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How to Define and Configure a Grid Control Within a WPF Aplication Using XAML: Part I

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In this article, I will try to make a representation of the Grid object witch is directly derived from the Panel abstract class and we can say that is a flexible area that contains rows and columns, it plays a role of container in a given WPF window. The grid could be found in the PresentationFramework assembly. The grid control could be used to create a complex layout that gives to the application an attractive and ergonomic look. So let's discover how to configure it using XAML in this part and in second part I will illustrate how to perform the same task using the code behind, I mean C#.

At first look, when a new WPF application is defined, we have the impression that there is not controls but the window one, even if the "<Grid></Grid>" tags are presents, and the first question that one can ask is where are the grid lines if it is a grid really? 

 

Figure 1

I tell you ok try this code:

<Grid ShowGridLines="True">

        <Grid.RowDefinitions>

            <RowDefinition></RowDefinition>

            <RowDefinition></RowDefinition>

            <RowDefinition></RowDefinition>

        </Grid.RowDefinitions>

        <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>

            <ColumnDefinition></ColumnDefinition>

            <ColumnDefinition></ColumnDefinition>

            <ColumnDefinition></ColumnDefinition>

        </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>       

    </Grid>

I use the <Grid.RowDefinitions> to define a collection of rows and a<Grid.ColumnDefinitions> to define columns collection. In the other hand I use<RowDefinition> to define a row element within the grid control and <ColumnDefinition> to define a column element, and then I set ShowGridLines property to true, it is very important in order to render columns and rows visible. The result will be as follows:

Figure 2

The columns and rows definition mode could be, namely star, Auto or Pixel.

The Star definition

It means that the related size could be expressed as weighted proportion of available space, for example if a size of a given first row is double of a second given row size, then the first one will receive two units of the entire grid size, meanwhile, the second one will have one unit as size. Rows and columns sizes are expressed by this symbol * that represents a unit of size. The XAML code sample illustrates how to define a size based on star definition.

<Grid ShowGridLines="True" >

        <Grid.RowDefinitions>

            <RowDefinition></RowDefinition>

            <RowDefinition></RowDefinition>

            <RowDefinition></RowDefinition>

        </Grid.RowDefinitions>

        <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>

            <ColumnDefinition Width="2*"></ColumnDefinition>

            <ColumnDefinition></ColumnDefinition>

            <ColumnDefinition></ColumnDefinition>

        </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>       

    </Grid>

The result of the above code is:

Figure 3

The above code sets the first column width as double of the reset of the columns.

The Pixel definition

It means that the size is defined in terms of pixels such as in the ASP applications. This bellow code illustrate how to define a dimension of a given column or row based on pixels

<Grid ShowGridLines="True" >

        <Grid.RowDefinitions>

            <RowDefinition></RowDefinition>

            <RowDefinition></RowDefinition>

            <RowDefinition></RowDefinition>

        </Grid.RowDefinitions>

        <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>

            <ColumnDefinition Width="100px"></ColumnDefinition>

            <ColumnDefinition></ColumnDefinition>

            <ColumnDefinition></ColumnDefinition>

        </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>       

    </Grid>

And this is a presentation of what could be if such alternative is used

Figure 4

The Auto definition

It means that the size is proportional to the content object size. Once the column or the row width or height is set to auto and there is no object contained with it. It disappears from the grid but it doesn't mean that it is deleted. If you add controls within, it takes exactly the control dimension. For example, if we make a rectification of the previous code

<Grid ShowGridLines="True" >

        <Grid.RowDefinitions>

            <RowDefinition></RowDefinition>

            <RowDefinition></RowDefinition>

            <RowDefinition></RowDefinition>

        </Grid.RowDefinitions>

        <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>

            <ColumnDefinition Width="Auto"></ColumnDefinition>

            <ColumnDefinition></ColumnDefinition>

            <ColumnDefinition></ColumnDefinition>

        </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>       

    </Grid>

The grid appearance will be

Figure 5

Cut  Width="Auto"  then drag and drop a button into the grid and make sure that it is contained within the row 0 , column 0 grid cellule and this is the XAML button code.

<Button Grid.Column="0" Grid.Row="0" Width="100" Name="button1">Button</Button>

Now, paste Width="Auto" exactly in its previous place and you will observe this. As you see the button is clipped rather that scrolled.

Figure 6

 

posted Nov 24, 2015 by Jdk

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In a previous article, we discovered how to define and configure a Grid control using XAML. In this second article, I'll demonstrate how to do the same task using the code behind, I mean using C#.

Walkthrough:

1. To do so, create a new WPF project

Figure1

2. Right click on the window and select view code, then replace the existing code by this one

public partial class Window1 : Window

    {

        public Window1() {

            InitializeComponent();

            InitializeGrid();

        }

        private void InitializeGrid() {

            Grid oGrid = new Grid();

            oGrid.Width = 200;

            oGrid.Height = 200;

            oGrid.Background = System.Windows.Media.Brushes.Bisque;

            //Set the rows

            RowDefinition Row0 = new RowDefinition();

            RowDefinition Row1 = new RowDefinition();

            RowDefinition Row2 = new RowDefinition();

            //Set the columns

            ColumnDefinition Col0 = new ColumnDefinition();

            ColumnDefinition Col1 = new ColumnDefinition();

            ColumnDefinition Col2 = new ColumnDefinition();          

            //Add the columns and rows to the Grid control

            oGrid.ColumnDefinitions.Add(Col0);

            oGrid.ColumnDefinitions.Add(Col1);

            oGrid.ColumnDefinitions.Add(Col2);

            oGrid.RowDefinitions.Add(Row0);

            oGrid.RowDefinitions.Add(Row1);

            oGrid.RowDefinitions.Add(Row2);

            //Show the grid lines

            oGrid.ShowGridLines = true;

            this.Content = oGrid;

        }
    }


3. Run the project and observe, a window like this will appear, as you see the grid is visible now

 

The Star definition

it means that the related size could be expressed as weighted proportion of available space, for example, if a size of a given first row is double of a second given row size, then the first one will receive two units of the entire grid size, meanwhile, the second one will have one unit as size. Rows and columns sizes are expressed by this symbol * that represents a unit of size. To do so using C# code, use this code snippet. It should be copied and pasted within the scope of InitializeGrid().

private void InitializeGrid(){

            Grid oGrid = new Grid();

            oGrid.Width = 200;

            oGrid.Height = 200;

            oGrid.Background = System.Windows.Media.Brushes.Bisque;

            //Set the rows

            RowDefinition Row0 = new RowDefinition();

            RowDefinition Row1 = new RowDefinition();

            RowDefinition Row2 = new RowDefinition();

            //Set the columns

            /* This code add the star option to resize the

            First row as double of the rest of columns*/

            ColumnDefinition Col0 = new ColumnDefinition();

            Col0.Width = new GridLength(2, GridUnitType.Star);

    

            ColumnDefinition Col1 = new ColumnDefinition();

            ColumnDefinition Col2 = new ColumnDefinition();          

            //Add the columns and rows to the Grid control

            oGrid.ColumnDefinitions.Add(Col0);

            oGrid.ColumnDefinitions.Add(Col1);

            oGrid.ColumnDefinitions.Add(Col2);

            oGrid.RowDefinitions.Add(Row0);

            oGrid.RowDefinitions.Add(Row1);

            oGrid.RowDefinitions.Add(Row2);

            //Show the grid lines

            oGrid.ShowGridLines = true;

            this.Content = oGrid;

        }

Run the project and the result will be

 

The Pixel definition

It means that the size is defined in terms of pixels such as in the ASP applications. This bellow C# code illustrates how to define a dimension of a given column or row based on pixels.

private void InitializeGrid() {

            Grid oGrid = new Grid();

            oGrid.Width = 200;

            oGrid.Height = 200;

            oGrid.Background = System.Windows.Media.Brushes.Bisque;

            //Set the rows

            RowDefinition Row0 = new RowDefinition();

            RowDefinition Row1 = new RowDefinition();

            RowDefinition Row2 = new RowDefinition();

            //Set the columns

            /* This code add the pixel option to resize the

            First row as double of the rest of columns*/

            ColumnDefinition Col0 = new ColumnDefinition();

            Col0.Width = new GridLength(50, GridUnitType.Pixel);    

            ColumnDefinition Col1 = new ColumnDefinition();

            ColumnDefinition Col2 = new ColumnDefinition();          

            //Add the columns and rows to the Grid control

            oGrid.ColumnDefinitions.Add(Col0);

            oGrid.ColumnDefinitions.Add(Col1);

            oGrid.ColumnDefinitions.Add(Col2);

            oGrid.RowDefinitions.Add(Row0);

            oGrid.RowDefinitions.Add(Row1);

            oGrid.RowDefinitions.Add(Row2);

            //Show the grid lines

            oGrid.ShowGridLines = true;

            this.Content = oGrid;

        }

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The XAML TextBlock element represents a text block. The TextBlock control provides a lightweight control for displaying small amounts of flow content. This article shows how to use a TextBlock control in WPF.

Creating a TextBlock

The TextBlock element represents a WPF TextBlock control in XAML. 

  1. <TextBlock/>  

The Width and Height attributes of the TextBlock element represent the width and the height of aTextBlock. The Text property of the TextBlock element represents the content of a TextBlock. The Name attribute represents the name of the control that is a unique identifier of a control. The Foreground property sets the foreground color of contents. This control does not have a Background property. 

The code snippet in Listing 1 creates a TextBlock control and sets the name, height, width, foreground and content of a TextBlock control. Unlike a TextBox control, the TextBlock does not have a default border around it.

<TextBlock Name="TextBlock1" Height="30" Width="200"   

    Text="Hello! I am a TextBlock." Foreground="Red">  

</TextBlock>  

Listing 1

The output looks as in Figure 1

                                          output
                                                      Figure 1

As you can see from Figure 1, by default the TextBlock is placed in the center of the page. We can place aTextBlock control where we want using the MarginVerticalAlignment and HorizontalAlignment attributes that sets the margin, vertical alignment and horizontal alignment of a control. 

The code snippet in Listing 2 sets the position of the TextBlock control in the left top corner of the page. 

<TextBlock Name="TextBlock1" Height="30" Width="200"   
        Text="Hello! I am a TextBlock."   
        Margin="10,10,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top"   
        HorizontalAlignment="Left">              
</TextBlock>  ​

                                                      Listing 2

Creating a TextBlock Dynamically

The code listed in Listing 3 creates a TextBlock control programmatically. First, it creates a TextBlockobject and sets its width, height, contents and foreground and later the TextBlock is added to theLayoutRoot

private void CreateATextBlock()  
{  
    TextBlock txtBlock = new TextBlock();  
    txtBlock.Height = 50;  
    txtBlock.Width = 200;  
    txtBlock.Text = "Text Box content";  
    txtBlock.Foreground = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.Red);  
  
    LayoutRoot.Children.Add(txtBlock);  
} ​

                                                      Listing 3

Setting Fonts of TextBlock Contents

The FontSizeFontFamilyFontWeightFontStyle and FontStretch properties are used to set the font size, family, weight, style and stretch to the text of a TextBlock. The code snippet in Listing 4 sets the font properties of a TextBlock

  1. FontSize="14" FontFamily="Verdana" FontWeight="Bold"  

                                                      Listing 4

The new output looks as in Figure 4.

                                    hello

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Visual Studio 2008 and .Net framework 3.5 provide us several new features not found in the precedent version. The WPF, the XAML and Silverlight are among the new features introduced in a WPF context. They contribute to the amelioration of the application ergonomic side by introducing something new like 2D/3D animations. For instance, Visual studio 2008 and Silverlight products must be installed before starting with animations. For me, this is my first experience within VS 2008, XAML, WPF and Silverlight.  

As you will see, a given animation can target a given control such as a rectangle, a grid or an even a button witches are called canvas. The animation by definition is this context is the given control property or properties changement from given statue to another via an interpolation that could be monitored by the developer via code xaml or via the page code behind. I mean C # code. It is similar phenomenon when comparing with the flash animations, if you have already dealt with flash projects especially the movement and the form interpolations. There are three main animations in addition to a set of witches those provided by the System.Window.Media.Animation namespace,  all could be used in order to achieve a particular goal, but in this article and the ones witches will follow this one,  we'll concentrate on the three kind of animations, namely the Double animation, the Color animation and the point animation, moreover, the .Net frameworks provides a set of base classes such DoubleAnimationBase, ColorAnimationBase and PointAnimationBase to customize your code in addition to other classes like Aniamtable and interfaces such as IAnimatable. All of them are provided to perform customized animations within your WPF application.

In this article, I will give a trick of how to deal with ColorAnimation class within VS2008 and Silverlight context using both xaml and C# 4.0, afterward, and in the two subsequent articles, we'll focus on the DoubleAnimation and PointAnimation:

The Color animation:

In this example we will define a rectangle that changes color from yellow to red if the mouse enters the given object boundaries and then returns to the first color if the mouse leaves the rectangle.

XAML code:

Create a new WPF application by open New>Project>WPFApplication then name your application my first WPF application. Copy and paste this under code to the xaml zone.

<Window x:Class="myWpfApplication.Window1"

    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"

    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"

    Title="Window1" Height="400" Width="400" Loaded="Window_Loaded">

<!—The rectangle extends the Animatable class so it can be target of an

 Animation therefore a chose it -->

    <Rectangle Width="250" Height="250" ToolTip="This is myRectangle" Name="myRectangle"Visibility="Visible" Fill="Yellow">

        <Rectangle.Triggers>

             <!—The mouse enter event is the one that triggers the animation -->

            <EventTrigger RoutedEvent="Rectangle.MouseEnter">

            <!—The Storyboard is a sort of aniamtion container-->

                <BeginStoryboard>

                    <Storyboard>

                    <!—The color, the duration, and the targeted property that will

                       Be subject of the aniamtion, all parameters are set within the animation tag  -->

                        <ColorAnimation Storyboard.TargetName="myRectangle"

                                         Storyboard.TargetProperty="(Fill).(Color)"

                                         Duration="00:00:08"

                                         From="Yellow" To="Red"                                  

                                         />

                    </Storyboard>

                </BeginStoryboard>

            </EventTrigger>

            <!—As you see, you can implement more that one animation for the same

               Object at the same time -->

          <EventTrigger RoutedEvent="Rectangle.MouseLeave">

                <BeginStoryboard>

                    <Storyboard>

                        <ColorAnimation Storyboard.TargetName="myRectangle"Storyboard.TargetProperty="(Fill).(Color)"

                                        Duration="00:00:08" From="Red" To="Yellow"

                                        />

                    </Storyboard>

                </BeginStoryboard>

            </EventTrigger>

        </Rectangle.Triggers>

    </Rectangle>

</Window>

C# code:

Also this task could be performed using the form code behind, I mean C#, to do so open a new window drag and drop a new rectangle.

Figure 1

Then right click on it and choose the properties menu.

Figure 2

Afterward, select the properties menu item and set it property name to "myRectangle" width to "250" and it height to "250".

Then implement the code as bellow, but don't forget to append System.Windows.Media.Animation namespace to the project:

//It is used to fill myRectangle object

SolidColorBrush TransformBrush;

//This animation is for changing the color

ColorAnimation oColorAnimation;

private void Window_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

{

//First we set the color to yellow

TransformBrush = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.Yellow);

//Fill the rectangle using the TransformBrush

myRectangle.Fill = TransformBrush;

//Those two lines are responsibles for triggering events MouseEnter and MouseLeave

myRectangle.MouseEnter+=new MouseEventHandler(myRectangle_MouseEnter);

myRectangle.MouseLeave+=new MouseEventHandler(myRectangle_MouseLeave);

}

private void myRectangle_MouseEnter(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

{

//Set the animation

oColorAnimation = new ColorAnimation();

 

//The initial brush state

oColorAnimation.From = Colors.Yellow;

//The final brush state

oColorAnimation.To = Colors.Red;

//The animation duration

oColorAnimation.Duration = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(8);

//Trigger the animation

TransformBrush.BeginAnimation(SolidColorBrush.ColorProperty, oColorAnimation);

 

}

private void myRectangle_MouseLeave(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

{

//Set the animation

oColorAnimation = new ColorAnimation();

//The initial brush state

oColorAnimation.From = Colors.Red;

//The final brush state

oColorAnimation.To = Colors.Yellow;

//The animation duration

oColorAnimation.Duration = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(8);

//Trigger the animation

TransformBrush.BeginAnimation(SolidColorBrush.ColorProperty, oColorAnimation);

 

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We can use the Line XAML element to draw lines in XAML and the Line class in WPF represents the XAML Line element. Learn here how to draw a Line in WPF. In this article, we will see how to use the LineSegment to draw a line. 

 

Besides drawing lines using the Line element, we can also use the LineSegment element. The LineSegment is useful when a line becomes a part of a graphics path or a larger geometric object. 

 

The LineSegment object represents a line between a start point and an end point. The LineSegment class has one property, Point that represents the end point of the line. The start point is a part of the path. 

 

The following XAML code snippet creates a line segment. A Path object is used to draw an arc by setting a PathGeomerty as Path.Data. 

 

<Path Stroke="Black" StrokeThickness="1">
    <Path.Data>
        <PathGeometry>
            <PathGeometry.Figures>
                <PathFigureCollection>
                    <PathFigure StartPoint="0,100">
                        <PathFigure.Segments>
                            <PathSegmentCollection>
                                <LineSegment Point="200,100" />
                            </PathSegmentCollection>
                        </PathFigure.Segments>
                    </PathFigure>
                </PathFigureCollection>
            </PathGeometry.Figures>
        </PathGeometry>
    </Path.Data>
</Path>

 

The following code snippet creates a Path and sets a LineSegment as a part of PathFigure.Segments.The output looks like Figure 1. 

 

LineSegment.jpg

 

Figure 1 

 

The following code snippet dynamically creates the line segment shown in Figure 1.

 

private void CreateLineSegment()
{
    PathFigure pthFigure = new PathFigure();
    pthFigure.StartPoint = new Point(10, 100);
    LineSegment lineSeg = new LineSegment ();
    lineSeg.Point = new Point(200, 100);  

    PathSegmentCollection myPathSegmentCollection = new PathSegmentCollection();
    myPathSegmentCollection.Add(lineSeg); 

    pthFigure.Segments = myPathSegmentCollection; 

    PathFigureCollection pthFigureCollection = new PathFigureCollection();
    pthFigureCollection.Add(pthFigure);
    PathGeometry pthGeometry = new PathGeometry();
    pthGeometry.Figures = pthFigureCollection; 

    Path arcPath = new Path();
    arcPath.Stroke = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.Black);
    arcPath.StrokeThickness = 1;
    arcPath.Data = pthGeometry;
    arcPath.Fill = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.Yellow); 

    LayoutRoot.Children.Add(arcPath);

}

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Introduction 

The RichTextBox control allows you to view and edit text, paragraph, images, tables and other rich text format contents. 

The RichTextBox tag represents a RichTextBox control in XAML. 

<RichTextBox></RichTextBox>  

The Width and Height properties represent the width and the height of a RichTextBox. The Name property represents the name of the control, that is a unique identifier of a control. The Margin property tells the location of a RichTextBox on the parent control. The HorizontalAlignment andVerticalAlignment properties are used to set horizontal and vertical alignments. 

The following code snippet sets the name, height and width of a RichTextBox control. The code also sets the horizontal alignment to left and the vertical alignment to top. 

<RichTextBox Margin="10,10,0,13" Name="RichTextBox1" HorizontalAlignment="Left"   

                 VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="500" Height="300" />  

Displaying and Edit Text 

RichTextBox control hosts a collection of RichTextBoxItem. The following code snippet adds items to a RichTextBox control.

   

<RichTextBox Margin="10,10,0,13" Name="RichTextBox1" HorizontalAlignment="Left"   
             VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="500" Height="300">  
    <FlowDocument>  
        <Paragraph>  
            I am a flow document. Would you like to edit me?  
            <Bold>Go ahead.</Bold>                  
        </Paragraph>  
        
        <Paragraph Foreground="Blue">            
            I am blue I am blue I am blue.    
        </Paragraph>  
    </FlowDocument>          
</RichTextBox> 

The preceding code generates Figure 1 where you can begin editing text right away.

RichTextBox with editable text

Creating and Using RichTectBox Dynamically 

In the previous section, we saw how to create and use a RichTextBox in XAML. WPF provides the RichTextBox class that represents a RichTextBox control. In this section, we will see how to use this class to create and use a RichTextBox control dynamically. 

The code listed in Listing 1 creates a FlowDocument, adds a paragraph to the flow document and sets the Document property of the RichTextBox to FlowDocument.

       


private void CreateAndLoadRichTextBox()  
{  
    // Create a FlowDocument  
    FlowDocument mcFlowDoc = new FlowDocument();  
  
    // Create a paragraph with text  
    Paragraph para = new Paragraph();  
    para.Inlines.Add(new Run("I am a flow document. Would you like to edit me? "));  
    para.Inlines.Add(new Bold(new Run("Go ahead.")));  
  
    // Add the paragraph to blocks of paragraph  
    mcFlowDoc.Blocks.Add(para);  
  
    // Create RichTextBox, set its hegith and width  
    RichTextBox mcRTB = new RichTextBox();  
    mcRTB.Width = 560;  
    mcRTB.Height = 280;  
  
    // Set contents  
    mcRTB.Document = mcFlowDoc;  
  
    // Add RichTextbox to the container  
    ContainerPanel.Children.Add(mcRTB);       
}  

Listing 1

The output of Listing 1 generates Figure 2.

Listing 1 doc

Enable Spelling Check 

RichTextBox control comes with spell check functionality out-of-the-box. By setting theSpellCheck.IsEnabled property to true enables spell checking in a RichTextBox

SpellCheck.IsEnabled="True"  

You can set this in code as follows:

mcRTB.SpellCheck.IsEnabled = true;  

Now if you type some text, the wrong word would be underlined with the Red color. See in Figure 3.

RichTextBox with Spell Check Enabled


Loading a Document in RichTextBox
We can use the RichTextBox.Items.Remove or RichTextBox.Items.RemoveAt methods to delete an item from the collection of items in the RichTextBox. The RemoveAt method takes the index of the item in the collection. 
Now, we modify our application and add a new button called Delete Item. The XAML code for this button looks as in the following:  

private void LoadTextDocument(string fileName)  
{  
    TextRange range;  
    System.IO.FileStream fStream;  
    if (System.IO.File.Exists(fileName))  
    {  
        range = new TextRange(RichTextBox1.Document.ContentStart, RichTextBox1.Document.ContentEnd);  
        fStream = new System.IO.FileStream(fileName, System.IO.FileMode.OpenOrCreate);  
        range.Load(fStream, System.Windows.DataFormats.Text );  
        fStream.Close();  
    }  
}

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The XAML Tooltip element represents a window tooltip. A ToolTip is a pop-up window that displays some information in a small window. This article shows how to use a ToolTip control in WPF.

Creating a ToolTip

The ToolTip element represents a ToolTip control in XAML

<ToolTip/>  

The IsOpen property indicates whether or not a ToolTip is visible. The HorizontalOffset and VerticalOffsetproperties represent the horizontal and vertical distance between the target control and the pop-up window. The Content property represents the contents of the ToolTip. 

The code snippet in Listing 1 creates a ToolTip control and sets the horizontal offset, vertical offset and content of a ToolTip control. 

   

<ToolTip Content="Hello! I am a ToolTip."   
HorizontalOffset="10" VerticalOffset="20"/> 

                                                            Listing 1

The output looks as in Figure 1. 

                                              Creating a ToolTip
                                       

ToolTip Service

To display a tooltip for a control, the ToolTipService class must be used. The SetToolTip and GetToolTipstatic methods are used to set and get the tooltip of a control. 

The following code snippet creates a ToolTipService.ToolTip for a control.

    

<ToolTipService.ToolTip >   
    <ToolTip Content="Hello! I am a ToolTip."   
    HorizontalOffset="10" VerticalOffset="20"/>  
</ToolTipService.ToolTip>   

                           

 <Button Content="Mouse over me" Width="150" Height="30"  
        Canvas.Top="10" Canvas.Left="10">  
    <ToolTipService.ToolTip >   
        <ToolTip Content="Hello! I am a ToolTip."   
        HorizontalOffset="10" VerticalOffset="20"/>  
    </ToolTipService.ToolTip>  
</Button>                                            


Then if you run the application and hover the mouse over the button control, the output looks as in Figure 2.

                                    ToolTip Service
                                                       

Creating a Fancy Tooltip

The ToolTip content can be any control and multiple controls. The code snippet in Listing 4 creates aToolTip with an image and text in it. 

          <!-- Create a button -->  
<Button Content="Mouse over me" Width="150" Height="30"   
        Canvas.Top="50" Canvas.Left="20">  
    <!-- Create a tooltip by using the ToolTipService -->  
    <ToolTipService.ToolTip >  
        <ToolTip HorizontalOffset="0" VerticalOffset="0">  
            <!-- Add a StackPanel to the tooltip content -->  
            <StackPanel Width="250" Height="150">  
                <!-- Add an image -->  
                <StackPanel.Background>  
                    <ImageBrush ImageSource="Garden.jpg"  
                                Opacity="0.4"/>  
                </StackPanel.Background>  
                <!-- Add a text block -->  
                <TextBlock >  
                    <Run Text="This is a tooltip with an image and text"  
                        FontFamily="Georgia" FontSize="14" Foreground="Blue"/>  
                </TextBlock>  
            </StackPanel>  
        </ToolTip>  
    </ToolTipService.ToolTip>  
</Button>                                       


The new tooltip looks as :

                  Creating a Fancy Tooltip
                                     

 

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The XAML Toolbar element represents a window toolbar. A ToolBar control is a group of controls that are typically related in functionality. A typical ToolBar is a toolbar in Microsoft Word and Visual Studio where you see File Open, Save and Print buttons. 

This article discusses basic components of ToolBar controls in WPF and how to use them in your applications. 

Creating a Toolbar

The ToolBar element in XAML represents a WPF ToolBar control. 

<ToolBar />  
The code snippet in Listing 1 creates a ToolBar control and sets its width and height properties. You may place any control on a ToolBar but typically buttons are used. A ToolBar sits on a ToolBarTray. The code snippet in Listing 1 adds three buttons to the ToolBar and places a ToolBar on a ToolBarTray.
<ToolBarTray Background="DarkGray" Height="30" VerticalAlignment="Top">  
  
<ToolBar Name="MyToolbar" Width="200" Height="30" >  
    <Button Background="LightSkyBlue" Content="Open" />  
    <Button Background="LightSkyBlue" Content="Close" />  
    <Button Background="LightSkyBlue" Content="Exit" />  
</ToolBar>  
  
</ToolBarTray>  
                                                      Listing 1


The output looks as in Figure 1. 

         window
                                                      Figure 1

Adding ToolBar Button Click Event Handlers

The best part of WPF is that these buttons are WPF Button controls so you have a choice to use them on any other button. You may format them the way you like. You may add a click event handler to them and so on. 

The code snippet in Listing 2 adds click event handlers to all three ToolBar buttons. 
<ToolBar Name="MyToolbar" Width="200" Height="30"  >  
    <Button Background="LightSkyBlue" Content="Open" Name="OpenButton" Click="OpenButton_Click"  />  
    <Button Background="LightSkyBlue" Content="Close" Name="CloseButton" Click="CloseButton_Click"  />  
    <Button Background="LightSkyBlue" Content="Exit" Name="ExitButton" Click="ExitButton_Click"   />  
 </ToolBar>  
                                                      Listing 2

On these button click event handlers, you would want to write the code you want to execute when these buttons are clicked. For example, I show a message when these buttons are clicked. The code for these button click event handlers is as in Listing 3.
private void OpenButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)  
{  
    MessageBox.Show("Open button is clicked.");  
}  
  
private void CloseButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)  
{  
    MessageBox.Show("Close button is clicked.");  
}  
  
private void ExitButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)  
{  
    MessageBox.Show("Exit button is clicked.");  
}  
                                                      Listing 3

If you click on the Open button, you will see Figure 2 as output. 

                                    button
                                                      Figure 2

Adding Images to ToolBar Buttons 

Usually ToolBars look nicer than just displaying text. In most cases, they have icons. Displaying an Icon image on a button is simply placing an Image control as the content of a Button. The code snippet in Listing 4 changes the Button contents from text to images. 
<ToolBarTray Background="DarkGray" Height="30" VerticalAlignment="Top">  
    <ToolBar Name="MyToolbar" Width="200" Height="30" Background="LightCoral" >  
        <Button Name="OpenButton" Click="OpenButton_Click">  
            <Image Source="Images\camera.png" />  
         </Button>  
        <Button Name="CloseButton" Click="CloseButton_Click">  
            <Image Source="Images\ctv.png" />  
        </Button>  
        <Button Name="ExitButton" Click="ExitButton_Click" >  
            <Image Source="Images\find.png" />  
        </Button>  
    </ToolBar>  
</ToolBarTray>  
                                                      Listing 4

The new ToolBar looks as in Figure 3.

                    ToolBar
                                                      Figure 3

Adding Separators to a ToolBar

You may use a Separator control to give your ToolBar buttons a more prominent look. The code snippet in Listing 4 adds a few extra buttons and a few separators to a ToolBar.
<ToolBarTray Background="DarkGray" Height="30" VerticalAlignment="Top">  
    <ToolBar Name="MyToolbar" Width="180" Height="30" Background="LightCoral" >  
        <Separator />  
        <Button Name="OpenButton" Click="OpenButton_Click">  
            <Image Source="Images\camera.png" />  
         </Button>  
        <Button Name="CloseButton" Click="CloseButton_Click">  
            <Image Source="Images\ctv.png" />  
        </Button>  
        <Button Name="ExitButton" Click="ExitButton_Click" >  
            <Image Source="Images\find.png" />  
        </Button>  
        <Separator Background="Yellow" />  
        <Button >  
            <Image Source="Images\award.png" />  
        </Button>  
        <Button >  
            <Image Source="Images\cuser.png" />  
        </Button>  
        <Button >  
            <Image Source="Images\next.png" />  
        </Button>  
        <Button >  
            <Image Source="Images\code.png" />  
        </Button>  
        <Separator />  
    </ToolBar>  
</ToolBarTray>  
                                                      Listing 5

The ToolBar with separators looks as in Figure 4. Also, if you notice there is a drop array that is available when buttons do not fit in a ToolBar. If you click on that, you will see the rest of the buttons.

   
         fit in a ToolBar
                                                      Figure 4

Summary

In this article, I discussed how to use a ToolBar control in WPF and C#.

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