Using Windows Live Services to personalize apps (HTML)

You can personalize your Windows Runtime apps to offer additional value to your users by including the features of Windows Live Services.

The Live SDK lets Windows Runtime apps use data from a user's Microsoft OneDrive and Outlook.comaccounts to provide a personalized and connected experience.

Live SDK features

The Live SDK lets your Windows Runtime apps use Windows Live Services features to provide a personalized and connected experience for your customers.

In this section, you can learn more about these Live SDK features:

  • Identity API features
  • OneDrive API features
  • Outlook.com API features

Identity API features

The Identity API lets you personalize your Windows Runtime apps, and the single sign-on feature makes this personalization a seamless part of the Windows user experience.

  • Seamless personalization

    You can let users sign in to their Microsoft account by using a control provided by the Live SDK. After they've signed in, your Windows Runtime apps can access their profile info.

  • Profile info

    Your Windows Runtime apps can access the profile info that users add to their Microsoft account, making your app become their app. Some of the profile info that your app can access includes the user's first name, last name, gender, and birth date.

Learn more about the Identity API

OneDrive API features

Your users can store their photos, videos, and documents in the cloud by using OneDrive. Your app can access them from any Windows device in a couple of ways.

  • Your app can use the OneDrive API in the Live SDK to access the user's photos and other files on their OneDrive without the user's direct intervention.

  • Your app can use a file picker to let the user browse their OneDrive and select a file.

Using OneDrive, users can share content with other users, even if they don't have a Microsoft account.

The OneDrive API makes these sharing scenarios possible from your Windows Store apps:

  • Photos and videos

    Enable users to select, upload, and share photos and videos that they have created in your app. Apps for editing images or video can connect to the cloud and enable users to touch up their photos and make them more dramatic with filters.

  • Documents

    Enable users to access their documents, spreadsheets, and presentations from anywhere and from any device. Your app can help users create, access, and edit their documents in OneDrive.

Learn more about the OneDrive API.

Outlook.com API features

The Outlook.com API lets your Windows Runtime apps interact with the contacts and calendars that users keep in their Outlook.com accounts. Your app can use this info to enhance the connected experience for your users.

You can make your Windows Runtime apps more engaging to your customers by using the Outlook.com API to access their:

  • Contacts

    Connect your customers to other people they know who also use your app.

  • Calendars

    Give your customers a reason to return to your app by subscribing them to your app's shared calendars or by creating events that are available to your customers on all of their devices.

Learn more about the Outlook.com API.

Getting started using Windows Live Services in your Windows Runtime apps

These steps describe how to get ready to use the Live SDK in your Windows Runtime apps.

Preparing your development computer to use Windows Live Services in your Windows Runtime apps

Prepare your Windows Runtime app development computer by:

  1. Downloading and installing the tools and SDK for developing Windows Runtime apps, if they aren't already installed. This download includes Microsoft Visual Studio and other tools.
  2. Downloading and installing the Live SDK.

Preparing your account to use Windows Live Services in your Windows Runtime apps:

Before you start developing a Windows Store app that uses Windows Live Services, you must have a Windows Store developer account. If you don't have one already, you can create one from your Dashboard.

You must register your Windows Store apps that use Windows Live Services features in your Dashboard before they will be able to use any Windows Live Services features.

Using Windows Live Services in your Windows Runtime apps

After your development computer has the necessary software and your accounts have been set up, visit the following topics for more info about how to use Windows Live Services features in your Windows Runtime apps.

In this section

Topic Description

Quickstart: Personalizing your app

Your Windows Runtime app using JavaScript can use the Live SDK to access info from the user's Microsoft account.

How to add Microsoft services to your app

You can find out here how to add features from Microsoft services to your Windows Runtime app so it can access a user's profile info, files and photos in his or her OneDrive, and Outlook.com info.

Requirements for Microsoft account sign-in

Follow these guidelines to help ensure an appropriate Microsoft account sign-in experience for users of your Windows Store app using JavaScript.

 

Windows Live Services Developer Center

Windows Live Services developer documentation