As I set back to work on the SurfaceWindow1 file, I debated whether I should use Labels or SurfaceButtons to display the content of each Word object. I decided to use SurfaceButtons, because I knew I could rely on there being built-in the Contact Down, Changed, and Up events.
I also contemplated what the best way to populate thumbnails around each Word would be. Playing around with each of the built-in Microsoft Surface applications, I finally discovered Element Menus, which had a sleek and sexy look and feel. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to figure out how customize each menu in a way that was helpful to our project, so I instead decided to use Grid objects to display the appropriate artwork thumbnails surrounding each word.
I had some difficulty making the Grid object appear. I ran many tests on the Grid generating function, as well as the event handler for Contact Down. At some point, I could make the cell dividers from inside the Grids appear independently. But I eventually realized that the issue was with updating the width and height of the ScatterViewItem containing the Grid to those of the Grid itself.
Student of Computer Science and Economics at Wellesley College, B.A. May 2011. Cross-registered at MIT. Web designer. Curious problem solver. Always an aspiring artist. Family in Shanghai. Home in Sillicon Valley. Interested in HCI, user experience, interface design, product design and development, and all things progress and innovation.