July 10th was synonymous with the release to web of Silverlight 3, the latest iteration of Microsoft's alternative to Adobe Flash technology. And, as it is now tradition in Redmond, Silverlight 3 was accompanied by the launch of a tool designed to allow digital images to be tailored for the technology's unique Deep Zoom feature. The Deep Zoom Composer for Silverlight 3 went live on the Microsoft Download Center on July 9, 2009, and is now available. Those already familiar with the Deep Zoom Composer and associated Silverlight feature will be able to notice that Microsoft has introduced quite a few new features with the latest iteration of the technology.

“We are pleased to present a technology preview of Deep Zoom Composer, a tool to allow the preparation of images for use with the Deep Zoom feature currently being previewed in Silverlight 3. The new Deep Zoom technology in Silverlight allows users to see images on the Web like they never have before. The smooth in-place zooming and panning that Deep Zoom allows is a true advancement and raises the bar on what image viewing should be. High resolution images need to be prepared for use with Deep Zoom and this tool allows the user to create Deep Zoom composition files that control the zooming experience and then export all the necessary files for deployment with Silverlight 3,” Microsoft revealed.

Using Deep Zoom Composer for Silverlight 3 users will be able to add links to images. In this regard, the tool supports adding both links that point to other pictures in the same canvas put together with the Composer and hyperlinks that point to external destinations. In addition to links, Deep Zoom Composer for Silverlight 3 also enables users to add menus to their content. “Users now have the option of displaying Silverlight Deep Zoom images in a menu to be viewed in a browser. All images that are added to the project can be viewed in the “Images” tab just like in previous version of Deep Zoom Composer,” revealed Microsoft's Janete Perez.

On top of these features, the latest release of the Composer comes with support for Sideshows. “Users now have the option of displaying Deep Zoom images in a slideshow running inside of a browser. All images that are added to a Deep Zoom Composer project can be viewed in the “Images” tab just like in previous version of Deep Zoom Composer. Once the user drags/drops the images onto the artboard they are displayed in the “Layers” tab,” Perez added.

Deep Zoom Composer for Silverlight 3 is available for download here.

Silverlight 3 RTW (3.0.40624.0) is available for download here.