Hello Patrick,
what follows is a polite response to your question and a detailed defense
why XAML support should be included in all Office applications. I am working
with XAML almost daily building some WPF browser and stand alone applications
and preparing for WPF/E enabled websites so everything I write is related to
my day to day work and activity. You are right that XAML is uniquely able to
function as a UI declarative description language but this does not exhaust
the scenarios where it can be used and is indeed used. XAML is enormously far
and wide reaching and encompassing technology. It has wonderful support for
vectors, brushes, text, shapes, gradients, etc. which makes it excellent for
all document and art work where resolution independence is important with
added flexibility and programmability. Simply expressed — XAML is much more
than a UI interface language; it is EPS and WMF of new generation that frees
us from PostScript and GDI which are some 20 years old technologies.
For example, notice the fact that XPS is a subset of XAML and can describe
complex documents with full fidelity. If XPS can directly function as a
replacement for PDF, then XAML in general can perfectly serve as an EPS and
WMF replacement.
The situation is very similar to Mac OS X. PDF is used in Mac OS as
technology behind UI rendering
(
http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/quartzextreme/). Does it mean that this
is the only way PDF can be used? Far from it. Adobe applications have since
long ago started to support PDF as universal interchange format for vector
and bitmap resources. I am only asking that XAML would become the same for
Microsoft programs — a true universal interchange format for vector and
bitmap resources.
It is not fair to say that Expression Graphic Designer is program to be used
for UI creation only. It is a general purpose graphics program that is
competing with Photoshop and Illustrator. It can be used for UI creation but
it is only one tiny part of possibilities. Personally I use it mainly for
creation of graphic resources that are then incorporated into documents and
web sites. People have been using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator for years
for UI work but it does not follow that those two programs are UI only tools.
Already now Microsoft people I talking about XAML ClipArt, just check
following:
http://blogs.msdn.com/wpfsdk/archive/2006/06/02/XAML_Clip_Art__A_Ferry_and_a_Raven.aspx
http://blogs.msdn.com/wpfsdk/archive/category/13381.aspx
What if I want to place such XAML ClipArt into PowerPoint or Word document?
How should I proceed?
The advantages to XAML when compared to old interchange formats are great
and many:
1. It is XML based. I can hand edit and tweak it at any time. Try to do that
with EPS or WMF files.
2. I can easily program custom applications with whatever functions I need.
Try to do that with EPS or WMF files.
3. The EPS support in Office is really a kind of kludge. The import filter
is produced by 3-rd party. The preview is not good and precise. Rendering
tends to be very slow. It sometimes crashes Word, etc. On the other hand XAML
is owned by Microsoft. They can make if perfect and high performance and rock
solid part of Office.
Here are some simple elementary scenarios that I have on my mind:
1. I have a vector art produced in Expression Graphic Designer, let’s say it
is a logo of my company. Now I want to import it into Word or Publisher as a
vector object so that it is printed at full resolution whether at office
laser printer or at imagesetter. This scenario is not supported now. Moreover
EPS files are many times quite unreliable.
2. Using Graphic Designer I have produced some ClipArt or graphic parts that
I will use for my XBAP or WPF or WPF/E applications. But I also want to use
it in some documents and brochures in Word and Publisher. What now, which way
to go?
3. I have produced some UI parts using Interactive Designer. Wanting to
implement consistent company identity, I want to use the same parts in my
Word documents. What now, which way to go?
4. I have diagrams, clip arts, schemes, charts, and shapes in Office files
created as part of lectures on biology, history, archeology, theology, etc.
Let us say I want to produce an education website build using WPF or WPF/E
and use those parts from Office files transforming them into XAML resources.
How should I proceed? There is currently no way that I know about.
For me those are all real scenarios that I am personally involved with.
My conclusion: XAML needs to be to Office what PDF is to Adobe Creative
Suite. That means a rock solid and high performance vector/bitmap interchange
format. For me this is a real daily need.
Jan Sichula
(Slovak Republic)
