Expressions

Expression Web breaks Outlook 2003 Junk E-mail Functionality

William Lefkovics — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 05:06:00 GMT

Installing the Expression Web Trial on a workstation with Outlook 2003 will result in Outlook's Junk E-mail feature ceasing to function. I have tested this in POP and IMAP accounts with the same result.

There are two solutions that worked for me to bring Outlook's junk e-mail processing back:

Running 'Detect and Repair' from the Outlook Help menu
Removing the latest Outlook junk email filter using Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel (with Show Updates selected) and reapplying it through Microsoft Update.

Expression Design CTP December 31 shutdown fix coming soon

William Lefkovics — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 08:42:00 GMT

Expression Design CTP fails (shuts down) after December 31, 2006.

Aparently a date-related bug prevents it from working beyond this date. A fix should be available any time now.

WPF/E SDK CTP with AJAX and XAML now available

William Lefkovics — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 12:15:00 GMT

What was that in English? The Windows Presentation Foundation / Everywhere (WPF/E) Software Development Kit (SDK) Community Technology Preview (CTP) with Asynchronous Javascript and XML (AJAX) and Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML) is now available for download. It was actually released earlier in the month, but it appears to have been updated just before Christmas.

"The “WPF/E” (codename) Software Development Kit, enables you to build web pages and web applications that include rich content such as vector-based graphics, 2D animation, high fidelity text, audio and video and use JavaScript (AJAX) to interact with the page content and your server. The SDK contains documentation, sample code and tools that can be used by designers and developers. In order to view the application, the user’s browser need to be enhanced with the appropriate “WPF/E” (codename) package as linked below. To assist with the development process we recommend using Visual Studio 2005 in addition to this SDK. To help with design, we recommend using Microsoft Expression Design and Microsoft Expression Blend. In order to integrate the end result with web pages we recommend using Microsoft Expression Web."

This will help get you started with Expression Blend (and to a lesser extent, Expression Design).

Microsoft Expression Web Quick Start Guide

William Lefkovics — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 11:43:00 GMT

There is no shortage of training materials and samples to get you started using Expression Web. Microsoft also has an Expression Web Quick Start Guide to add to the mix in information and tutorials.

"Get creative in Expression Web now! Download this hands-on lab-including a step-by-step guide, video tutorial and full assets--and start building a standards-based website immediately."

The download gives me a step by step guide and asset files for the basic sample site it introduces, but there no video tutorials included in the download. It may be refering to the video tutorials elsewhere at the Microsoft Expression site. The author of this quick start guide is also a presenter for Total Training, including video training for Expression Web.

Microsoft Expression Web Starter Kits available for download

William Lefkovics — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 05:51:00 GMT

Microsoft has two Expression Web Starter Kits that users can download to jumpstart their training on Expression Web.

Design Portfolio Starter Kit
Partner Portal Starter Kit

Both kits leverage ASP.Net 2.0 to demonstrate the power of Expression Web. FWIW, both starter kits also work in Microsoft Office Sharepoint Designer 2007.

Expression Media Background

William Lefkovics — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 09:21:00 GMT

Back in June 2006, Microsoft acquired iView Multimedia, the UK company that produces iVew Media Pro. Media Pro is a popular digital asset catalog application, which is evolving into Expression Media.

Tame Your Media
Imagine how much more you’d get done if you could just find what you’re looking for. Expression Media makes digital asset management easy—just drag and drop to import more than 100 different media formats, including digital RAW files. Even when your originals are offline, Expression Media’s visual catalogs allow you to browse, search, and annotate your assets.

Your Workflow Enhanced
Handle lots of files, fast, with the professional’s choice. Rename, convert, or tag hundreds of files at a time with sophisticated batch processing; or use powerful search features to instantly find and retrieve your digital media assets. Edit images and keep track of your changes with version control, while folder watching keeps your catalogs up to date.

Presentation is Everything
Impress your audience with slide shows, videos, and Web galleries. When it’s time to deliver, Expression Media can export your assets in exactly the format and size your clients need, with dozens of professionally designed presentation templates. With Expression Media Encoder, you can convert and publish video to reach a broad, cross-platform audience.

Based on the Expression Media FAQ, it looks like Microsoft will continue with a Mac version of the product.

Windows Presentation Foundation / Everywhere (codename "WPF/E") Community Technology Preview (CTP) released today

William Lefkovics — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 00:15:00 GMT

In the same press release as the Expression Web announcement, Microsoft also announced a new CTP for the Windows Presentation Foundation/Everywhere, codenamed 'WPF/E', overlapping the WPF codenamed 'Avalon'.

This interview between Expression PM Arturo Toldeo and Brazilian Interactive media designer Celso Gomez, gives a breakdown on what WPF/E really is and how it relates to XAML, AJAX and the future.

There is a separate CTP for Windows and Mac, as well as a Sample Pack and SDK:

“WPF/E” (codename) Community Technology Preview for Windows (Dec 2006)

“WPF/E” (codename) Community Technology Preview for Mac (Dec 2006)

“WPF/E” (codename) Software Development Kit (SDK) Community Technology Preview (Dec 2006)

“WPF/E” (codename) Community Technology Preview Sample Pack (Dec 2006)

Microsoft Expression Web Released

William Lefkovics — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 23:55:00 GMT

It is a big day for the Expression people at Microsoft. Today, as announced in this press release, Microsoft Expression Web has been released. A free trial of Expression Web is available for download through the revamped Expression site. Can a software application look good on paper?

New Era, New Tool
Reduce complexity and ease data integration by using powerful design tools and task panes to quickly incorporate XML data. Seamlessly integrate Web design and development teams with Expression Web and Visual Studio’s superior support for XML, ASP.NET and XHTML.

Beautiful Inside and Out
Unleash your creative ideas and bring your Web sites to life with sophisticated CSS design features. Visual designers, specialized task panes, and tool bars give you precise control of page layout and formatting.

Passionate about Standards
Build dynamic, interactive pages that harness the power of the Web to deliver superior quality. Built-in support for today’s modern Web standards makes it easy to optimize your sites for accessibility and cross-browser compatibility

Amazon.com currently shows Expression Web at $299 less 10% with a sell price of $269.10. There is also an upgrade version of Expression Web which is valid from any version of Front Page. The upgrade version sells for $99.95 less 10% at Amazon.com for a sell price of $89.96.

I was able to find a new box of Front Page 2002 at amazon.com for $129.00. Putting 2 and 2 together, you could get Front Page 2002 and Expression Web upgrade version for $129 + 89.96 = $218.96. That is more than $50 off the full version sell price. You could probably do better than my 2 minute effort.

Expression Web Reference Help file available for download

William Lefkovics — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 22:57:00 GMT

Microsoft has added an Expression Web Reference Help file for download to use from within Expression Web. It replaces the one that is installed with Expression Web.

It is in Help 2.0 format, so if you do not have Expression Web or another application installed to view .HxS files, you might need an .HxS file converter to read it.

No Expression in MSDN? Inconceivable.

William Lefkovics — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 08:57:00 GMT

I find it incomprehensible that Expression will NOT be made available to MSDN subscribers.

Microsoft Expression Suite Rebranded

William Lefkovics — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 08:38:00 GMT

In beta, products go through lots of changes, including names. It would seem that Microsoft Expression Interactive Designer will now become Expression Blend. The name is going through the trademark process. An additional product appears to be forthcoming by the name Expression Media.

Update (Dec 4): Hours later, the Microsoft Expression site is updated to show the new offerings.

MSDN Webcasts for December 2006 for Microsoft Expression

William Lefkovics — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 19:24:00 GMT

Microsoft has a fcouple of live webcasts for Expression in December 2006. The previous webcasts are also available on demand. Both the upcoming and previous are shown on Microsoft's Event and Webcasts page for Expression. Both of these webcasts show the progress made in ensuring web standards are a part of the design and development areas of web work.

Here are the December 2006 Expression webcasts:

Microsoft Webcast: Designing Standards-Based Web Sites with Microsoft Expression Web (Level 200)

Tuesday, December 5, 2006

1:00 P.M.–2:00 P.M. Pacific Time

Microsoft Webcast: Using Cascading Style Sheets, IDs, and Classes with Microsoft Expression Web (Level 200)

Monday, December 11, 2006

1:00 P.M.–2:00 P.M. Pacific Time

MSDN Webcasts in November 2006 for Microsoft Expression

William Lefkovics — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 18:47:00 GMT

There was one webcast in November that is currently an on-demand presentation.

Microsoft Webcast: Creating Cutting-Edge Web Designs with Microsoft Expression Web (Level 200)

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

5:00 - 6:00 PM Pacific Time

Interview with Expression managers Wayne Smith and Eric Zocher

William Lefkovics — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 09:05:00 GMT

Wayne Smith is the senior program manager in charge of Expression Web. Eric Zocher, formerly of Adobe and Plumtree, is a general manager in charge of Expression development.

Together they were interviewed by Microsoft escapee Robert Scoble, who has made the interview available at his new home at PodTech.net.

MIX 2007

William Lefkovics — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 08:48:00 GMT

MIX 2007 will be held from April 30 through May 2, 2007 here in Las Vegas, NV.

"MIX is Microsoft’s premiere conference for web developers, designers and business professionals."

Registration doesn't open until January, but with Expression coming out this conference should have some great leading edge content. You can see the sessions from MIX 06 online.

MSDN Webcasts in October 2006 for Microsoft Expression

William Lefkovics — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 10:23:00 GMT

Microsoft has a few live webcasts in October 2006 in support of its upcoming Expression product line. The previous webcasts are also available on demand. Both the upcoming and previous are available on Microsoft's Event and Webcasts page for Expression. Microsoft also added a calendar view events page showing all available webcasts on Microsoft products. I don't see a product filter option for Expression specifically when rendering that calendar page.

Here are the October 2006 Expression webcasts:

Microsoft Webcast: An Introduction to Microsoft Expression Interactive Designer (Level 100)

Monday, October 16, 2006

10:00 A.M.–11:00 A.M. Pacific Time

MSDN Webcast: Using Cascading Style Sheets, Identifiers, and Classes in Microsoft Expression Web (Level 200)

Thursday, October 26, 2006

1:00 P.M.–2:00 P.M. Pacific Time

MSDN Webcast: An Introduction to Styles and Templates in Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) (Level 200)

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

9:00 A.M.–10:00 A.M. Pacific Time

MSDN Webcasts in September 2006 for Expression Web

William Lefkovics — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 19:42:00 GMT

On Monday, September 11, 2006 Microsoft is hosting an MSDN Webcast for Expression Web called Designing Standards-Based Web Sites with Expression Web. You must have a Windows Live ID, formerly Passport, to register. Registration is free, of course.

Later in the month, on September 29, 2006, there is another MSDN Webcast for Expression Web called Exploring Basic Features of the New Microsoft Expression Web

There are a lot of other MSDN webcasts, many related to web development, can be found in the upcoming webcasts page on MSDN.

Microsoft Expression Virtual Lab

William Lefkovics — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 08:50:00 GMT

This is from May 2006, but remains a good self-guided walk through of the Expression Suite as of the May 2006 CTP.

The virtual lab tour allocates 90 minutes for you to explore the applications over the internet without having to install them locally.

Expression Web Beta 1 available

William Lefkovics — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 08:40:00 GMT

Microsoft has updated the technology preview and made Expression Web Beta 1 available for download. You do have to register for this trial in order to download it, and it is almost 200MB in size. They have also dropped the term 'Designer' from the name.

Before you install Expression Web Beta 1, do read the requirements, especially:

Install Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 (see below) before installing Expression Web Beta 1.
Uninstall all Microsoft Office 2007 Beta 1 or Beta 2 programs before installing Expression Web Beta 1. Office 2007 Beta 2 Technical Refresh programs do not need to be removed from your computer.

Early training video content

William Lefkovics — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 22:31:00 GMT

Microsoft has almost 200 minutes of training video content to help people get started with the Expression line of tools. The training content complements the demos on the Microsoft Expression site.

Update (December 26, 2006): The early video training content has been moved and updated. The newer video tutorials for Expression Web are now found here.