Nov 18, 2010

Limitation in Expression Blend for sample data generation.

Expression Blend has a great feature to create sample data for design time use. For instance, if you had datatemplates and building upon MVVM, Blend can generate sample data for your VM class and populate the UI during design time. This way, you can visualize your UI controls during design time. To do this, open your project in Blend.. simply click on the Data tab.. select the "Create Sample Data" icon and choose "Create sample data from class".. now choose your VM or any class that you are binding to your controls. Thats it. You should see your UI controls populated with sample data in design view. This is a great feature in Blend for designers/developers.

But, there is a limitation. The sample data can be generated only for classes. If any of your property has an Interface return type, Blend will not generate sample data. You may need to have an Interface by architecture, but Blend will fail to generate data.

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