WPF and Blend: Resizing window doesn't work - wpf

Question

I've set a storyboard to enlarge and shrink a window. These work fine in the Blend editor, but when actually running, they just don't work at all.
The window is supposed to expand/shrink at the same rate horizontally as vertically.
What's the fix to this?
Here's my XAML.
<Window x:Name="window" x:Class="MainWindow"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
Title="MainWindow" Height="32" Width="32" ResizeMode="NoResize" WindowStyle="None">
<Window.Resources>
<Storyboard x:Key="GrowFrame">
<DoubleAnimationUsingKeyFrames Storyboard.TargetProperty="(FrameworkElement.Width)" Storyboard.TargetName="window">
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame KeyTime="0" Value="32"/>
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame KeyTime="0:0:0.5" Value="256">
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame.EasingFunction>
<BackEase EasingMode="EaseOut" Amplitude="0.25"/>
</EasingDoubleKeyFrame.EasingFunction>
</EasingDoubleKeyFrame>
</DoubleAnimationUsingKeyFrames>
<DoubleAnimationUsingKeyFrames Storyboard.TargetProperty="(FrameworkElement.Height)" Storyboard.TargetName="window">
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame KeyTime="0" Value="32"/>
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame KeyTime="0:0:0.5" Value="256">
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame.EasingFunction>
<BackEase EasingMode="EaseOut" Amplitude="0.25"/>
</EasingDoubleKeyFrame.EasingFunction>
</EasingDoubleKeyFrame>
</DoubleAnimationUsingKeyFrames>
<DoubleAnimationUsingKeyFrames Storyboard.TargetProperty="(UIElement.Opacity)" Storyboard.TargetName="window">
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame KeyTime="0" Value="0.5"/>
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame KeyTime="0:0:0.5" Value="1">
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame.EasingFunction>
<BackEase EasingMode="EaseOut" Amplitude="0.25"/>
</EasingDoubleKeyFrame.EasingFunction>
</EasingDoubleKeyFrame>
</DoubleAnimationUsingKeyFrames>
<ColorAnimationUsingKeyFrames Storyboard.TargetProperty="(Panel.Background).(SolidColorBrush.Color)" Storyboard.TargetName="window">
<EasingColorKeyFrame KeyTime="0" Value="Transparent"/>
<EasingColorKeyFrame KeyTime="0:0:0.5" Value="White">
<EasingColorKeyFrame.EasingFunction>
<BackEase EasingMode="EaseOut"/>
</EasingColorKeyFrame.EasingFunction>
</EasingColorKeyFrame>
</ColorAnimationUsingKeyFrames>
</Storyboard>
<Storyboard x:Key="ShrinkFrame">
<DoubleAnimationUsingKeyFrames Storyboard.TargetProperty="(FrameworkElement.Width)" Storyboard.TargetName="window">
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame KeyTime="0" Value="256"/>
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame KeyTime="0:0:0.5" Value="32">
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame.EasingFunction>
<CubicEase EasingMode="EaseInOut"/>
</EasingDoubleKeyFrame.EasingFunction>
</EasingDoubleKeyFrame>
</DoubleAnimationUsingKeyFrames>
<DoubleAnimationUsingKeyFrames Storyboard.TargetProperty="(FrameworkElement.Height)" Storyboard.TargetName="window">
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame KeyTime="0" Value="256"/>
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame KeyTime="0:0:0.5" Value="32">
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame.EasingFunction>
<CubicEase EasingMode="EaseInOut"/>
</EasingDoubleKeyFrame.EasingFunction>
</EasingDoubleKeyFrame>
</DoubleAnimationUsingKeyFrames>
<DoubleAnimationUsingKeyFrames Storyboard.TargetProperty="(UIElement.Opacity)" Storyboard.TargetName="window">
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame KeyTime="0" Value="1"/>
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame KeyTime="0:0:0.5" Value="0.5">
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame.EasingFunction>
<CubicEase EasingMode="EaseInOut"/>
</EasingDoubleKeyFrame.EasingFunction>
</EasingDoubleKeyFrame>
</DoubleAnimationUsingKeyFrames>
<ColorAnimationUsingKeyFrames Storyboard.TargetProperty="(Panel.Background).(SolidColorBrush.Color)" Storyboard.TargetName="window">
<EasingColorKeyFrame KeyTime="0" Value="White"/>
<EasingColorKeyFrame KeyTime="0:0:0.5" Value="Transparent">
<EasingColorKeyFrame.EasingFunction>
<CubicEase EasingMode="EaseInOut"/>
</EasingColorKeyFrame.EasingFunction>
</EasingColorKeyFrame>
</ColorAnimationUsingKeyFrames>
</Storyboard>
</Window.Resources>
<Window.Triggers>
<EventTrigger RoutedEvent="Mouse.MouseEnter">
<BeginStoryboard Storyboard="{StaticResource GrowFrame}"/>
</EventTrigger>
<EventTrigger RoutedEvent="Mouse.MouseLeave">
<BeginStoryboard x:Name="ShrinkFrame_BeginStoryboard" Storyboard="{StaticResource ShrinkFrame}"/>
</EventTrigger>
</Window.Triggers>
</Window>

Answer 1

WPF does support both synchronized animations (as you attempted) and overlapping animations where you supply a HandoffBehavior. You might try that to see if it works as a workaround. However I think this is a known bug (https://connect.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/feedback/details/715415/window-width-height-animation-in-wpf-got-broken-on-net-framework-4-0). I'm shocked it has not been fixed by now.

Answer 2

Alternatively, just use a fixed sized transparent window as a workaround:
<Window x:Name="window" x:Class="RectangleWindow"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
Title="RectangleWindow" Height="300" Width="300" ResizeMode="NoResize" WindowStyle="None"
Background="Transparent" AllowsTransparency="True">
<Window.Resources>
<Storyboard x:Key="GrowFrame">
<DoubleAnimationUsingKeyFrames Storyboard.TargetProperty="(FrameworkElement.Width)" Storyboard.TargetName="insideRectangle">
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame KeyTime="0" Value="32"/>
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame KeyTime="0:0:0.5" Value="256">
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame.EasingFunction>
<BackEase EasingMode="EaseOut" Amplitude="0.25"/>
</EasingDoubleKeyFrame.EasingFunction>
</EasingDoubleKeyFrame>
</DoubleAnimationUsingKeyFrames>
<DoubleAnimationUsingKeyFrames Storyboard.TargetProperty="(FrameworkElement.Height)" Storyboard.TargetName="insideRectangle">
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame KeyTime="0" Value="32"/>
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame KeyTime="0:0:0.5" Value="256">
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame.EasingFunction>
<BackEase EasingMode="EaseOut" Amplitude="0.25"/>
</EasingDoubleKeyFrame.EasingFunction>
</EasingDoubleKeyFrame>
</DoubleAnimationUsingKeyFrames>
</Storyboard>
<Storyboard x:Key="ShrinkFrame">
<DoubleAnimationUsingKeyFrames Storyboard.TargetProperty="(FrameworkElement.Width)" Storyboard.TargetName="insideRectangle">
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame KeyTime="0" Value="256"/>
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame KeyTime="0:0:0.5" Value="32">
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame.EasingFunction>
<CubicEase EasingMode="EaseInOut"/>
</EasingDoubleKeyFrame.EasingFunction>
</EasingDoubleKeyFrame>
</DoubleAnimationUsingKeyFrames>
<DoubleAnimationUsingKeyFrames Storyboard.TargetProperty="(FrameworkElement.Height)" Storyboard.TargetName="insideRectangle">
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame KeyTime="0" Value="256"/>
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame KeyTime="0:0:0.5" Value="32">
<EasingDoubleKeyFrame.EasingFunction>
<CubicEase EasingMode="EaseInOut"/>
</EasingDoubleKeyFrame.EasingFunction>
</EasingDoubleKeyFrame>
</DoubleAnimationUsingKeyFrames>
</Storyboard>
</Window.Resources>
<Window.Triggers>
<EventTrigger RoutedEvent="Mouse.MouseEnter">
<BeginStoryboard Storyboard="{StaticResource GrowFrame}"/>
</EventTrigger>
<EventTrigger RoutedEvent="Mouse.MouseLeave">
<BeginStoryboard x:Name="ShrinkFrame_BeginStoryboard" Storyboard="{StaticResource ShrinkFrame}"/>
</EventTrigger>
</Window.Triggers>
<Rectangle x:Name="insideRectangle" Fill="White"
Width="50" Height="50"
HorizontalAlignment="Left"
VerticalAlignment="Top">
<Rectangle.BitmapEffect>
<DropShadowBitmapEffect/>
</Rectangle.BitmapEffect>
</Rectangle>
</Window>

Answer 3

As others have pointed out, there's a bug in the new framework releases that prevents synchronous animation. However, here's a quick little solution that works very well for me. It's beyond simple, so I don't think any explanation is in order. It works, and that's all that matters:
XAML:
<Window x:Class="App.MainWindow"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
Title="MainWindow" Height="32" Width="32" ResizeMode="NoResize" WindowStyle="None"
MouseEnter="MouseEntered" MouseLeave="MouseLeft">
</Window>
Code-Behind:
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Input;
namespace App
{
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
private const int MAX_WINDOW_SIZE = 256;
private const int MIN_WINDOW_SIZE = 32;
private const int ANIMATION_SPEED = 10;
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
private void MouseEntered(object sender, MouseEventArgs e)
{
while (this.Width <= MAX_WINDOW_SIZE)
{
this.Width += ANIMATION_SPEED;
this.Height += ANIMATION_SPEED;
}
}
private void MouseLeft(object sender, MouseEventArgs e)
{
while (this.Width >= MIN_WINDOW_SIZE)
{
this.Width -= ANIMATION_SPEED;
this.Height -= ANIMATION_SPEED;
}
}
}
}