Tiles Tile updates Windows Phone
- 4. Tiles 101 • Shortcuts to apps • Static or dynamic • 2 sizes: small & large – Large only for 1st party apps • End-user is in control Windows Phone
- 5. Data Driven Template Model • A fixed set of data properties • Each property corresponds to a UI element • Each UI element has a fixed position on screen • Not all elements need to be used • Animations are not extensible Background Title Count Image (173 x 173 .png) Windows Phone
- 6. Scenarios/Popular Applications Weather Apps Send to WP7 Weather Tile Link Tile Warning Toast Link Toast Chess by Post AlphaJax Turn Tile Turn Tile Move Toast Move Toast Beezz Seattle Traffic Map Unread Tile Traffic Tile Direct Toast Windows Phone
- 7. Primary and Secondary Tiles • Application Tile Fron t – Pinned from App List – Properties are set initially in the Application Manifest Ba • Secondary Tile ck – New in Windows Phone 7.5! – Created as a result of user input in an application Windows Phone
- 8. Live Tiles – Local Tile API • Local tile updates (these are *not* push) – Full control of all properties when your app is in the foreground or background – Calorie counter, sticky notes • Multi-Tile! – Deep-link to specific application sections – Launch directly to page/experience Windows Phone
- 9. Live Tiles – Local Tile API Continued… • Back of tile updates – Full control of all properties when your app is in the foreground or background – Content, Title, Background Content Content string is Background bigger Title Title – Flips from front to back at random interval – Smart logic to make flips asynchronous Windows Phone
- 10. Demo Demo 1: Live Tiles – Local Tile API
- 11. Tile Schedule • Periodically updates the tile image without pushing message though • Updates images only from the web, not from the app local store • Sets up notification channel and binds it to a tile notification • Few limitations – Image size must be less than 80 KB – Download time must not exceed 60 seconds – Lowest update time resolution is 60 minutes – If the schedule for an indefinite or finite number of updates fails too many times, OS will cancel it • Update recurrence can by Onetime, EveryHour, Windows Phone
- 12. Scheduling Tile Update public partial class MainPage : PhoneApplicationPage { private ShellTileSchedule _mySchedule; public MainPage() { InitializeComponent(); ScheduleTile(); } private void ScheduleTile() { _mySchedule = new ShellTileSchedule(); _mySchedule.Recurrence = UpdateRecurrence.Onetime; _mySchedule.StartTime = DateTime.Now; _mySchedule.RemoteImageUri = new Uri("http://cdn3.afterdawn.fi/news/small/windows-phone-7-series.png"); _mySchedule.Start(); } } Windows Phone
- 13. Updating Tiles from a Background Agent • In Windows Phone OS 7.0, only way of updating Live Tiles was from a Tile Schedule or from Notifications – Tile Schedule needs to fetch images from a web URI – Notifications require you to implement a backend service • To have control of shell tiles when the app is not running without using Push Notifications, a good solution is a Background Agent – Use the ShellTile API to locate and update tiles Windows Phone
- 14. Demo Demo 2: Updating Tiles from a Background Agent
- 15. Push Notifications • Server-initiated communication • Enable key background scenarios • Preserve battery life and user experience • Prevent polling for updates Windows Phone
- 16. Push Notification Data Flow 2 URI to the service: "http://notify.live.com/throttledthirdparty/01.00/AAFRQH 3rd party Push enabled giiMWNTYrRDXAHQtz- service AgrNpzcDAwAAAAQOMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDA applications " 3 Notifications service HTTP POST the 4 message Send PN Message 1 Push endpoint is established. URI is created for the endpoint. Microsoft hosted server Windows Phone
- 17. Three Kinds of Notifications • Raw – Notification message content is application-specific – Delivered directly to app only if it is running • Toast – Specific XML schema – Content delivered to app if it is running – If app is not running, system displays Toast popup using notification message content • Tile – Specific XML schema – Never delivered to app – If user has pinned app tile to Start screen, system updates it using notification message content Windows Phone
- 18. Push Notifications – New Features • Multi-Tile/Back of Tile Support – Multiple weather locations, news categories, sports team scores, twitter favorites – Can update all tiles belonging to your application • No API Change for binding tiles – BindToShellTile now binds you to all tiles – Send Tile ID to service and use new attribute to direct update • Three new elements for back of tile properties Windows Phone
- 19. Toast Notification • App icon and two text fields • Time critical and personally relevant • Users must opt-in via app UI Windows Phone
- 20. Demo Demo 3: Push Notifications
- 21. Response Custom Headers • Response Code: HTTP status code (200 OK) • Notification Status – Notification received by the Push Notification Service – For example: “X-NotificationStatus:Received” • DeviceConnectionStatus – The connection status of the device – //For example: X-DeviceConnectionStatus:Connected • SubscriptionStatus – The subscription status – //For example: X-SubscriptionStatus:Active • More information – http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff402545(v=VS.92).aspx Windows Phone
- 22. Security Technical Details Two levels of trust Authentication: – Phone Client – MS server : – TLS + WL Device ID – MS Server – 3rd party service: – HTTPs (for third-party) – Throttling for unauthenticated services Authorization: – Token (notification URI) validated with each PUSH notification Windows Phone
- 23. Summary • In this session we covered how tiles work, live tiles, shell tiles as well as how to support multiple tiles from a single application. • We also covered updating a Live Tile from a Background Application as well as via Push Notifications Windows Phone
- 24. Q&A
- 25. The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION. © 2011 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries.