Rad Controls Silverlight Application: What exactly is this doing?

[Josh]

So I'm starting to get into Silverlight development and the project template I want to use is not the telerik one, but rather the Silverlight Business Application template. I know I can then convert the project to a RadControls project, but what exactly is that doing for me? Is it just creating the project references based on my selections or something more? And how do I know exactly what references to choose? What if I add a new RadControl later that I didn't include the reference using the wizard?

Also, what exactly is the difference and what problems may I have using SL4 radcontrols in a SL5 project? For instance, the timebar control is something I very much want to use, however in my version of radcontrols (Q3 2011) it is only listed under SL4 controls. Is it ok to use it in a SL5 project? And should I be adding both SL4 and SL5 radcontrols to my SL5 project?

I'm just trying to get a better understanding how to best setup my new Silverlight applications. Thanks!

[Josh]

The issue I was having above with the SL4/SL5 RadControls I think was because I didn't apply the hotfix correctly. So, I removed the hotfix and uninstalled the SL4 RadControls, then re-installed the SL4 2011.3 1220 RadControls and then I overwrote the binaries folder with the binaries folder in the hotfix. That seems to have fixed some issues I was having. Is that the correct way to apply the hotfix?

[Petar]

Hi,

I am glad that you are interested in the Telerik RadControls for Silverlight.

What the Create/Convert/Configure Wizard does is to add reference to the assemblies that you have selected. After creating/converting a project you can still add more references using the Configure Wizard or manually through the 'Add Reference' dialog. Here is an article with more details about the project management wizards - http://www.telerik.com/help/silverlight/radcontrols-for-silverlight-vs-extensions-project-configuration.html. When you don't know which assemblies you need you can simply drag a Telerik RadControl from the Toolbox and the Visual Studio will add all the required assemblies.

All RadControls that are available for SL4 are also available for SL5. With that in mind I don't think that you have reason to use SL4 controls in a SL5 project. Moreover we strongly encourage you to use RadControls that target the same SL runtime as your project.

The recommended way to apply a hotfix is using the Get Latest Version utility - http://www.telerik.com/help/silverlight/radcontrols-vs-extensions-project-latest-version-acquirer.html. The procedure that you have followed can cause unusual side effects thus we don't encourage you to follow that upgrade path. You should install latest version either using the msi installer or using the Get Latest Version utility. This way you will be able to use the latest version in our wizards and in the Toolbox.

I hope the information provided helps. If you have any further questions please write us again.

Regards,
Petar
the Telerik team

[Josh]

Hi Petar,

How do I apply a hotfix if my subscription has run out and a new version of the controls is out? The latest version I have is the December 2011 release and there is a hotfix for the SL5 controls, however the Upgrade Wizard wants to download the latest version and unfortunately my subscription ran out on February 2nd. I need to know how to manually install the hotfix. I have downloaded the zip file, now what? I tried to point the upgrade wizard at the unzipped files but that doesn't work. So what am I suppossed to do exactly to get this hotfix applied?

Thanks!

[Josh]

I found this link: http://www.telerik.com/community/forums/silverlight/vs-extensions/project-configuration-wizard-is-empty-in-visual-studio-2010.aspx

and this link: http://www.telerik.com/help/silverlight/installation-installing-hotfix.html

The problem with the first is that it blew away a bunch of controls from my toolbox. For example the timebar control was missing from my toolbox after following those instructions.

The problem with the second is I don't want to have to update dll references every single time I add a rad control.

[Petar]

Hi,

If you want to see the hotfix in the Telerik project wizards you have to unzip it under the following location %appdata%\Telerik\Updates.

As a side note I want to mention that when your subscription is expired you should be able to download the latest trial hotfix.

If you have further questions, please write us again.

Kind regards,
Petar
the Telerik team