New MFC modules for Win 7 Development

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The Windows 7 Training Kit for Developers was recently updated and is how hosted online on Channel 9, so you don’t need to download it. It has several excellent new step-by-step MFC tutorials with lots of screen shots. You’ll need to be running Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2 (or later). 

Key MFC updates in VS 2010 Beta 2 include improved interaction with Windows Explorer (Windows7 taskbar interaction with preview; preview, thumbnail and search filter handlers for file types), Ribbon UI improvements (Ribbon is now an XML resource in the application; a new designer for the ribbon; visual manager for Windows7 ribbon style) and restart manager support (application restart or crash handled more elegantly; document auto-save and restore handled completely within MFC).

Pat Brenner, a 20-year Microsoft veteran, tells about MFC improvements on this Channel 9 video,  Pat Brenner: Visual Studio 2010 - MFC and Windows 7. Or check for more Visual C++ content on Channel 9.

MFC modules from the Windows 7 Training Kit for Developers, hosted on Channel 9:

Gestures - MFC - In this lab, you will learn how to manage multitouch gesture events. This includes understanding the implications of manipulating an object with gesture events, checking for multitouch hardware existence and readiness, and extracting information from the gesture Windows Message.

Multitouch - MFC - In this lab, you will learn how to manage multitouch events. This includes processing input from Windows Touch, understanding the implications of manipulating multiple touch events simultaneously, and checking for multitouch hardware existence and readiness.

Taskbar - MFC - In this lab, you will learn how to integrate your MFC application with the Windows 7 taskbar. This includes providing visual progress and status indicators, using taskbar progress bars and overlay icons, quickly accessing common tasks and frequent destinations using taskbar jump lists, and customizing the taskbar thumbnail with live previews of MDI views.

Ribbon - MFC - This lab is intended for MFC developers who are developing desktop applications and want to take advantage of the new MFC Ribbon framework. The lab steps you through how to add a default Ribbon to a small application, edit various Ribbon controls in Ribbon Designer, and then use the controls at run time. You will learn how easily MFC Ribbon framework allows you to edit and use Ribbon controls. When you are finished, you will have performed all the steps necessary to add and customize a basic Ribbon in an application.

High DPI - MFC - In this lab, you will learn how to find out if a system is in high DPI mode, how to enable or disable the DPI-awareness property in MFC applications using Visual Studio 2010, and compare UI elements at 144 DPI and at 96 DPI.