WPF resources addin - wpf

I have a WPF application that runs as an add-in in another application.
(In this case it is COM based but I don't think it matters for the problem I have)
The application works fine when I run it standalone. When running as add-in there is a problem with resources.
First: (minor)
The "pack:" uri scheme is not available at all. I can work around this but it would be nice to understand why (and if it can be solved)
Second: (showstopper)
XAML resources can't be found (the XAML is found!). The errormessages says that Assembly.GetEntryAssembly() is null (which is understandable) and that I should set Application.ResourceAssembly.
The problem is that my application consists of 2 assemblies which both contain XAML and resources. Which one should I set as resource assembly? I have tried both and neither of them work. (The errormessage just says that the resource can't be found)
The resources that can't be found are normal text with an autogenerated static class. The XAML looks like:
<TextBox Text="{StaticResource my:Texts.ButtonText}">

Related

Loading WPF Resources more than once

I am working in WPF and WinForms for both Windows XP and Windows 7/10 users (.NET 4.0 due to XP).
Some WPF Windows are used as dialogs for older WinForms applications without a WPF Application class/App.xaml file.
This in itself isn't a problem but I find I'm having to declare styles in resource dictionaries in user controls/windows in the WinForms/WPF situations which isn't normally necessary in plain WPF applications due to App.xaml.
My question is whether WPF detects that the same resource is being loaded twice (in a pure WPF application e.g. UserControl and App.xaml) and copes with/manages this without interference from me or do I have to try to ensure I only declare resource dictionaries once?
Many thanks.
The answer is no.
If you load a resource dictionary as a resource for a usercontrol then each instance of the usercontrol means another instance of any resources it uses in memory.
If that is going to be a problem then you need to do something.
You might just be able to instantiate an application object and use that to stash your resources in. Application.Current.Resources is after all just referencing the current application. Depends on exactly how your app works.
If you try to load the same resource dictionary twice, the application will throw a runtime error.
But, if you are only defining the styles already present in the resource dictionary, in the user control also, i.e, basically two styles with the same name one in the resource dictionary and the other in the user control, then no error is thrown. The style in the user control will have a higher priority.

Why is Expression Blend 4 not finding resources that are in a global Resource Library

For some reason with this WPF project, I am getting the following exception in Blend:
This happens when one UserControl is inside another UserControl or Window. ItemBorder is a style that exists in a Resource Library linked to the application XAML file. It doesn't matter where I move this resource or its library. Even if I put it directly into the UserControl that is using it, I get this exception. Only when I make it a local value and not a resource does this exception go away. This exception only happens in Blend. It doesn't happen in Visual Studio (i'm using 2010), and it doesn't occur when I run the application.
I'm at the end of my rope here. This problem means I am completely unable to use Expression Blend.
Tried making it a dynamic resource?
I am not especially clear on the rules in play that determine Static vs Dynamic even give the answer below, but It has resolved a lot of issues for me when loading resources to change it from a Static to Dynamicresource.
What's the difference between StaticResource and DynamicResource in WPF?
Alright, after a little digging, I found this. The OP in this post has a situation quite similar to yours. His work around suggests merging resource dictionaries at the Usercontrol level rather than only through App.xaml.

WPF: What is App.xaml's Purpose?

I've done .Net development for awhile but I'm new to the WPF technology. What is the supposed purpose of App.xaml? Also, what type of xaml code do you usually put in it? It seems like for simple applications it could be ignored and left untouched. Is this true?
App.xaml is the declarative portion of your code (usually generated by Visual Studio) extending System.Windows.Application. For example, Expression Blend can use App.xaml to share a Resource Dictionary or a design-time data set with your entire application. And, because we are using Microsoft products, whatever Expression Blend can do auto-magically, we can do by hand in Visual Studio.
Now the tangent: To me, to ask about the purpose of App.xaml is to ask about the purpose for System.Windows.Application. Feel free to accuse me of changing the original question (let the digital brutality ensue).
You can’t just open a System.Windows.Controls.Window in any Assembly you like… Chris Sells is likely telling me this in his book. I began to understand the purpose of System.Windows.Application while using MEF and MVVM Light to display WPF windows in DLLs (not EXEs). I got errors like this:
The type 'System.Windows.Markup.IComponentConnector' is defined in an assembly that is not referenced.
or
The type 'System.Windows.Markup.IQueryAmbient' is defined in an assembly that is not referenced.
The above error is simply saying that I’m trying to open a WPF Window inside of a DLL and not an EXE. Then, there’s this error:
The component 'Songhay.Wpf.WordWalkingStick.Views.ClientView' does not have a resource identified by the URI '/Songhay.Wpf.WordWalkingStick;component/views/clientview.xaml'.
This boils down to the absence of a facility that associates WPF Window XAML with the WPF “code” (an instance). This facility is associated with WPF EXEs and not WPF DLLs. Visual Studio auto-generates a WPF EXE class called App.g.cs (in your \obj\Debug folder) with this call in it: System.Windows.Application.LoadComponent(this, resourceLocater) where resourceLocater is a badly named variable containing a System.Uri pointing to the XAML like ClientView.xaml mentioned above.
I’m sure Chris Sells has a whole chapter written on how WPF depends on System.Windows.Application for its very life. It is my loss (quite literally of time) for not having read about it.
I have shown myself a little something with this unit test:
[STAThread]
[TestMethod]
public void ShouldOpenWindow()
{
Application app = new Application();
app.Run(new Window());
}
Failing to wrap a new Window in the System.Windows.Application.Run() method will throw an error from the land of COM talking about, “Why did you pull the rug from underneath me?”
For simple applications, it is true, it can be ignored. The major purpose for App.xaml is for holding resources (style, pens, brushes, etc.) that would would like to be available through out all of the windows in your application.
It is true. App.Xaml is some sort of central starting point. You CAN use it, or you CAN start your first window (it is defined in the app.xaml) manually. There are some lifetime events there centralls (like application start).
Storing resources that are used across the whole application.
Application is the root of the logical tree.
It is like Global.asax if you are coming from an ASP.NET background. You can also use it to share resources throughout your application. Comes in pretty handy for resource sharing.
App.xaml is a major part of wpf application.
It contains major four attributes
1.X:Class->used to connect you xaml and code-behind file(xaml.cs).
2.xmlns->To resolve wpf elements like canvas,stack panel(default one).
3.xmlns:x->To resolve XAML language definition.
4. StartupUri->To give start window when application is launching.
++++++++
App.xaml is the declarative starting point of your application. Visual
Studio will automatically create it for you when you start a new WPF
application, including a Code-behind file called App.xaml.cs. They
work much like for a Window, where the two files are partial classes,
working together to allow you to work in both markup (XAML) and
Code-behind.
App.xaml.cs extends the Application class, which is a central class in
a WPF Windows application. .NET will go to this class for starting
instructions and then start the desired Window or Page from there.
This is also the place to subscribe to important application events,
like application start, unhandled exceptions and so on.
One of the most commonly used features of the App.xaml file is to
define global resources that may be used and accessed from all over an
application, for instance global styles.
+++++++++
Source : http://www.wpf-tutorial.com/wpf-application/working-with-app-xaml/
Here is an updated answer in case people are still looking.
There is this excellent article on WPF, and the link specifically puts you at the App.Xaml point to begin teaching you the things you can do with it.
WPF is easy for the first very simple app or two. However, due to the increased flexibility of the framework, you need these types of tutorials to help you understand what can be done from where (in the various application files).
https://www.wpf-tutorial.com/wpf-application/working-with-app-xaml/
Good luck.

Linked Themes/Generic.xaml Files will not work in visual studio 2008

i have a project that i am doing and i need to share the code between silverlight and WPF Assembly problem is that even though the wpf assembly is the owner of that file
and the silverlight assembly only has a link to the file, all of the build actions are page everything is correct. if i make the silverlight assembly the owner then silverlight works and wpf doesnt, and currently with wpf being the owner i dont get any errors at all it just never styles the control like it cannot find it..
Note: both projects exists in the same solution.
this scenario builds and runs fine
wpf project
|__Themes
|__Generic.xaml
|__SomeControl.cs
this scenario builds and runs but will not display the control
if i change them from linked to normal it will work fine.
i just want to share this source code and not have multiple versions of the same file floating around.
SilverlightProject
|__Themes
|__"Linked"Generic.xaml
|__"Linked"SomeControl.cs
sorry for my corny Tree view representation
+++++++ UPDATE +++++++++
i have noticed when using any linked file regardless of if it is silverlight or WPF
the link file will not build into the Themes folder in the resource only the root.
i used reflector to see where my resources ended up after compilation of the assembly including the linked file and they ended up in the root , so with that being said. is there a way to prevent this or a fix for this if this is indeed non intended behavior .
i would really love to get this figured out as it has been driving me insane for a while now.
Silverlight XAML and WPF XAML do not have the same namespace - so they aren't directly reusable.
My mistake - you're right - now with Silverlight 3 the namespaces are the same:
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml
What is the Build Action in the Property Pane for the XAML?

Can I use a custom control in a stand-alone XAML file?

Quick intro: I have some Silverlight 1 content that people have been editing and putting into HTML pages. Unfortunately, this means a lot of repetative creation of Storyboards, etc. We can use Silverlight 2, but not everyone here is familiar with C#/has Visual Studio. What I would like to do is create some custom controls in C#, output to a DLL, then reference the DLL in the XAML file (just as if it was part of a Silverlight project in VS).
I've tried adding this:
xmlns:mycontrol="clr-namespace:MyControl;assembly=../../content_GLOBAL/controls/MyControl/MyControl"
in the Grid tag that is my root. I know the path to MyControl.dll is correct. When I actually try and use it, though (I add <mycontrol:MyControl></mycontrol:MyControl> to the grid) and I get a parser error. It all seems OK if I don't add the control, even if I leave in the xmlns.
I suppose on some level, this makes sense--looking for an assembly is useful if you are going to build something, and since this XAML isn't in VS, it isn't actually building anything. Is there another way that I can reference, and use a custom control in SL2 in a stand-alone XAML file?
Let me first make sure that I understand you correctly: You have a Silverlight app that doesn't use any managed code and is not packaged in a .xap file. The <object> tag refers to a loose xaml file.
This is the Silverlight 1 app model and can still be used in SL 2, and such apps are referred to as "v1-style apps" (even though they target SL 2 and may use features not present in v1). When an application in this form is used, the Silverlight plugin does not load any of the managed components of the runtime (e.g. the CLR, etc.), so referencing a dll from a v1 style app is not going to work.
However, there might be work-arounds to the challenge you are facing here. One solution might be to use a v2 style app that is packed into a .xap and uses managed assemblies. One of the reasons you gave for not doing this is that other developers one the team are not familiar with C#. This should not be an issue as C# is not a requirement for building apps in SL, you can continue to program against it in JavaScript. And if you are just writing JavaScript code, Visual Studio is not a requirement, since there is nothing to compile. They can just edit the .html/.js files and use the .xap/.dll files that were already compiled. Does this make sense?

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