<s>
Microsoft	B-Application
Blend	I-Application
for	O
Visual	B-Application
Studio	I-Application
(	O
formerly	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Expression	I-Application
Blend	I-Application
)	O
is	O
a	O
user	O
interface	O
design	O
tool	O
developed	O
and	O
sold	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
for	O
creating	O
graphical	O
interfaces	O
for	O
web	O
and	O
desktop	O
applications	O
that	O
blend	O
the	O
features	O
of	O
these	O
two	O
types	O
of	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
an	O
interactive	B-General_Concept
,	O
WYSIWYG	B-Application
front-end	O
for	O
designing	O
XAML-based	O
interfaces	O
for	O
Windows	B-Device
Presentation	I-Device
Foundation	I-Device
,	O
Silverlight	B-Application
and	O
UWP	B-Device
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
applications	O
in	O
the	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Expression	I-Application
Studio	I-Application
suite	O
before	O
that	O
suite	O
was	O
discontinued	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Expression	B-Application
Blend	I-Application
supports	O
the	O
WPF	B-Device
text	O
engine	O
with	O
advanced	O
OpenType	O
typography	O
and	O
ClearType	O
,	O
vector-based	O
2D	O
widgets	O
,	O
and	O
3D	O
widgets	O
with	O
hardware	O
acceleration	O
via	O
DirectX	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Expression	B-Application
Blend	I-Application
was	O
code-named	O
Sparkle	O
,	O
and	O
originally	O
the	O
product	O
was	O
announced	O
as	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Expression	I-Application
Interactive	I-Application
Designer	I-Application
,	O
before	O
it	O
was	O
renamed	O
Expression	B-Application
Blend	I-Application
in	O
December	O
2006	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
January	O
24	O
,	O
2007	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
released	O
the	O
first	O
public	O
Community	O
Technology	O
Preview	O
of	O
Expression	B-Application
Blend	I-Application
as	O
a	O
free	O
download	O
on	O
their	O
web	O
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Expression	B-Application
Blend	I-Application
Service	O
Pack	O
1	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
November	O
2007	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Expression	B-Application
Blend	I-Application
requires	O
.NET	O
Framework	O
3.0	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Expression	B-Application
Blend	I-Application
and	O
Expression	B-Application
Web	I-Application
are	O
also	O
available	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
MSDN	O
Premium	O
subscription	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Expression	B-Application
Blend	I-Application
was	O
integrated	O
into	O
Visual	B-Application
Studio	I-Application
2012	O
and	O
Visual	B-Application
Studio	I-Application
Express	I-Application
for	O
Windows	O
8	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Release	O
Release	O
Date	O
Highlights	O
2	O
2008-04-28Support	O
developing	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Silverlight	I-Application
browser-based	O
rich	B-Application
web	I-Application
applications	I-Application
providing	O
animation	O
,	O
vector	O
graphics	O
,	O
interactivity	B-General_Concept
and	O
video	O
playback	O
capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Version	O
2.0	O
supported	O
only	O
Silverlight	B-Application
1.0	O
applications	O
at	O
release	O
and	O
Microsoft	O
had	O
planned	O
Blend	O
2.5	O
for	O
Silverlight	B-Application
2.0	O
applications	O
,	O
however	O
the	O
capabilities	O
of	O
the	O
preview	O
version	O
2.5	O
have	O
been	O
added	O
to	O
Blend	O
2.0	O
Service	O
Pack	O
1	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sketchflow	O
is	O
a	O
user	O
experience	O
prototyping	O
module	O
implemented	O
in	O
Blend.SketchFlow	O
–	O
Sketching	O
and	O
Prototyping	O
in	O
Expression	O
BlendSketchFlow	O
:	O
A	O
Bit	O
of	O
History	O
4	O
2010-06-07Support	O
for	O
Silverlight	B-Application
4	O
and	O
WPF	B-Device
4	O
while	O
also	O
remaining	O
compatible	O
with	O
Silverlight	B-Application
3	I-Application
and	O
WPF	B-Device
3.5	O
SP1	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
improvements	O
and	O
additions	O
:	O
shapes	O
library	O
,	O
improved	O
Photoshop	O
file	O
support	O
,	O
added	O
pixel	O
shader	O
effects	O
,	O
path	O
layout	O
,	O
transition	O
effects	O
,	O
ListBox	O
item	O
transitions	O
,	O
Model-View-ViewModel	O
pattern	O
support	O
,	O
additional	O
Behaviors	O
,	O
conditional	O
Behaviors	O
,	O
sample	O
data	O
from	O
CLR	O
classes	O
,	O
design	O
time	O
resource	O
resolution	O
,	O
easing	O
functions	O
for	O
WPF	B-Device
4	O
,	O
cleaner	O
XAML	B-Device
,	O
and	O
.ZIP	O
support	O
for	O
projects	O
and	O
templates.What	O
’	O
s	O
New	O
for	O
Expression	B-Application
Blend	I-Application
4	O
Release	O
Candidate	O
Support	O
for	O
Windows	O
Phone	O
7	O
projects	O
to	O
Expression	B-Application
Blend	I-Application
4	O
Release	O
Candidate.Microsoft	O
Expression	B-Application
Blend	I-Application
Add-in	O
Preview	O
2	O
for	O
Windows	O
Phone	O
Release	O
NotesMicrosoft	O
Expression	B-Application
Blend	I-Application
4	O
for	O
Windows	O
Phone	O
videoBlend	O
FAQ	O
2012	O
2012-08-15Name	O
changed	O
to	O
"	O
Blend	O
for	O
Visual	B-Application
Studio	I-Application
2012	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Released	O
alongside	O
the	O
Windows	O
8	O
&	O
Visual	B-Application
Studio	I-Application
2012	O
RTMs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Includes	O
support	O
for	O
WPF	B-Device
version	O
3.5	O
,	O
4.0	O
and	O
4.5	O
,	O
Silverlight	B-Application
4.0	O
and	O
5.0	O
,	O
SketchFlow	O
,	O
and	O
Blend	O
tools	O
for	O
Windows	O
8	O
.	O
</s>
