Applying default style to all wpf windows

Question

I've got a wpf application that has 20+ windows, most of which serve as dialogs, and I'd like them all to have the same background color.

I've got a typed style for Window defined in a resource dictionary as follows

<Style TargetType="{x:Type Window}">
    <Setter Property="SnapsToDevicePixels" Value="true"/>
    <Setter Property="Template">
        <Setter.Value>
            <ControlTemplate TargetType="{x:Type Window}">
                <Grid Background="{StaticResource WindowBackgroundBrush}">
                    <AdornerDecorator>
                        <ContentPresenter/>
                    </AdornerDecorator>
                    <ResizeGrip x:Name="WindowResizeGrip" HorizontalAlignment="Right" VerticalAlignment="Bottom" Visibility="Collapsed" IsTabStop="false"/>
                </Grid>
                <ControlTemplate.Triggers>
                    <Trigger Property="ResizeMode" Value="CanResizeWithGrip">
                        <Setter TargetName="WindowResizeGrip" Property="Visibility" Value="Visible"/>
                    </Trigger>
                </ControlTemplate.Triggers>
            </ControlTemplate>
        </Setter.Value>
    </Setter>
</Style>

I've got the dictionary include in the resources for the Application and each Window as follows

<Application.Resources>
    <ResourceDictionary>
        <ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
            <ResourceDictionary Source="/Resources/Resources.xaml"/>
        </ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
    </ResourceDictionary>
</Application.Resources>

<Window.Resources>
    <ResourceDictionary>
        <ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
            <ResourceDictionary Source="/Resources/Resources.xaml"/>
        </ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
    </ResourceDictionary>
</Window.Resources>

In Visual Studio, the background brush in the property editor says "Inheritance", but the value says "White". I see the desired background color in Visual Studio, but when I run the application I still see a white background. Can anyone explain what I'm doing wrong here? The WindowBackgroundBrush is getting applied to other controls correctly.

Note if I simplify the Style to be just

<Style TargetType="{x:Type Window}">
    <Setter Property="Background" Value="Aqua"/>
</Style>

Visual Studio shows the Background brush as "Style Setter" as the value source and shows the Aqua as the value source, but the window is still white when the app launches.

@EdPlunkett that's what the <Application.Resources> tag is doing. — XAMlMAX
I have just tried to reproduce your problem and it happens to me as well. I remember that setting styles for windows is not as easy as it is for controls. It has something to do with InitialiseComponents() but can't put my finger on it. — XAMlMAX
Thanks. Glad it's not just me. Was the initial comment indicating that adding the dictionary to the windows resources is not necessary since its already added to the application resources? — user7134019

Lina Lina · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-15T21:32:46

You did it all correct. Its working at my place ... How are you applying style to window ? I applied as follows..

<Window x:Class="WpfApplicationScratchpad.MainWindow"
        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:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
        xmlns:local="clr-namespace:WpfApplicationScratchpad"
        mc:Ignorable="d"
        Title="MainWindow" Height="350" Width="525"  Style="{StaticResource Style1}">

here Style1 is your style in resource dictionary. with the name 'Style1'

<Style x:Key="Style1" TargetType="{x:Type Window}">
        <Setter Property="WindowStyle" Value="None"/>
        <Setter Property="AllowsTransparency" Value="True"/>
        <Setter Property="SnapsToDevicePixels" Value="true"/>
        <Setter Property="Template">
            <Setter.Value>
                <ControlTemplate TargetType="{x:Type Window}">
                    <Grid Background="Beige">
                        <AdornerDecorator>
                            <ContentPresenter/>
                        </AdornerDecorator>
                        <ResizeGrip x:Name="WindowResizeGrip" HorizontalAlignment="Right" VerticalAlignment="Bottom" Visibility="Collapsed" IsTabStop="false"/>
                    </Grid>
                    <ControlTemplate.Triggers>
                        <Trigger Property="ResizeMode" Value="CanResizeWithGrip">
                            <Setter TargetName="WindowResizeGrip" Property="Visibility" Value="Visible"/>
                        </Trigger>
                    </ControlTemplate.Triggers>
                </ControlTemplate>
            </Setter.Value>
        </Setter>
    </Style>

Applying default style to all wpf windows

1 Answers