Aligning text to a path in WPF - c#

I'm working on a small part of an application that requires us to draw shapes for the user to see. I'm using a path to display the shape, specifically binding a PathSegmentCollection to the PathGeometry.Figures like this --
<Path Name="Shape"
Stretch="Uniform"">
<Path.Data>
<PathGeometry>
<PathGeometry.Figures>
<PathFigureCollection>
<PathFigure IsClosed="True"
Segments="{Binding Segments}"
StartPoint="{Binding StartPoint}" />
</PathFigureCollection>
</PathGeometry.Figures>
</PathGeometry>
</Path.Data>
Somewhere on that shape, a logo will be shown, but due to the variance in the shapes, I'm struggling to think of a solution where the logo text will always be shown on the shape (the shapes can be anything, even from a DXF file).
Here's an illustration of the problem --
The left image is what I have, but the right image is what I want.
Right now I'm drawing the logo as just a textblock on a grid that's bound to the size of the shape. I ended up going this route to keep the text automatically scaled to the correct height no matter the scaled units of the shape.
Ideally what I'd like to do is place a textblock inside a path, but I know that's not possible. I was wondering if anyone had any good ideas on how to align this text to the shape no matter what shapes come up.
In theory I'd like to be able to align it to all the regular orientations (top-left, top-center, bottom-right etc).
Thanks in advance!

Related

Draw not blurred path

I have a path that maybe makes not much sense without some context, but I need it that way
<Path StrokeThickness="2" Stroke="Blue" >
<Path.Data>
<PathGeometry>
<PathFigure StartPoint="-10000,20">
<BezierSegment Point1="100,100"
Point2="120,120"
Point3="350, 350" />
<BezierSegment Point1="400,400"
Point2="450, 450"
Point3="200, 600" />
</PathFigure>
</PathGeometry>
</Path.Data>
</Path>
I've noticed that when I have a long path UWP by default optimizes the draw, my path gets pixelated
I don't want this behavior, is there any way to disable it?
I really need a path like this, I can't change the length of it to get a better quality.
In WPF I get what I need:
The reason for why you get the Blurry Lines in your XAML is because that you have used this StartPoint="-10000,20". Our WinRT has an issue rendering large polylines when the Polyline has any two points that are more than 2048 pixels apart it scales the polyline rather than rendering it normally.
The following explaination is quoted from Brendan Clark - MSFT in this thread:
In WinRT the size of each shape is limited by the hardware you're running your app on. The lowest common denominator is 2048 x 2048. This is large enough that everything will look sharp as long as you keep each component of your UI at roughly the same scale as a typical screen. As soon as you try to draw things that are significantly larger than the screen, the shapes will be clamped to the maximum size supported on your hardware, and will be scaled up from that point to the size you requested. Since the shape is clamped to a lower resolution than what you requested, scaling it up causes it to look blurry.
So if you change the StartPoint="-10000,20" to StartPoint="100,20", you will see it work fine.
Based on your description, I know that you do not want to change your path data, the only way to workaround this issue is to manually clip the Polyline based on the size of the viewing area, for more information, please check this code sample.

Nozzle geometry WPF

I'm currently doing a CFD simple problem with C# in WPF analyzing a quasi-one-dimensional flow (only varying with x) and I want to represent the results in a "decent" way. Hence, imagine it as a rectangle with a given number of vertical sections. The form is not a rectangle, but a nozzle. What I was wondering is if there is a way of representing with Stackpanels or something similar a certain form.
In the image attached the shape can be seen, to help understand the problem.
Every section (a rectangle "cut" by the edges of the nozzle) has a temperature associated and already computed.Just to give an example, a temperature value of 250 for the section drawn, and for example I want to paint it with a Red color.
My question is: Is there any way of "shaping" stackpanels or something similar to display something like the shape shown?
I've searched for information and this is the most similar option found:
<Path Stroke="Black" StrokeThickness="1">
<Path.Data>
<PathGeometry>
<PathGeometry.Figures>
<PathFigureCollection>
<PathFigure StartPoint="10,100">
<PathFigure.Segments>
<PathSegmentCollection>
<QuadraticBezierSegment Point1="200,200" Point2="300,100" />
</PathSegmentCollection>
</PathFigure.Segments>
</PathFigure>
</PathFigureCollection>
</PathGeometry.Figures>
</PathGeometry>
</Path.Data>
</Path>
Which draws this image. What I would like to construct is the nozzle with this method and be able to divide it or place vertical segments inside it as suggested at the first image, painting them according to the value they have.
You have defined a pretty complex problem which may be too much for a single SO question. By no means am I providing a complete solution to your problem. But maybe it will be enough to point you in the right direction. From there, you can start on your own solution and ask further questions if you get stuck.
Your best solution is probably to manually draw shapes on the canvas using c# (or possibly XAML).
Here's the best link I could find after a quick search.
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms751808(v=vs.100).aspx
It is a Microsoft tutorial of drawing Geometry and Geometric Shapes in XAML and code.
See the section about path geometries.
I would think that by combining two ArcSegments for the curved sides and LineSegments connecting the two sides that you could get the basic shape you are looking for.
I think that for your rectangular "cuts", you will have to build those explicitly in code as well. It will be tricky to match their shape exactly when overlaying them over the nozzle. One simple work around could be to create all your horizontal bars and paint them. Then create a top and a bottom white overlay that covers up the rectangles. One overlay would have the shape of the top nozzle and cover the parts of the rectangles you don't want shown. And similarly for another shape that makes up the bottom of the nozzle.

Why is a GeometryDrawing displayed on Canvas with clipped coordinates?

I have the following simple code that draws rectangle
<Canvas Name="MainImageLayer" >
<Image >
<Image.Source >
<DrawingImage xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation" >
<DrawingImage.Drawing >
<DrawingGroup>
<DrawingGroup.Children>
<GeometryDrawing>
<GeometryDrawing.Pen>
<Pen Brush="#FF1acc33" Thickness="1" />
</GeometryDrawing.Pen>
<GeometryDrawing.Brush>
<SolidColorBrush>Red</SolidColorBrush>
</GeometryDrawing.Brush>
<GeometryDrawing.Geometry>
<RectangleGeometry Rect="300,480,287,83" />
</GeometryDrawing.Geometry>
</GeometryDrawing>
</DrawingGroup.Children>
</DrawingGroup>
</DrawingImage.Drawing>
</DrawingImage>
</Image.Source>
</Image>
</Canvas>
The result looks like this - note that the rectangle is in (0,0), even that the Rect is defined as
<RectangleGeometry Rect="300,480,287,83" />
I want it to start at (300,480), like that:
I can achieve that by inspecting my DrawingImage and doing :
<Canvas.Top>300</Canvas.Top>
<Canvas.Left>480</Canvas.Left>
But isn't there a better way, considering the fact that this data is encoded into the Geometry?
Your problem comes from the fact that you have all of your geometry wrapped in an 'Image' object. By default, the .Height and .Width properties of an Image object are set to 'Auto', and the .Stretch property is set to 'Uniform'. This guarantees that your rectangle will always appear in the top left corner of your Canvas.
If you really need to encapsulate your geometry in an 'Image' object (which I would caution you not to do) you will need to set the Margin of your Image object to 300,480,0,0. in order to get your rectangle to appear where you want it. This is required because of the way an 'Image' object handles its contents.
An Image object does not behave like a Canvas object, even if it is inside one.
Unless there is some overwhelming reason to keep the Image object, you will have much better success if you discard the Image and draw directly on the Canvas.
EDIT
Why should an Image object not be used in this case?
An Image object is primarily used for displaying...well, images, like bitmaps and such. It is not suited for drawing geometry in it at a specific location (and size). Like most WPF controls, it is what I would call a 'relative' control, meaning it is well suited for automatically resizing and positioning itself in relation to both its contents and its parent. A Canvas on the other hand is an example of an 'absolute' control. Its entire reason for existence is to allow content to be drawn upon it in an exact location with an exact size. Adding an Image inside a Canvas and then drawing the geometry inside the Image just adds an unnecessary layer of complexity between the Canvas and the geometry that needs to be drawn.
How can the geometry be added directly?
One of the easiest ways would be to use the Path object given in Clemens' answer. Just replace your entire Image object and all its contents with the 5 lines of that Path and your rectangle will appear exactly where it should be. You can also do it with a single line and a Rectangle object:
<Rectangle Height="83" Width="287" Margin="300,480,0,0" Stroke="#FF1acc33" StrokeThickness="1" Fill="Red" />
but I would recommend the Path since it contains the size and position of the rectangle in one set of numbers. The Path also allows you much more flexibility if you are working with shapes other than rectangles.
Seems like the DrawingImage (or the GeometryDrawing?) is somehow adjusted to its visible rectangle. Anyway, wouldn't this be a much simpler solution, instead of Image?
<Path Stroke="#FF1acc33" StrokeThickness="1" Fill="Red">
<Path.Data>
<RectangleGeometry Rect="300,480,287,83" />
</Path.Data>
</Path>
You can also add another non-empty GeometryDrawing that covers (0,0) (e.g. a RectangeGeometry with Rect="0,0,1,1") with a transparent brush to the DrawingGroup.
EDIT: As i understood, the DrawingImage is adjusted to Drawing.Bounds

Completely Filling Custom Geometries

I'm trying to figure out how to completely fill a custom geometry. It seems like it should be a common question, but I haven't really been able to find any solutions.
I have the following example geometry:
<Path Fill="White" Stretch="Fill" Stroke="Black" StrokeThickness="2">
<Path.Data>
<PathGeometry
Figures="M112,296C112,296 136,296 136,320 M112,344C112,344 136,344 136,320 M112,296L112,296 96,296 96,344 112,344"/>
</Path.Data>
</Path>
Which produces the following result:
This is the result I would like to see:
Any Ideas? I know I could make a single arc and that would resolve this particular case, but in my application the user can draw any type of geometry so the result could be composed of any number of "primitives" (PolyLineSegments, EllipseGeometries, ArcSegments, etc) and in the case that the resultant geometry contains some type of closed area, I'd like to accurately fill that area.
EDIT:
Here is an example of what a CombinedGeometry looks like if I ensure all three adjacent geometries overlap and create a unioned CombinedGeometry with the following code:
<Path Grid.Row="2" Fill="White" Stretch="Fill" Stroke="Black" StrokeThickness="2">
<Path.Data>
<CombinedGeometry GeometryCombineMode="Union">
<CombinedGeometry.Geometry1>
<CombinedGeometry GeometryCombineMode="Union">
<CombinedGeometry.Geometry1>
<PathGeometry
Figures="M111,293C111,296 136,293 136,325"/>
</CombinedGeometry.Geometry1>
<CombinedGeometry.Geometry2>
<PathGeometry
Figures="M111,346C111,344 136,344 136,320"/>
</CombinedGeometry.Geometry2>
</CombinedGeometry>
</CombinedGeometry.Geometry1>
<CombinedGeometry.Geometry2>
<PathGeometry
Figures="M125,296L115,296 96,296 96,344 120,344"/>
</CombinedGeometry.Geometry2>
</CombinedGeometry>
</Path.Data>
</Path>
And here is the result:
I was hoping it would union just the strokes and automagically figure out the correct filling for the new contiguous polygon... bummer.
EDIT 2:
Hmm so I think I've come up with a couple possible solutions, neither of which are as easy as I was hoping they would be. The first option would be to combine all of the geometries as above using a CombineGeometry structure, then I called "GetFlattenedPathGeometry" on the resultant "CombineGeometry" in order to get a PathGeometry. Next I iterate over each Figure in the PathGeometry and just remove those which are holes (which I think you should be able to do by getting rid of all the figures which are entirely contained by another, or holes may follow a convention of having either clockwise or counter-clockwise coordinates, not sure..), if all goes well you should be left with a single fully filled geometry.
The second option would be to again call "GetFlattenedPathGeometry" on whatever the resultant path is, so as to get a vertex based polygonal approximation of the path (without all the curve, arc, ellipse, etc notation, we want a path containing only points and lines). After that, you would just combine all the resultant figures/segments into a single figure whose segments are ordered either clockwise or counter-clockwise.
I've tested both approaches and they seem to work with at least the simple test case outlined above, though they will not work with more complex shapes (self-intersecting, concave, etc).. support which I require.. so the question remains, how do I do this??
EDIT 3:
Here is a more complicated geometry in which ordering/combining becomes more difficult:
<Path Fill="White" Stretch="Fill" Stroke="Black" StrokeThickness="2">
<Path.Data>
<PathGeometry
Figures="M104,160C104,160 72,160 72,136
M104,128C104,128 72,128 72,152
M152,232L152,232 152,216 120,216 120,160 128,160
M152,232L152,232 72,232 104,216 104,160 96,160
M104,128L104,128 168,128
M128,160L128,160 168,160
M165,160L168,160 200,128
M200,160L200,160 200,128
M200,160L200,160 168,128 152,128"/>
</Path.Data>
</Path>
Which produces:
Your example geometry is a combination of three adjacent shapes which do not overlap. The stroke is drawn on the outside edges simply because the shapes are not closed and the inner stroke lines do not exist. Although it may appear that the shapes are being merged and the stroke is applied to the geometry as a whole, that is not what is happening.
Closing the hole becomes a more complex problem of programmatically detecting the hole and closing it with the appropriate shape or by creating a new combined shape which doesn't have the hole (possibly by detecting and tracing the outer points). I am not aware of any functionality in WPF which can help you with this task. There does exist a CombinedGeometry class which can produce a union of two overlapping shapes. The shapes in this example are not overlapping.
Without context, it is hard to recommend a solution. If this is a free form drawing program, perhaps the user simply has to draw another shape in the middle to close the geometry.
Treat it as a "connect the points" problem :)
You have 5 points:
96,296 - top left point (corner)
112,296 - top - start of bezier curve
136,320 - far right - end of first bezier curve, start of second one
112,344 - bottom - end of second bezier
96,344 - bottom left point (corner)
And now, we shall connect them.
<Path Fill="White" Stretch="Fill" Stroke="Black" StrokeThickness="2">
<Path.Data>
<PathGeometry Figures="M112,296 C112,296 136,296 136,320 C136,320 136,344 112,344 M112,344 96,344 96,296 112,296"/>
</Path.Data>
</Path>
You can also use <GeometryGroup FillRule="Nonzero" ...> to fill your custom path from 1st post. Default is FillRule="EvenOdd", which produces filling like yours.*
See Path Markup Syntax (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms752293.aspx) for more information on path mini-language.
Changed <Path> to <GeometryGroup>
EDIT 1:
I reordered your path a bit:
<Path Fill="White" Stretch="Fill" Stroke="Black" StrokeThickness="2">
<Path.Data>
<PathGeometry Figures="M72,152 C72,152 72,128 104,128 L168,128 200,160 200,128 168,160 120,160 120,216 152,216 152,232 72,232 104,216 104,160 C104,160 72,160 72,136"/>
</Path.Data>
</Path>
Which gives us:
New shape
Drawing path is like using some kind of "draw shape" tool in vector editing software, where you have to select next points, and when you don't have next one - shape is automatically closed (last point is connected to first one, but just for the purpose of filling shape - we can see how it's done, when we look at the 'nose' of new shape).
In your example You have 9 separate shapes (each one in separate line, where M specifies start of new figure), and they are all filled in the said-above-way.
Ofcourse, you can use GeometryGroup (with FillRule) or CombinedGeometry (with CombinedGeometryMode) to connect shapes.
I found an interesting article about creating shapes with wpf using a svg-file created with a graphic-tool like inkscape. This might give you some insight.

Tiling rectangles seamlessly in WPF while maintaing subpixel accuracy?

I have had the problem described in the question Tiling rectangles seamlessly in WPF, but am not really happy with the answers given there.
I am painting a bar chart by painting lots of rectangles right next to each other. Depending on the scale of the canvas containing them, there are small gaps visible between some of them as a result from sub-pixel rendering.
I learned from the above question how to make my rectangles fit with the screen pixels, removing that effect.
Unfortunately, my chart may display way more bars than there are pixels. Apart from the tiny gaps (which manifest as a periodic change in color saturation), this works well. If I snap each bar with the screen pixels, most of the bars vanish, though, so I am looking for another solution.
Thanks in advance!
Cause of the problem
Subpixel shapes use alpha blending within the pixel. Unfortunately there is no alpha blending algorithm that results in the rectangles blending seamlessly when abutted.
For example, if:
The background color is white
The foreground color is black, and
You have two rectangles, each covering half of a single pixel
Each rectangle will be painted as black with 50% opacity. The first converts the white pixel to gray. The second converts it to a darker gray, but not black. If these rectangles continue black in adjacent pixels you see a dark gray pixel among the black.
Two types of solutions
There are two general ways to solve this problem:
Use a single Geometry to define all your rectangles, or
Force the initial rendering to be at a high enough resolution your user won't see the problem.
How to use a single Geometry
If you just have a set of Rectangles, you can create a simple control that paints over the whole set of rectangles with a single PathGeometry containing the combined shape. To illustrate the idea, if you had two rectangles beside each other of different heights, like this:
<Rectangle Canvas.Left="0" Canvas.Top="0" Width="1.5" Height="2" Fill="Red" />
<Rectangle Canvas.Left="1.5" Canvas.Top="0" Width="1.5" Height="4" Fill="Red" />
You could render it with a single PathGeometry like this:
<Path Data="M0,0 L0,2 L1.5,2 L1.5,4 L3,4 L3,0 Z" Fill="Red" />
A practical way to implement this is to:
Paint your rectangles with a Transparent brush so they will be clickable but not visable
Add a Path control underneath the rectangles in Z order
Data binding the Data property of your Path control to your data source with a converter that constructs the geometry.
If you are using the layout system to position your rectangles, you may instead want to use an AdornerLayer by creating an Adorner for each rectangles, then when rendering the adorners compute the combined path for the first one and make the rest invisible.
The above assumes it is easy to generate the PathGeometry from the source data. For more complex scenarios, the Path control can be subclassed to search the visual tree of its parent for specified shapes and use general geometricl algorithms to compute a PathGeometry that represents the union of them with no extra edges.
If your rectangles will have multiple colors, you can use multiple Path controls one per color, or you can construct a Drawing object and show that.
Here is the structure of the code to construct a PathGeometry:
var geo = new PathGeometry();
var figure = new PathFigure();
var segment = new PolyLineSegment();
segment.Points.Add(...);
segment.Points.Add(...);
segment.Points.Add(...);
segment.Points.Add(...);
segment.Points.Add(...);
figure.Segments.Add(segment);
geo.Figures.Add(figure);
How to force the initial rendering to be at high resolution
To force rendering at higher resolution:
Internally construct your chart several times larger than you want to display it, for example by wrapping it in a ViewBox.
Use a VisualBrush or RenderTargetBitmap to force your chart to be rendered separately
Add a Rectangle painted with that VisualBrush to your UI
Note that normally WPF is clever about rendering at the actual resolution required when you use a ViewBrush, but it can be tricked by having the actual chart actually display on the screen at the larger size, but then be clipped by a parent control so you don't actually see the too-big version.
This problem doesn't exist with RenderTargetBitmap, of course, since you specify the resolution you want, but it can be tricky knowing when to re-render the bitmap. If you only re-render on data changes you can use an event, but if you want any visual change to trigger a re-render it is more difficult.

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