In our application, we allow administrators to set templates for name tags that are printed when registering at the kiosk (such as checking for a flight at the kiosk and printing a boarding pass).
For example, a template might look something like this:
[FirstName] [LastName]
[Company]
[PersonImage]
[BarCode]
We are currently using Reporting Services so that our administrators can create templates for name tags (some may require a person’s image, a printed barcode, the name of the organization, etc.). This works fine, but 1) Reporting Services is slow and 2) not very well integrated with our application - they have to download Visual Studio and create a name tag outside our application.
XAML seems appropriate for developing a template for name tags. Almost any design could be processed using the format, and we could use XAML for XPS for printing.
The problem I see is how to integrate a visual constructor that uses a subset of the available XAML controls. We really need simple controls like Canvas, Grid, TextBlock, Image, etc. With drag and drop support. I do not find much information on whether it is possible to place Visual Studio or Sparkle XAML in a separate application. Does anyone have any idea? The RichTextBox looks like it almost works, but the FlowDocument doesn't really want us to want this. We need to be able to drag and drop elements and completely position them (for example, in the report designer).