Understanding the Code-Behind File for App.xaml and the Splash Screen
If you have some experience with Silverlight and C#, you will be familiar with App.xaml and its code-behind file, App.xaml.cs. The C# code adds some phone-specific initialization code. The App class provides easy access to the root frame with the public RootFrame property:
public PhoneApplicationFrame RootFrame { get; private set; }
PhoneApplicationFrame is MicrosoftPhone.Controls.PhoneApplicationFrame. App.xaml.cs uses the Microsoft.Phone.Controls and Microsoft.Phone.Shell namespaces. The App class constructor calls the IntializePhoneApplication method, which adds phone-specific initialization code that displays a splash screen. This code snippet shows the code for this method with the classic Silverlight initialization and the new phone-specific line:
public App()
{
// Global handler for uncaught exceptions.
// Note that exceptions thrown by ApplicationBarItem.Click
// will not get caught here.
UnhandledException += Application_UnhandledException;
// Standard Silverlight initialization
InitializeComponent();
// Phone-specific initialization
InitializePhoneApplication();
}
The following lines show the code for the InitializePhoneApplication and CompleteInitializePhoneApplication methods. The InitializePhoneApplication method creates the new frame and keeps the splash screen visible until the application is ready to render. The CompleteInitializePhoneApplication method sets the new frame as RootVisual because it is attached as the event handler for RootFrame.Navigated. Don't make changes to these methods.
private bool phoneApplicationInitialized = false;
// Do not add any additional code to this method
private void InitializePhoneApplication()
{
if (phoneApplicationInitialized)
return;
// Create the frame but don't set it as RootVisual yet;
// this allows the splash screen to remain active until the
// application is ready to render.
RootFrame = new PhoneApplicationFrame();
RootFrame.Navigated += CompleteInitializePhoneApplication;
// Handle navigation failures
RootFrame.NavigationFailed += RootFrame_NavigationFailed;
// Ensure we don't initialize again
phoneApplicationInitialized = true;
}
// Do not add any additional code to this method
private void CompleteInitializePhoneApplication(object sender,
NavigationEventArgs e)
{
// Set the root visual to allow the application to render
if (RootVisual != RootFrame)
RootVisual = RootFrame;
// Remove this handler since it is no longer needed
RootFrame.Navigated -= CompleteInitializePhoneApplication;
}
While the application is loading, the emulator and the device will show a splash screen. This splash screen is a 480x800 pixel resolution bitmap, SplashScreenImage.jpg, with a 24-bit color depth and included in the project. You can replace this JPEG bitmap with your desired splash screen but you have to make sure that you use the same name, set its Build Action to Content and Copy to Output Directory to Do Not Copy. Figures 5 and 6 show the default splash screen and a customized version.
The splash screen bitmap must use the 24-bit color JPEG format to work properly. If you use a PNG file instead of a JPEG file, the splash screen won't be displayed. Remember that the user can rotate the device before designing the customized splash screen.
