Re: WPF resources [modified] - WPF Discussion Boards

12-Jun-09 14:19

OK, so I am working out how to use these resources for styles. I have a file called generic.xaml, in a folder called themes ( I copied an example from the WPF Unleashed book ). It all works fine, so long as the stuff I define in there, is only used in there. That is to say, I have this:

<Style TargetType="{x:Type local:TBButton}">

which maps back to a class I wrote. That seems to find it OK. Then I have this:

<DrawingBrush x:Key="LogoSmall" Stretch="Uniform">

which defines how to draw our logo. Using the same code that I used inside the xaml,

<Rectangle Fill="{StaticResource LogoSmall}"/>

Does not work. So, I assume this means I need to reference the Generic.xaml file, it doesn't just get registered for global use, as I'd hoped. What's the bit I am missing here ?

Do I REALLY need to explicitly import my resource dictionaries in every control ? Can I do something global ?

Thanks

Christian Graus

Driven to the arms of OSX by Vista.

"! i don't exactly like or do programming and it only gives me a headache." - spotted in VB forums.

I can do things with my brain that I can't even google. I can flex the front part of my brain instantly anytime I want. It can be exhausting and it even causes me vision problems for some reason. - CaptainSeeSharp

modified on Friday, June 12, 2009 8:45 PM

Mark Salsbery12-Jun-09 16:08

12-Jun-09 16:08

Is all the XAML you showed in generic.xaml? If not, what is where?

Mark

Mark Salsbery
Microsoft MVP - Visual C++
Java | [Coffee]

Christian Graus12-Jun-09 19:19

12-Jun-09 19:19

No, that's the point. The rectangle is outside generic.xaml, and so I need to import the resources in that XAML. I am hoping to just define the scope in one go, not have to explicitly include it every time I want it to be in scope.

Mark Salsbery12-Jun-09 20:34

12-Jun-09 20:34

Christian Graus wrote:
No, that's the point

It is - the static resource needs to be at or above the rectangle in the static resource
search path otherwise it doesn't get found.

Christian Graus wrote:
I am hoping to just define the scope in one go, not have to explicitly include it every time I want it to be in scope

app.xaml is probably where you want it then (use MergedDictionaries to add
granularity to your resources).

generic.xaml is a fallback for styles but your DrawingBrush won't be found there,
even if you use DynamicResource.

The search order/path for static and dynamic resources is described here: Resources Overview[^]

Mark

Mark Salsbery
Microsoft MVP - Visual C++
Java | [Coffee]

Christian Graus12-Jun-09 20:52

12-Jun-09 20:52

Thank you, young man. I shall read this sometime tonight.

Re: WPF resources [modified]

#realJSOP13-Jun-09 9:25

#realJSOP

13-Jun-09 9:25

That's what I started doing because it seems to work better. I also stared putting related controls into the same XAML file. For instance, all of my TabControl and TabItem templates and styles are in one file. I have several XAML files:

Resources.xaml

All of the following merge Resources.Xaml

Buttons.xaml
Styles.xaml
Templates.xaml
TabControl.xaml (this one merges resources.xaml and styles.xaml)

I also merged them all in app.xaml.

It seems to me that for usercontrol libraries, there should be a lib.xaml that serves the same purpose as app.xaml in the executable assembly. And then, app.xamle could merge the lib.xaml and be done with it.

"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
-----
"...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001

Mark Salsbery13-Jun-09 9:42

13-Jun-09 9:42

John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
It seems to me that for usercontrol libraries, there should be a lib.xaml that serves the same purpose as app.xaml in the executable assembly. And then, app.xamle could merge the lib.xaml and be done with it.

You can add any number of resource dictionaries to a library and merge them
into your app resources.

*edit* And you can call one of those dictionaries lib.xaml if you choose to Smile | :)

Mark Salsbery
Microsoft MVP - Visual C++
Java | [Coffee]

modified on Saturday, June 13, 2009 3:58 PM

Detailed WPF implementation details on features we just use and take for granted are implemented, how they work under the covers, what kind of data structures they use, etc

#realJSOP16-Jun-09 9:22

#realJSOP

16-Jun-09 9:22

What I meant was something that would apply to the entire library, so I don't have to add a resources section to every control to see what it's going to look like.

sparky.dasrath12-Jun-09 11:24

sparky.dasrath

12-Jun-09 11:24

I have posted this on MSDN, WPF and Channel 9 as well, but I want to do it here too as I would like to get back as much info as possible.

Due to some lack of visible information, I lost a chance at getting my dream job to do WPF development. I want to be better prepared to go even deeper than just how to do things with WPF.

Basically, I would like to know how some of the WPF features we just use and take for granted are implemented, how they work under the covers, what kind of data structures they use, etc. None of this is written in the WPF books I have read (mostly the stuff from Apress).

If anyone can direct me to any technical documents, books, whitepapers I haven't looked at yet that describe some of these, I would greatly appreciate it. Ideally, I would like more information on
[1] DependencyProperties
[2] DataBinding
[3] EventRouting
[4] DataContext (not just setting it at a top level container)
[5] Binding (exactly how it works, not just that I can bind to x,y,.)
[6] Dispatcher (maybe not as much here)
[7] VirtualizingPanel

So far I have learned that DepProp use an underlying HashTable and I got some info on VirtualizingPanels under the Optimizing WPF Application Performance on MSDN

You canfollow the thread on MSDN as well

Thank you

~sparky
[http://sdasrath.blogspot.com/]

Re: Detailed WPF implementation details on features we just use and take for granted are implemented, how they work under the covers, what kind of data structures they use, etc

Christian Graus12-Jun-09 12:05

12-Jun-09 12:05

You should install Reflektor, and then you can read the source code for yourself.

WPF Image Uploading

Chris Ivey12-Jun-09 5:13

12-Jun-09 5:13

I am attempting to use WPF to basically create my own version of the deep zoom composer so that I can take an image and split into tiles and then upload into a db. This works great on the initial tile level, however the next tile level uploads all black tiles and then the remaining tile levels are fine...any idea why that would do that on just that one level?

Mark Salsbery12-Jun-09 10:38

12-Jun-09 10:38

I don't know if this is really a WPF issue.....

Are you using the API provided by the composer DLLs? If so, you
may also want to try asking about this in the Silverlight forums[^]

Mark Salsbery
Microsoft MVP - Visual C++
Java | [Coffee]

Chris Ivey12-Jun-09 11:33

12-Jun-09 11:33

It may not be.....I'm just starting with this cause that's what we developed it in. We are using the System.Media.Imaging Namespaces...we tried to use the dll from composer but we ran into Memory issues...so now we're using this...we are using transformed and cropped bitmap to create the tiles....any ideas?

Mark Salsbery12-Jun-09 11:42

12-Jun-09 11:42

Reading your post again I now see "create my own version of the deep zoom composer"...
sorry about that.

Anyway - I'm not being facetious here, but if tiles you create are coming out black, then
isn't something wrong with the code creating the tiles?

Any help from the debugger when that level's tiles is being created?

Mark

Mark Salsbery
Microsoft MVP - Visual C++
Java | [Coffee]

Chris Ivey12-Jun-09 12:23

12-Jun-09 12:23

Mark,
No worries....and believe me I've looked and I would think that it would be the code, however it only happens on the second tile level...all other levels are good...

Mark Salsbery12-Jun-09 12:28

12-Jun-09 12:28

How are you verifying the tiles for that level are black?

Is the folder for the level in question created properly?

If so, is there tile files in there?

If so, if you look at the tile files they are black? Are they the right dimensions?

If you are creating the tiles without using the DeepZoom composer from MS,
then it is the code that's not working. WPF doesn't know anything about Deep Zoom Smile | :)

Mark Salsbery
Microsoft MVP - Visual C++
Java | [Coffee]

Chris Ivey12-Jun-09 12:42

12-Jun-09 12:42

To verify the tiles are black we are bringing them up in a tilehandler that we are using for the viewer page.

We are creating the tiles dynamically and loading them into the db....and they are the correct dimensions....

Here's a little more background:

basically the application gets an image, converts it from .tiff to .png and then dynamically splits it into tiles and upload the tiles into the DB. The problem is the second level does not seem to be working correctly and I'm confused as to why when the level before and all levels after work fine?

I appreciate your help...it helps to think about other issues that it could be.

Christian Graus12-Jun-09 13:27

12-Jun-09 13:27

It's obviously an issue in your code. Have you installed a debug visualiser for bitmaps, and stepped through the code to see if they are black at the point of creation ? Or just added code to save them locally, pull them out of the DB and save them again, to see if the DB layer is the issue ? You have to cut the task into pieces to see which bit is breaking, and you need to seperate the images from your code for viewing, to make sure the viewer is not the issue, somehow.

Chris Ivey15-Jun-09 4:32

Binding IsChecked to AncestorType problem

15-Jun-09 4:32

Christian,
Thanks for your reply...I don't think it's an issue with the viewer because it worked before...we had to change the code becasue we kept getting out of memory exceptions with the system.drawing stuff so we had to go to system.media.imaging (I think that's what it is) and we don't get the memory issue anymore. But the view worked perfectly for those images...I will look into the things you have suggested....

Thanks again

Chris

DavidRen2312-Jun-09 0:40

DavidRen23

12-Jun-09 0:40

I would like to bind a MenuItem.IsChecked property to another using the FindAncestor approach. The problem I have is that the binding fails since the MenuItem is not in the same visual tree as it's ancestor due to (I think) the way it is created.

See http://munkiisoft.com/blog/archive/2007/02/01/binding-contextmenu-to-its-logical-parent.aspx as an example however my problem cannot be solved using this approach sine the ancestor is not the PlacementTarget.

Any ideas in how to how I can achieve this without I guess creating my own markup extension??????

Just in case the Xaml is shown below, nothing (I think again) is wrong here.

<MenuItem IsCheckable="True" x:Name="verticalRuler" Header="Vertical ruler" IsChecked="{Binding Path=VerticalRulerVisible, RelativeSource={RelativeSource FindAncestor, AncestorType={x:Type demo:demoBox}}, Mode=TwoWay}"/>

The error:
System.Windows.Data Error: 4 : Cannot find source for binding with reference 'RelativeSource FindAncestor, AncestorType='Demo.DemoBox', AncestorLevel='1''. BindingExpression:Path=VerticalRulerVisible; DataItem=null; target element is 'MenuItem' (Name=verticalRuler); target property is 'IsChecked' (type 'Boolean')

Thanks in advance. . .

Pete O'Hanlon12-Jun-09 2:10

Pete O'Hanlon

12-Jun-09 2:10

You could always use the ElementName to achieve this effect instead,e.g.

<MenuItem IsCheckable="True" x:Name="verticalRuler" 
  Header="Vertical ruler" IsChecked="{Binding ElementName=... Path=VerticalRulerVisible}, Mode=TwoWay}"/>

"WPF has many lovers. It's a veritable porn star!" - Josh Smith

As Braveheart once said, "You can take our freedom but you'll never take our Hobnobs!" - Martin Hughes.

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DavidRen2312-Jun-09 3:24

DavidRen23

12-Jun-09 3:24

Thanks for the reply but it's a little trickier than that since the source is not in the same template therefore I can't use ElementName, I have no choice but to use the FindAncestor approach which doesn't work.
Any other ideas?

Pete O'Hanlon12-Jun-09 3:55

Pete O'Hanlon

12-Jun-09 3:55

Before we go any further with this, have you verified that the elements are in different visual trees? You can do this using snoop[^]. If you want to check hierarchies and bindings, this tool is invaluable.

"WPF has many lovers. It's a veritable porn star!" - Josh Smith

As Braveheart once said, "You can take our freedom but you'll never take our Hobnobs!" - Martin Hughes.

My blog | My articles | MoXAML PowerToys | Onyx