Inserting Silverlight content with Expression Web 3: Module 2

Inserting Silverlight Content into a Web Page Using Expression Web 3

In this module, you’ll learn how to add a Silverlight application to your web page in Expression Web 3.

Defining a Site in Expression Web
You’ll begin this module by defining a site in Expression Web 3. Although it’s possible to work with HTML files in Expression Web without defining a site, it’s generally to your advantage to define a site first. When you open a site in Expression Web you are essentially defining a root folder that contains all of your files. Expression Web uses this folder to keep track of assets added to this folder and also keep track of hyperlinks or connections between your files.

1. Open Expression Web 3 and, from the Site menu, choose Open Site.
2. In the Open Site window that appears, click the Browse button.
   
3. Navigate to the folder 02_Inserting_Silverlight_Content. Click Open, then select the Lucerne_site folder and click Open again. Then choose Open again in the Open Site window.
4. You will now see the list of files contained within this folder appear in the Site View window as well as the Folder List panel. You can open files, create and rename folders within these panels without having to exit Expression Web. In effect, the Folder List acts as a replacement to the Explorer view on your system.
   When you open a site in Microsoft Expression Web, the Site View tab is automatically added to your editing window. You can look at the content in your site in this Display to help you design, publish, and manage it.

To Create a Site

1. From the Site menu, choose New Site.
2. In the New dialog box, select the type of site that you want to create, specify the location of the site, and then click OK.

To Rename a Site

1. From the Site menu, choose Site Settings.
2. In the General tab, in the Web name text field, type a new name for the site.

To Delete a Site

1. In the Folder List panel, right-click the site, then click Delete.
2. To confirm the deletion, click Yes.

Inserting a Silverlight Navigation and Slideshow into Your Web Page
In this exercise, you’ll be adding a Silverlight application to your web page. This Silverlight object contains two components: an interactive navigation and a rotating slideshow. Before you get started, a brief overview of Silverlight and the requirements for the user is warranted.

Microsoft Silverlight is a cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering rich interactive applications for the web. You can use programs such as Microsoft Expression Blend or Microsoft Expression Encoder to create a Silverlight application or the web.

You can use Microsoft Expression Web to either edit the web page that was generated by the Authoring program or insert the Silverlight application into a web page. When you insert a Silverlight application into a web page, Expression Web creates an inline frame to contain the web page that was generated by the authoring program.

Users who come to your site will see your Silverlight 3 content as long as they have the Silverlight 3 Plugin; users who do not have the Silverlight 3 Plugin will be prompted to download it. Whenever you add any Silverlight content to a page using Expression Web, this additional download code is automatically added to your page for you.

Note: although providing users a method of downloading the Silverlight Plugin is a good step, you should always evaluate your target audience and realize that in some cases the user may not have the option of downloading and installing browser plugins. Some corporate environments, for example, have controlled networks that prohibit the average user from installing browser plugins. For this reason, you need to consider these scenarios and plan your site accordingly. In all cases, it’s better to do this before you begin building the sie, rather than after.