WPF Dashboard Architecture — PowerShell GUI Framework

WPF Dashboard Architecture Guide

As of version 5.0.0, WinAurex utilizes a native WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) dashboard powered entirely by PowerShell, removing the need for external compilers or heavy dependencies.

This document serves as a developer blueprint for the dashboard internals.

Core Components

The dashboard relies on a strict separation of concerns:

1. GUI/Dashboard.xaml (The View) This file contains pure XML markup. It defines the layout, grids, buttons, colors, and visual logic (like DropShadowEffect hover animations). It contains zero execution logic.
2. Launch_Dashboard.ps1 (The Controller) This script bootstraps the environment, loads the PresentationFramework assemblies, parses the XAML file, and maps the UI elements to PowerShell variables. It binds click events to the actual execution scripts located in the Tweaks/ and Core/ directories.

The Event Binding Flow

If you are a developer looking to add a new button or tab to the dashboard, follow this flow:

1. Add the UI Element in XAML

Open GUI/Dashboard.xaml. Locate the appropriate Tab or Panel, and add your element. Critical Rule: You must assign it an x:Name. This is how PowerShell finds it.

<Button x:Name="BtnApplyMyNewTweak" Content="Apply My Tweak" Style="{StaticResource ActionButton}"/>

2. Map the Element in PowerShell

Open Launch_Dashboard.ps1. Find the “Map WPF Elements to PowerShell Variables” region.

$BtnApplyMyNewTweak = $Window.FindName("BtnApplyMyNewTweak")

3. Bind the Logic

Further down in Launch_Dashboard.ps1, bind the click event to your execution script.

$BtnApplyMyNewTweak.Add_Click({
    Write-Host "Running new tweak..."
    & "$PSScriptRoot\Tweaks\YourCategory\YourScript.ps1"
})

Performance & Telemetry (Observability)

The dashboard features an “Observability” tab that streams live system telemetry. We achieve this without freezing the UI thread by using efficient .NET classes rather than slow WMI calls:

• CPU: [System.Diagnostics.PerformanceCounter]
• RAM: GlobalMemoryStatusEx via inline C# P/Invoke.
• Uptime: [Environment]::TickCount64

These metrics are updated via a System.Windows.Threading.DispatcherTimer set to a 1000ms tick interval.

Why XAML over WinForms?

WinForms is legacy, blocking, and difficult to style dynamically. WPF allows us to use sophisticated layout grids (Grid.RowDefinitions, Grid.ColumnDefinitions) and hardware-accelerated rendering effects (like DropShadows and Border radiuses) that look native to Windows 11 without requiring any extra dependencies.

Extending the Dashboard

The Launch_Dashboard.ps1 script is inherently extensible. If you need to build entirely new views, consider adding new <TabItem> elements within the main <TabControl>. Do not clutter the Dashboard.xaml with inline events (Click="...") because PowerShell’s XamlReader cannot resolve inline code-behind without dynamic compilation. All events must be wired via $Element.Add_Click({}) in the PowerShell runspace.