This document discusses design recommendations for Windows 8 apps. It recommends that apps support snapped views to remain visible when the user switches tasks. Apps should also maintain state when snapping and unsnapping. The document also recommends using tiles as the front door to apps and allowing users to pin interesting content from within apps to the Start screen. Finally, it suggests leveraging roaming to sync app preferences across devices.

3. TECHNOLOGY
EXPERIENCE
SEAN GERETY

4. Snap and Scale Beautifully
Feel Connected and Alive
Roam to the Cloud

6. People multi-task. An application can be
displayed any one of these layouts:

7. Snapping is a built-in Windows 8 scenario.
Building a great snapped view keeps your app on
screen.
Design a purposeful snapped state.
Pan vertically in snapped for ergonomics and to avoid conflict with the edge and snap gutter.
Maintain state and continuity across snapping and unsnapping.
It is trivially easy to snap and unsnap. Don’t blow away the user’s work when this happens.

9. Tiles are the “front door” to your app.
Treat it as an extension of your app.
Secondary tiles let users promote interesting
content
from within your app on their Start screen.
Provide a way to “deep link” to interesting, frequently updated sub-sections of your app
Albums in a photo app, People in a social app, News source from a feed app, etc.
Provide Pin command in the app bar when content
in focus is pinable.
Use runtime call to invoke system UI for pinning flyout. Ex: Weather.

12. Leverage roaming to maintain state and
preferences
across machines.
Roam preferences that users are likely to set on
each
device anyway:
Favorite sports team (sports app)
Favorite movie genre (media app)
Let users continue a task across devices by

13. Questions