How can I modify a registry key? - winjs

I'm developing Windows 8 apps in JavaScript and in the current one I would like to modify a registry key, but how? I would like to change the background of desktop programmatically.

From what I found MSDN, Metro Style Apps (now called Windows Store Apps) doesn't have access to the Registry.
See this:
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/winappswithcsharp/thread/11f30427-e7e8-4c7f-8bed-04528c249eb6
P.S. You could probably talk more about the what you want to do so that people can help you find an alternative.

Related

Replace lockscreen app windows universal app 10

I was wondering how would it be possible to dev an app to replace the default lockscreen on windows 10 universal apps. I know that there was some kind of apps in windows 8.0/8.1 but I've never seen this on w10. Is it possible? and how?
(Such as Tetra lockscreen)
If you want to build an app such as "Tetra lockscreen" or "Live Lock Screen Beta", which provide additional functionality directly on the lockscreen, this is not possible as the makers of those apps have additionall access to private APIs normal devs have no access to. Also, both apps aren't available any more as far as I can see, probably the private APIs have been removed with Windows 10.
If you simply want to change the lockscreen picture, this is possible with the UserProfilePersonalizationSettings class which provides the functions TrySetLockScreenImageAsync and TrySetWallpaperImageAsync. With the IsSupported you can check if the Windows device is able to change its lockscreen. On Desktop and Mobile the function currently returns true.

Windows 10 universal app cross app communication availability

I am an WPF developer with little knowledge for the way "mobile" apps work but in general I believe that they work in some sort of sandbox way (meaning they should not be able to access each others process, info etc., I might be totally incorrect on this one). So I am wondering if such "limitations" are applied to the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps?
The reasoning for my question is that I would like to write and app that checks if another Universal App is in process and use some of its information. In WPF there are ways of doing just that but in UWP apps I am not sure if it is/should/will be possible.
Thanks.
There are a couple of solutions in Windows 10. Firstly, if you are building an enterprise app and can also side-load normal Desktop apps, you can use this technique to build your UI as a UWP but also be able to break out of the sandbox and do other things on the desktop.
Secondly, if the app you want to read from is cooperative (ie, is designed to provide information; you're not just grabbing it without permission) then you can use App to App services to send and receive information between two consenting applications.
Both links are to //build videos but you can download the slides too that should contain code samples.

Azure Mobile services : using shared libraries in Custom API

Azure Mobile services (node.js backend) : I remember vaguely sometime back I had read somewhere that the shared libraries cannot be used in Custom API, however I don't remember where exactly I read that. Tried googling, searching here in SO, but didn't find anything. Now that I started coding my Custom API, I need to know this for sure, whether what I remember vaguely is really true or not; if someone has any idea about this, I'll much appreciate if you can confirm.
many thanks.
Yes you can create shared scripts and use them from your mobile service custom API scripts.
See this link for enabling source control and getting a local copy so you can create and push your scripts: http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/mobile-services-store-scripts-source-control/#use-npm
Then take a look at this link for more on using some of the "native" node modules or helper functions: http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/mobile-services-how-to-use-server-scripts/#shared-code

Windows 8/RT + Phone 8 app - sync data

Hi im developing a todo/reminder app for both Windows 8 (RT) and Windows Phone 8.
I want to enable the user to sync their todo-items between these two.
I know there is a roaming application data storage for Windows 8, but is it possible to access it from the phone?
Another idea i had was creating an xml file and uploading it to skydrive, but then i would have no push functionality :(
And there is also Azure which seems to be the most complicated solution..
What way is the best to choose?
Thanks for your help
You can use Live SDK (SkyDrive) and Windows Azure Mobile Services to accomplish this. The Live SDK will allow you to upload and retrieve items from SkyDrive and you can use mobile services for push notifications. Here is an example of what you want to do.
I know that the thread is a bit old, but it still pops up in search results. So, here's the answer.
I had exactly the same problem. So, I have developed a small library which does exactly that - synchronizing the data between Windows Phone and Windows Azure. Code is on GitHub and here is a nicely packed NuGet package. You could easily port it to WinRT and use SQLite as local data storage.
API is very simple. You just call methods to do CRUD operations and when you are done, you call SynchronizeAsync to synchronize data with WAMS. The synchronization goes both ways. In case of conflict, the latest copy gets the preference.
In the meantime Windows Phone 8.1 is released and it changes the answer to your question - today there are universal apps and they share the same roaming storage on both Phone and regular Windows.
You're going to want to use Mobile Services (www.windowsazure.com/mobile) for this scenario. After you login at manage.windowsazure.com, grab the WinStore C# SDK and WP8 SDK. You're going to need to point both to the same SQL db and Mobile Service. Of course, if you need blob or table storage as well, that's supported. You'd just access those through scripts under the DATA tab.
To check out a production app that's already doing this, I'd point your to Slot Machine by the SeeSharpGuys.
Win Store: http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-US/app/slot-machine/7c60012a-00bd-4cae-a402-a9885ec11ea1
WP8: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/slot-machine-mobile/9fa24191-d08d-4073-8098-740975e41946

Windows 8 metro style apps and window hooks

I am new to both window hooks and Windows 8 metro apps..
I would like to develop a background service/process that:
Checks the "properties" of the metro app that a user just tapped to start (e.g. app that plays music, text document creator app, ...)
Based on the properties found, activate other applications (i.e., before starting the text creator application that the user just tapped, make him select the font face from a popup list)
I am planning on using window hooks to do 1 and 2..
Is this possible?
Thanks!
It is not possible to hook Windows or intercept the launching of a Metro style app from within a Metro style app itself. While it may be possible to do so with a service installed on the machine in a classic way, doing so would be totally undocumented and unsupported. You would have to reverse-engineer the app launching process to have any chance at making it work.
Check this out..
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en/wcf/thread/43df6c8f-f1e3-4aba-af0a-7c4e1db477b6
You can only write client applications using Metro, not server applications.
In your scenario, if you want inter-app communication, recommended way is to use 'Contracts' which are explicitly started by the user.
I'm taking a blind guess here using your 1 and 2 points. Do you intend to handle a specific file type ? say .txt or .wmv ?
If this is your intention, please check here http://tozon.info/blog/post/2011/10/11/Windows-8-Metro-declarations-File-Type-Associations.aspx
There's also a good set of MSDN documentation about this.
You may use API hooking. Check this thread:
http://forum.nektra.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=6228

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