Microsoft Developer Content Collection for 14 July 2016

There is always great developer related content being published over on the Building Apps for Windows blog site and hopefully each of you follow along with the latest articles.

This is a snapshot of some of the recent content that has been published by the Windows developer team that cover some very interesting subject areas adn I suspect they can help you out with your own app projects that are in progress or being considered.

Windows 10 Anniversary SDK Preview Build 14388 Released

The Software Development Kit (SDK) preview is a critical element of a developers efforts to get their apps ready for the next version of Windows 10.

As always, keep this SDK separate from your production environment and only install it on a test device otherwise it might cause some issues for you.

Once the Windows 10 Anniversary Update is officially released teh SDK will also get its formal release copy.

High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography and videography with Universal Windows Platform (UWP)

This article talks about one of my favorite photographic techniques - HDR.

In this tutorial you will learn about using the MediaCapture API, AdvancedPhotoCapture class for HDR photos, managing hardware buttons and lock screens, evaluating the need for HDR through the SceneAnalysisEffect class and then improving video quality through the HDRVideo control.

Of course, there is plenty of code examples to get you started in creating your own camera app that can use HDR options.

Designing for Intuitive Navigation

This is a continuation of the series of tutorials on the user interface design of your app.

Navigation is a critical aspect of your app because it is the way in which users interact and use it. If it misses the mark then users will abandon it very quickly.

According to the Windows App team your apps navigation should have consistency to meet user expectations, show simplicity so it is not trying to do more than it needs to and have clean interactions and stay out of the way when not needed.

The tutorial goes into further detail on each of those three areas to help you in your own app design for navigation.

This one has some great images across various screen sizes to help communicate the lessons about navigation.

Communicating with your users

Here is another great tutorial to learn a key aspect of your apps existence - your ability to communicate with your users through your apps dialogs.

The key areas they suggest your focus should be include being friendly and compassionate, providing appropriate guidance and projecting a gentle tone.

In the article they dive into each of those areas with suggestions on how to accomplish those approaches.

I really like how they put it all in perspective:

"Good app design is about human-to-human communication. While words should be used sparingly in an app, you want them to have maximum impact when you do use them—so choose your words carefully! Choose words that convey your desire to help your user learn your app. Choose words that soften the impact when accidents happen either through user action or technical glitches. Finally, choose words that communicate the tone of your app and the personality of its creator(s)."

Enjoy.

But, wait...there's probably more so be sure to follow me on Twitter and Google+.

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