WPF Override Style Value - c#

I'm using MaterialDesignInXaml for WPF which provides 3rd party controls and styles. I need to edit one of these styles by changing one property.
I am using an Expander control which has a template creating a bunch of child controls. I've discovered the child 'Border' control (4 layers deep) has the property (padding) which I need to set to zero.
See this output from Snoop showing the property I need to change:
Link to image
My question is how can I do this? I've tried extending the style used by the control as follows, but it isn't changing anything so I assume I'm doing something wrong?
<Style TargetType="{x:Type Expander}"
x:Key="MaterialDesignExpanderHeadless"
BasedOn="{StaticResource MaterialDesignExpander}">
<Style.Resources>
<Style TargetType="{x:Type Border}">
<Setter Property="Padding" Value="0"></Setter>
</Style>
</Style.Resources>
</Style>
I am able to use the style like this. And I know this is working for sure:
<Expander Header="Header Content" Style="{StaticResource MaterialDesignExpanderHeadless}">
Some Content
</Expander>

You're right, this method should work. Something else is setting the border's padding.
Snoop is telling you the padding is defined by the parent template, which could be the HeaderSite (ToggleButton).
You could try to extend the ToggleButton style (BasedOn) or redefine it locally.

Related

How to apply style in WPF to all controls without overriding their original styles?

I want to create a style, which will normalize margins for all controls in a specific scenario:
<Style TargetType="FrameworkElement" x:Key="MyStyle">
<Setter Property="Margin" Value="{StaticResource DialogItemsExceptTopMargin}" />
</Style>
I have then a couple of different controls: textboxes, comboboxes, checkboxes etc., to which I want to apply this style.
However, when I do that, their look is immediately reverted to the platform style (I am applying a style from 3rd party library). How can I define my style so that the original styles are kept intact?
Mind: I know, that I can use BasedOn for specific type:
<Style TargetType="TextBox" BasedOn="{StaticResource {x:Type TextBox}}">
...
</Style>
This however would require me to create completely separate styles for all possible controls, which I may use. I tried this trick with FrameworkElement and Control, but I got an error, that there is no such StaticResource.

Override specific properties of a style

I'm creating a new style for the TabControl including a new ItemContainerStyle for the items. The new style works fine, except that I need the possibility to add features to the ItemContainerStyle when using the style. In detail this is the Header property
<TabControl x:Name="myTabControl" SelectionChanged="myTabControl_SelectionChanged">
<TabControl.ItemContainerStyle>
<Style TargetType="TabItem">
<Setter Property="Header" Value="{Binding Title}"></Setter>
</Style>
</TabControl.ItemContainerStyle>
</TabControl>
which works OK. But it overrides the style completely. the BasedOn property would help, but I don't have access to the key of the ItemContainerStyle since it is embedded in the TabControls' style. How can I simply update a property of the style without overriding the style completely?
Thanks
There is a bit of a difference in the way styles in WPF compared to css. In Wpf they work completely off of inheritance, this is the basic document on how styles work. So if a key is not provided for you I think you are out of luck when using the BasedOn inheritance.
However, Microsoft does provide a useful utility in Visual Studio Blend. In the Objects and Timelines Window you right click then select an "edit a style", This will do all the heavy lifting for you. If you are going to be doing a lot of small changes on the style I would suggest you make a copy, and give it a Key, then use the BasedOn property to make your small changes that you want.
I Hope this helps.
You can base your style on the implicitly applied default style:
<Style TargetType="TabItem" BasedOn="{StaticResource {x:Type TabItem}}">

Disable Style in WPF XAML?

Is there anyway to turn off a style programatically?
As an example, I have a style that is linked to all textboxes
<Style TargetType="{x:Type TextBox}">
I would like to add some code to actually stop the style elements being used, so basically reverting back to the default control style.
I need a way to make a switch in my styles, so I can switch between Windows default style and my custom style through C# code.
Is there anyway to do this?
Thanks
Working Solution
Switching between themes in WPF
For setting the style to default,
In XAMl use,
<TextBox Style="{x:Null}" />
In C# use,
myTextBox.Style = null;
If style needs to be set as null for multiple resources, see CodeNaked's response.
I feel, all the additional info should be in your question and not in the comments. Anyways, In code Behind I think this is what you are trying to achieve:
Style myStyle = (Style)Application.Current.Resources["myStyleName"];
public void SetDefaultStyle()
{
if(Application.Current.Resources.Contains(typeof(TextBox)))
Application.Current.Resources.Remove(typeof(TextBox));
Application.Current.Resources.Add(typeof(TextBox),
new Style() { TargetType = typeof(TextBox) });
}
public void SetCustomStyle()
{
if (Application.Current.Resources.Contains(typeof(TextBox)))
Application.Current.Resources.Remove(typeof(TextBox));
Application.Current.Resources.Add(typeof(TextBox),
myStyle);
}
You could inject a blank Style that would take precedence over your other Style. Like so:
<Window>
<Window.Resources>
<Style TargetType="TextBox">
<Setter Property="Background" Value="Red" />
</Style>
</Window.Resources>
<Grid>
<Grid.Resources>
<Style TargetType="TextBox" />
</Grid.Resources>
</Grid>
</Window>
In the example above, only the Grid's implicit Style would be applied to TextBoxes in the Grid. You could even add this to the Grid programmatically, something like:
this.grid.Resources.Add(typeof(TextBox), new Style() { TargetType = typeof(TextBox) });
I know the answer has been accepted, but i want to add my solution which works awesome in the following scenario:
One main application using mahapps.metro
additional project imported from the main application with no reference to mahapps.metro, it is imported as a plugin (loading compiled .dll on the fly)
using the < ToolBar> re-styles everything to null therefore the mahapps.metro styles are not being applied to items inside the toolbar.
usercontrol is used to provide custom controls to the main application.
in the user control root set the resources:
<UserControl.Resources>
<Style x:Key="ButtonStyle" TargetType="Button" BasedOn="{StaticResource {x:Type Button}}" />
<Style x:Key="ComboBoxStyle" TargetType="ComboBox" BasedOn="{StaticResource {x:Type ComboBox}}" />
</UserControl.Resources>
then the toolbar code can be the following
<ToolBar>
Block Template:
<ComboBox Style="{StaticResource ComboBoxStyle}"/>
<Button Content="Generate!" Style="{StaticResource ButtonStyle}"/>
</ToolBar>
this successfully applies the main application style to the controls inside the < ToolBar>
In Xaml, you can override this by setting a style explicitly. In code-behind, you can also set the style explicitly.
<TextBox Style="{StaticResource SomeOtherStyle}"/>
myTextBox.Style = Application.Resources["SomeOtherStyle"];

How to add a trigger to a WPF custom control without overriding the existing style?

I am creating a simple custom control extending from toggle button that allows the user to specify checked and unchecked content directly in XAML. It works well but it is based on a trigger, and I don't know how to define the trigger except in a style. If I define the style, then I lose anything set outside of the custom control.
What I would like to be able to do is just append this trigger to any existing style set elsewhere on the control.
Here's the XAML for the style/trigger.
<ToggleButton.Style>
<Style TargetType="{x:Type ToggleButton}" BasedOn="{StaticResource {x:Type ToggleButton}}">
<Setter Property="Content" Value="{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource Self}, Path=UncheckedContent}" />
<Style.Triggers>
<Trigger Property="IsChecked" Value="True">
<Setter Property="Content"
Value="{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource Self}, Path=CheckedContent}" />
</Trigger>
</Style.Triggers>
</Style>
</ToggleButton.Style>
I tried inheriting the style via the BasedOn with a default type but it won't work if the custom control has an explicit style set by its parent. I also considered EventTriggers but I do not believe there would be an event to initialize the control.
Thanks for any help anyone can offer. :)
Just to clear things up on the terminology here: A user control is a control that derives from the UserControl class. If I understood you right you derived from ToggleButton to add the UncheckedContent and CheckedContent properties. In that case you have created a custom control. It's always easier to follow if we agree on common terminology :)
As far as I know you can not do such a generic style inheritance in XAML. You always have to specify explicitly what style a another style is based upon. Your style can either be based on the default style for ToggleButton or on a specific other style. If you can't build a style inheritance chain that respects that, this approach won't work.
But since you have a custom control, couldn't you write a default style for it that is based on the default toggle button style like this?
<Style TargetType="{x:Type CustomToggleButton}"
BasedOn="{StaticResource {x:Type ToggleButton}}">
Then whenever you apply an explicit style to a toggle button you would specify that it is based on the default toggle button style.
Also you could write a (default) control template for your new toggle button in Themes\Generic.xaml that contains the above triggers. In blend you can get a copy of the default template for toggle button ("Edit Template"->"Edit a Copy") so you can make sure that your toggle button looks exactly like the normal toggle button. Then incorporate the triggers above into that template.
BTW: you do not have to create a new control just to add new properties. You can add new properties to an existing control using attached properties. They can be used from XAML just like normal properties.

What is the recommended way to skin an entire application in WPF?

I want my WPF application to be skinnable, by applying a certain XAML template, and the changes to be application wide, even for dynamic controls or controls that aren't even in the visual/logical tree.
What can I use to accomplish this type of functionality? Are there any good resources or tutorials that show how this specific task can be done?
The basic approach to take is using resources all through your application and dynamically replacing the resources at runtime.
See http://www.nablasoft.com/alkampfer/index.php/2008/05/22/simple-skinnable-and-theme-management-in-wpf-user-interface/ for the basic approach
The replacing of resource will work but I found "structural skinning" to be more powerfull! Read more about it on CodeProject...
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/WPF/podder1.aspx
I have found the way to apply generic templates to all controls without using template keys. The solution is to use the type of the control as the Style key.
Example:
<Application.Resources>
<Style x:Key="{x:Type Button}" TargetType="{x:Type Button}">
<Setter Property="Button.Background" Value="CornflowerBlue"/>
<Setter Property="Button.Template">
<Setter.Value>
<ControlTemplate x:Name="MyTemplate">
...
</ControlTemplate>
</Setter.Value>
</Setter>
</Style>
</Application.Resources>
here the Style key is x:Key="{x:Type Button}", so the style will be applied to all controls of type button without the control declaring the Style property to be a static or dynamic resource.

Categories

Resources