Develop Reference

How do I use Light on a Control in WPF?

I have a custom user control, and I'd like to add some light effects to the custom control. I was trying to go for a light to "sweep" the control when the mouse enters the control. But I'm slightly lost as to how to use WPF lights. I can use them on custom geometry I define, but I can't seem to get them to work on standard controls.
This is my xaml code for the custom control:
<UserControl x:Name="CActionTile" x:Class="App.ActionTile"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:App" Background="{DynamicResource ActionTileBackgroundBrush}"
BorderThickness="0,0,0,0.5" BorderBrush="DarkSlateGray"
mc:Ignorable="d" Height="80" d:DesignWidth="388">
<Grid>
<Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<ColumnDefinition Width="75"/>
<ColumnDefinition/>
</Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<TextBlock Grid.Column="1" Margin="10,0,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Center">
<Run FontFamily="Segoe UI" FontWeight="Thin" FontSize="28"
Foreground="{DynamicResource ActionLabelBrush}" Text="{Binding Label, ElementName=CActionTile}" />
<LineBreak/>
<Run FontFamily="Segoe UI" FontWeight="Normal" FontSize="12"
Foreground="{DynamicResource ActionSubLabelBrush}" Text="{Binding SubLabel, ElementName=CActionTile}" />
</TextBlock>
<!-- This is where I'm kinda stuck... not sure what to do from here... -->
<Viewport3D x:Name="vp1">
<Viewport3D.Camera>
<PerspectiveCamera LookDirection="0,0,-1" Position="0,0,5" />
</Viewport3D.Camera>
<ModelVisual3D>
<ModelVisual3D.Content>
<AmbientLight Color="White" />
</ModelVisual3D.Content>
</ModelVisual3D>
</Viewport3D>
</Grid>
</UserControl>
Basically I'm trying to get this UWP Composition effect (https://github.com/microsoft/WindowsCompositionSamples/tree/master/SampleGallery/Samples/SDK%2014393/TextShimmer) to work in my WPF application. I'm pretty sure I can figure out the sweep effect when the pointer enters the control, but I need some help getting light effects to show on the controls themselves.

Why is my DataGrid going off screen no matter what solution I try?

I am new to C# and WPF trying to get what I should think is a simple thing, but it doesn't work.
I have a data grid being populated by SQL, and no matter what I try, I can't get the Height of the DataGrid to stay within the window. It always just extends down. I want it to be dynamic to the window size.
My very simple code is below, or at least this most recent iteration.
<Page x:Class="TMSMaintenance.PaymentError"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:TMSMaintenance"
Title="PaymentError">
<!--<DataGrid Name="MydataGrid" CanUserAddRows="False" SelectionMode="Single" />-->
<Grid>
<Grid.RowDefinitions>
<RowDefinition Height="1*"/>
</Grid.RowDefinitions>
<DockPanel Grid.Row="0" VerticalAlignment="Stretch" >
<DataGrid x:Name="MydataGrid"
VerticalAlignment="Stretch"
MinHeight="100"
VerticalScrollBarVisibility="Auto" VerticalContentAlignment="Stretch">
</DataGrid>
</DockPanel>
</Grid>
</Page>
I have tried wrapping in a ScrollView - it didn't work. I tried setting the Height by binding it to the window - it didn't work. I have tried the Grid.RowDefinition Height = "*" and "1*" - it didn't work. VerticalAlignment = "Stretch" also didn't work.
So what am I missing?
Edit: Maybe I should also say that this is on a Page file called within a frame tag. Not sure if it makes a difference here.
<StackPanel CanVerticallyScroll="True" CanHorizontallyScroll="True">
<!-- Navigation -->
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" Margin="0,10,0,0">
<Button Content="Files Lookup" Margin="0,0,10,0"/>
<Button Content="Payment Error" Margin="0,0,10,0"/>
<Button Content="Carrier Maintenance" Margin="0,0,10,0"/>
<Button Content="Payment File" Margin="0,0,10,0" />
</StackPanel>
<ScrollViewer>
<Frame x:Name="MainFrame" NavigationUIVisibility="Hidden" ></Frame>
</ScrollViewer>
</StackPanel>

Get rid of that DockPanel. Grid is a much more flexible container for controls and you don't need to pack container into container at all. This alone should do the trick.
Good practice is to not use DockPanels at all. Never. Everything you can achieve with DockPanels can be achieved with Grids (with a bit more of coding, but it gives you more flexible solution and better maintainability of your code).
Also get rid of VerticalContentAlignment (not needed in case you described) and you don't need to define VerticalAlignment (nor HorizontalAlignment) to Stretch, since it's a default value of that property.
EDIT:
I haven't noticed the second sample of your code. Everything I wrote before still applies and will make your code better, but I think your problem is with nesting your Page in your main container (Window or whatever it is).
Try replacing:
<StackPanel CanVerticallyScroll="True" CanHorizontallyScroll="True">
<!-- Navigation -->
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" Margin="0,10,0,0">
<Button Content="Files Lookup" Margin="0,0,10,0"/>
<Button Content="Payment Error" Margin="0,0,10,0"/>
<Button Content="Carrier Maintenance" Margin="0,0,10,0"/>
<Button Content="Payment File" Margin="0,0,10,0" />
</StackPanel>
<ScrollViewer>
<Frame x:Name="MainFrame" NavigationUIVisibility="Hidden" ></Frame>
</ScrollViewer>
</StackPanel>
To:
<Grid>
<Grid.RowDefinitions>
<RowDefinition Height="auto" />
<RowDefinition Height="*" />
</Grid.RowDefinitions>
<StackPanel Grid.Row="0"
Orientation="Horizontal"
Margin="0,10,0,0">
<StackPanel.Resources>
<Style TargetType="{x:Type Button}">
<Setter Property="Margin" Value="0,0,10,0" />
</Style>
</StackPanel.Resources>
<Button Content="Files Lookup"/>
<Button Content="Payment Error"/>
<Button Content="Carrier Maintenance"/>
<Button Content="Payment File"/>
</StackPanel>
<Frame x:Name="MainFrame"
Grid.Row="1"
NavigationUIVisibility="Hidden" />
</Grid>
I have also simplified your styling on Buttons and I'd recommend you to change your Page to UserControl.

WPF: How to access element in ResourceDictionary code behind

In my application I have a control which renders a number of blocks on a timeline view (like a calendar). One can provide a template for the blocks by giving the timeline an appropriate DataTemplate.
I would like to separate the block DataTemplate from the main timeline view, putting the block into its own XAML. As such, I've created a XAML for the Block (called Block.xaml) and wrapped the DataTemplate inside a ResourceDictionary, inside this XAML.
I've added a code behind to the XAML (called Block.xaml.cs) in which I need to access some of the elements in the block. The issue is that ResourceDictionaries seem to hide the elements from the codebehind such that I can't access them. I can't use a UserControl instead - this seems to not work.
How can I access the elements of the Block DataTemplate from the code behind?
Many thanks in advance for your help.
Block.xaml:
<ResourceDictionary x:Class="Project.Windows.MainInterface.TimelinePanel.Block" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation" xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml" xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008" xmlns:local="clr-namespace:Project.Windows.MainInterface.TimelinePanel" xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006" mc:Ignorable="d" xmlns:converters="clr-namespace:Project.Converters" >
<DataTemplate x:Key="ItemBlockTemplate">
<Grid Name="BlockParent" Width="Auto" Height="Auto" MinHeight="50" ClipToBounds="True" SizeChanged="BlockParent_OnSizeChanged">
<Border Panel.ZIndex="3" BorderBrush="{DynamicResource BackgroundGreyLight}" BorderThickness="1" CornerRadius="1" />
<Grid Margin="1" Background="{DynamicResource BlockBackgroundGradient}" d:LayoutOverrides="Width">
<TextBlock x:Name="blockName" Height="20" Margin="4,0,4,0" Padding="3" VerticalAlignment="Top" Panel.ZIndex="3" FontSize="10" Foreground="{DynamicResource TextLight}" Text="{Binding blockName}" TextTrimming="CharacterEllipsis" Visibility="Visible" />
<TextBlock x:Name="Duration" Margin="0,2,4,2" Padding="0,0,3,0" HorizontalAlignment="Right" VerticalAlignment="Bottom" Panel.ZIndex="5" FontSize="10" Foreground="{DynamicResource TextLight}" Text="{Binding FormattedDuration}" ToolTip="{Binding Duration}" />
<Grid Background="#FF0FA8FF" Opacity="0.7" />
</Grid>
</Grid>
</DataTemplate>
Snippet of the Timeline in the main interface:
...
<timeLineTool:TimeLineControl x:Name="Timeline" Height="50" MinWidth="50" Margin="0,0,12,0" HorizontalAlignment="Left" VerticalAlignment="Top" Items="{Binding Timeline}" SnapsToDevicePixels="True" UnitSize="{Binding UnitSize}" UseLayoutRounding="True">
<timeLineTool:TimeLineControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate DataType="{x:Type local:BlockItemViewModel}">
<ContentControl>
<ContentPresenter Margin="0" HorizontalAlignment="Stretch" VerticalAlignment="Stretch" Content="{Binding}" ContentTemplate="{StaticResource ItemBlockTemplate}" />
</ContentControl>
</DataTemplate>
</timeLineTool:TimeLineControl.ItemTemplate>
</timeLineTool:TimeLineControl>
...
...If I could use a UserControl instead of a ResourceDictionary for my Block, this would solve the problem, as all elements are automatically publicly available in the code behind for usercontrols.

Sample XAML:
<Window.Resources>
<ControlTemplate x:Key="ResourceName" TargetType="{x:Type Label}">
<Label Foreground="White" Content="{iconPacks:PackIconFontAwesome plug,Height=40,Width=40}"/>
</ControlTemplate>
</Window.Resources>
Code behind
ControlTemplate Dictionary:
private Dictionary<string, ControlTemplate> collection
{
get
{
Dictionary<string, ControlTemplate> controlTemplates = new Dictionary<string, ControlTemplate>();
controlTemplates.Add("ResourceName", FindResource("ResourceName") as ControlTemplate);
return controlTemplates;
}
}
Use ControlTemplate:
Label LBDisConnect = new Label();
LBDisConnect.Template = collection["ResourceName"];
LoginInfo.Children.Add(LBDisConnect);

UWP community toolkit carousel exception

I have the following code:
<Grid>
<Grid.RowDefinitions>
<RowDefinition Height="Auto"/>
<RowDefinition Height="Auto"/>
</Grid.RowDefinitions>
<TextBlock x:Uid="Favorites" Style="{StaticResource SectionHeaderTextBlock}" HorizontalAlignment="Left" />
<toolkitControls:Carousel x:Name="TemplatesCarousel" Style="{StaticResource CarouselControl}" ItemsSource="{Binding PaymentTemplates}" ItemTemplate="{StaticResource UserTemplatesDataTemplate}">
<toolkitControls:Carousel.EasingFunction>
<CubicEase EasingMode="EaseOut"/>
</toolkitControls:Carousel.EasingFunction>
</toolkitControls:Carousel>
</Grid>
Where DataTemplate is the following:
<DataTemplate x:Key="UserTemplatesDataTemplate">
<StackPanel Orientation="Vertical">
<!-- TODO: correct binding names -->
<Ellipse Visibility="{Binding ImageSource, Converter={StaticResource NullToVisibilityConverter}}" Width="{StaticResource EllipseDimension}" Height="{StaticResource EllipseDimension}">
<Ellipse.Fill>
<ImageBrush ImageSource="{Binding ImageSource}"/>
</Ellipse.Fill>
</Ellipse>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding TemplateName}" FontSize="{StaticResource TextSize}"/>
</StackPanel>
</DataTemplate>`
The problem is when I try to run the application, it always gives me the same error. I know that this problem is in XAML, but I have checked literally everything. I also tried to set up ItemSource for carousel using code-behind, but it has no positive impact.
Any ideas how to resolve the issue?
P.S. I have the message of the exception from the output window, in case it can help.
Message = "Error HRESULT E_FAIL has been returned from a call to a COM component."

How to have a control fill all available space

I have a xaml code:
<Grid>
<WrapPanel>
<TextBox ></TextBox>
<Button Content="GetIt" />
</WrapPanel>
</Grid>
How i can to get all available space for textBox?
i want to do something like that:
|[____________________][GetIt]|

There are a number of ways this can be achieved, including this one:
<Grid>
<Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<ColumnDefinition Width="*" />
<ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" />
</Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<TextBox />
<Button Grid.Column="1">GetIt</Button>
</Grid>

Try this:
<Grid>
<TextBox HorizontalAlignment="Stretch" Margin="2,2,102,2"></TextBox>
<Button HorizontalAlignment="Right" Width="100" Content="GetIt" />
</Grid>
Just make the button the desired width and the text box will fill up the rest.
Thanks for the catch; corrected above to properly handle margin on right. This does, however, require you to update the margin when the button width changes. Two columns is a better solution if you plan to change the spacing often. Using the margin is cleaner if you have several controls in the grid and don't want to create nested grids to handle this kind of split.

The simplest way is to use a DockPanel instead of a Grid (the default for LastChildFill is true but I also added it here for clarity):
<DockPanel LastChildFill="True">
<Button Content="GetIt" DockPanel.Dock="Right" />
<TextBox ></TextBox>
</DockPanel>

Here's a way to achieve the layout that you're looking for:
<Page
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml">
<Page.Resources>
<Style TargetType="TextBox">
<Setter Property="Margin" Value="2"/>
</Style>
</Page.Resources>
<DockPanel>
<DockPanel DockPanel.Dock="Top">
<!-- Because the Button is fixed in size, you can divide the row it's
in using a DockPanel: the Button is docked to the right edge, and the
TextBox fills up the remaining available space. -->
<Button Margin="2" Padding="2" DockPanel.Dock="Right">GetIt</Button>
<TextBox />
</DockPanel>
<!-- Because the TextBoxes *aren't* fixed in size, you can't use docking,
as it won't size them. So put them in a Grid and use star sizing to
divide the grid's vertical space into two equal parts. The Grid will
fill up the remainder of the (outer) DockPanel. -->
<Grid>
<Grid.RowDefinitions>
<RowDefinition Height="*"/>
<RowDefinition Height="*"/>
</Grid.RowDefinitions>
<TextBox Grid.Row="0">Another TextBox</TextBox>
<TextBox Grid.Row="1">Yet another TextBox</TextBox>
</Grid>
</DockPanel>
</Page>