Using Ribbit Silverlight Controls in Expression Blend

Ribbit Developers typically create Silverlight applications in one of two ways. The first way is to use our Ribbit for Silverlight controls by adding them into Visual Studio. We have a tutorial of that here. Another way is to use our Ribbit for Silverlight controls in Microsoft's Expression Blend 3.

You can download Ribbit for Silverlight in the Silverlight section of the Ribbit's Developer Center. You must register to be a Ribbit Developer, but registration is free and easy.

After you have downloaded and installed the Ribbit for Silverlight controls, start up Expression Blend and open or create a new project. If you don’t see the Assets tab on the screen then you will find it under Windows > Assets. Go into the Controls section of the Assets tab and there you will find a Ribbit category. Click on Ribbit and you will see the Ribbit for Silverlight control set in the next pane. Various controls like Login, Dialpad, Messages, and Sending SMS Messages are set up for you to simply drag and drop these controls into your Silverlight applications.

Here are the Ribbit for Silverlight controls you now have access to:

• Calling - Users can easily place and end phone calls through your application with Ribbit for Silverlight. Developers have the option of using controls that provide a simple Call button, a full phone dialpad, or a deluxe call manager.
• Conferencing - A Ribbit-enabled Silverlight application can create conference calls that connect up to 30 people worldwide. Users can initiate conference calls by interacting with the controls; applications can initiate conference calls in code.
• Send SMS Messages - Users can easily enter and send SMS messages to one or more recipient phone numbers with the SMS control.
• Manage Calls - With the Active Call control, users can place and manage multiple calls and conference calls in your Silverlight application. For conference calls, mute, hold, and transfer features are available.
• Review Messages and Call Activity - Users can review their call activity and messages using the Message Log control. Messages with audio content can be played, and text messages and transcriptions of audio can be read. Messages can also be organized in folders and deleted.
• Manage Profile - Users can manage their Ribbit devices, request Ribbit Purpose Numbers, and change their passwords using the Account Configuration control.

How you use these tools to create new, innovative applications is entirely up to you.