Introduction
One of the features I wanted to add to Synergy toolkit was the ability to quickly create custom theme windows with all the features of a standard windows. In this article I am demonstrating how to create a custom window theme visually using declarative XAML and apply it to windows in your applications.
You can download Synergy SDK with full source code here.
You may also want to see my window docking solution in Synergy here.
I will be posting updates on Synergy SDK on my twitter account: MixModes
The sample application Synergy uses main window as the custom window whose theme is defined within Windows.xaml resource dictionary within MixModes.Synergy.Themes project.
Declarative is the key
As we all know XAML is declarative and simple and so there is no reason why traditional approach of writing code for windows and controls should apply. One must be able to simply create a visual and stick it in a control template to get things working. That was exactly my motivation when I started out developing look-less window functionality in Synergy.
Declare a template
The first thing you may want to do in creating a custom window is to actually create a visual template. The easiest way to create this template is to create a user control in Microsoft Blend and then define extension points in XAML that look-less control will liven up once the template is applied. Once the visual is ready all that needs to be done is a style creation for CustomWindow where the template can be pasted and then the temporary user control can be discarded.
Read more: Codeproject
One of the features I wanted to add to Synergy toolkit was the ability to quickly create custom theme windows with all the features of a standard windows. In this article I am demonstrating how to create a custom window theme visually using declarative XAML and apply it to windows in your applications.
You can download Synergy SDK with full source code here.
You may also want to see my window docking solution in Synergy here.
I will be posting updates on Synergy SDK on my twitter account: MixModes
The sample application Synergy uses main window as the custom window whose theme is defined within Windows.xaml resource dictionary within MixModes.Synergy.Themes project.
Declarative is the key
As we all know XAML is declarative and simple and so there is no reason why traditional approach of writing code for windows and controls should apply. One must be able to simply create a visual and stick it in a control template to get things working. That was exactly my motivation when I started out developing look-less window functionality in Synergy.
Declare a template
The first thing you may want to do in creating a custom window is to actually create a visual template. The easiest way to create this template is to create a user control in Microsoft Blend and then define extension points in XAML that look-less control will liven up once the template is applied. Once the visual is ready all that needs to be done is a style creation for CustomWindow where the template can be pasted and then the temporary user control can be discarded.
Read more: Codeproject