WinUI XAML: Using a ResourceDictionary from another project - c#

In my WinUI 3 application, I am trying to use a ResourceDictionary that is located in another project.
Lets say the referenced project is ResourceTestLib and this library project has a folder "Styles" which has a file "_Thickness.xaml".
In the app.xaml file of the main application, I tried these two approaches below the "Other merged dictionaries here" comment, but none of them seem to work, i.e. that app crashes on startup with that message "Cannot locate resource ...." message.
This is my app.xaml:
<Application.Resources>
<ResourceDictionary>
<ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
<XamlControlsResources xmlns="using:Microsoft.UI.Xaml.Controls" />
<!-- Other merged dictionaries here -->
<ResourceDictionary Source="/ResourceTestLib;component/Styles/_Thickness.xaml"/>
<ResourceDictionary Source="pack://application:,,,/ResourceTestLib;component/Styles/_Thickness.xaml"></ResourceDictionary>
</ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
</ResourceDictionary>
</Application.Resources>
When I hover over the respective line, Visual Studio shows a tooltip with "Path X not found" for the first referenced ResourceDictionary and a "Invalid characters in path" (probably because of "application:,,,") message for the second.
I suppose that that WinUI XAML might be different than WPF XAML in that respect? Or even that this is not supported yet?

Pack URIs are only used in WPF.
UWP and Win UI use the ms-appx URI scheme to refer to a file that resides in another assembly so try this:
<ResourceDictionary Source="ms-appx:///ResourceTestLib/Styles/_Thickness.xaml" />
More on UWP style URI schemes:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/uwp/app-resources/uri-schemes

Related

How to include MaterialDesignXamlToolkit to WPF class library?

I'm trying to use MaterialDesignXamlToolkit in my WPF class library (.NET framework). I'm following their official quick start tutorial, but since i do not have App.xaml, i had to make some adjustments. Apperently some step was wrong, but i do not know which one.
1) I installed MaterialDesignXamlToolkit using Nuget.
2) I created ResourceDictionary with the following code: (i specified the key because there is an error if i don't)
<ResourceDictionary xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml">
<ResourceDictionary x:Key="123">
<ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
<ResourceDictionary Source="pack://application:,,,/MaterialDesignThemes.Wpf;component/Themes/MaterialDesignTheme.Light.xaml" />
<ResourceDictionary Source="pack://application:,,,/MaterialDesignThemes.Wpf;component/Themes/MaterialDesignTheme.Defaults.xaml" />
<ResourceDictionary Source="pack://application:,,,/MaterialDesignColors;component/Themes/Recommended/Primary/MaterialDesignColor.DeepPurple.xaml" />
<ResourceDictionary Source="pack://application:,,,/MaterialDesignColors;component/Themes/Recommended/Accent/MaterialDesignColor.Lime.xaml" />
</ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
</ResourceDictionary>
</ResourceDictionary>
If i remove <ResourceDictionary x:Key="123"> element, then i get an error:
System.Windows.Markup.XamlParseException: Set property 'System.Windows.ResourceDictionary.Source' threw an exception.
FileNotFoundException: Could not load file or assembly 'MaterialDesignThemes.Wpf, Culture=neutral' or one of its dependencies.
3) My 'main screen' is Page, so i added the resource to it:
<Page.Resources>
<ResourceDictionary Source="/MyAsembly;component/ResourceDictionary/MaterialDesign.xaml" />
</Page.Resources>
4) The obvious problem occurs here (this is the second step of the official tutorial): i add the following code to my Page:
<Page ...
xmlns:materialDesign="http://materialdesigninxaml.net/winfx/xaml/themes"
TextElement.Foreground="{DynamicResource MaterialDesignBody}"
TextElement.FontWeight="Regular"
TextElement.FontSize="13"
TextOptions.TextFormattingMode="Ideal"
TextOptions.TextRenderingMode="Auto"
Background="{DynamicResource MaterialDesignPaper}"
FontFamily="{DynamicResource MaterialDesignFont}">
But i get a warning that: The resource {MaterialDesignBody, MaterialDesignPaper, MaterialDesignFont} could not be resolved.
Some of the solutions i tried pointed out that the ResourceDictionary's build action should be page, and it is.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
The accepted solution worked for me. To avoid the dummy code though, I was also able to get MDXT working by adding the following to the code-behind of the resource dictionary:
Assembly.LoadFrom(Path.Combine(Path.GetDirectoryName(Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location), "MaterialDesignThemes.Wpf.dll"));
Assembly.LoadFrom(Path.Combine(Path.GetDirectoryName(Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location), "MaterialDesignColors.dll"));
Now that i've solved the problem, i realize one important information is missing from my question: i was following MVVM pattern (so all my code behind files were empty).
The problem was with the way Revit (the application that i was building a plugin for) loads libraries that a plugin is using. I still do not understand the internal logic of it, but the following two lines added to the code behind of the first page what is being loaded solved the problem for me:
ColorZoneAssist.SetMode(new GroupBox(), ColorZoneMode.Accent);
Hue hue = new Hue("name", System.Windows.Media.Color.FromArgb(1, 2, 3, 4), System.Windows.Media.Color.FromArgb(1, 5, 6, 7));
I cannot stress enought that those two lines of code are a complite bullshit (since i do not want to place any logic to code behind), but the libraries won't otherwise be loaded. This code somehow 'forces' Revit to load Material design libraries (1st line of code uses MaterialDesignTheme.Wpf, and the 2nd MaterialDesignColors), since (i assume) it can already tell at compile time that those libraries are needed.
Remove the <ResourceDictionary x:Key="123"> element from your ResourceDictionary to begin with:
<ResourceDictionary xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml">
<ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
<ResourceDictionary Source="pack://application:,,,/MaterialDesignThemes.Wpf;component/Themes/MaterialDesignTheme.Light.xaml" />
<ResourceDictionary Source="pack://application:,,,/MaterialDesignThemes.Wpf;component/Themes/MaterialDesignTheme.Defaults.xaml" />
<ResourceDictionary Source="pack://application:,,,/MaterialDesignColors;component/Themes/Recommended/Primary/MaterialDesignColor.DeepPurple.xaml" />
<ResourceDictionary Source="pack://application:,,,/MaterialDesignColors;component/Themes/Recommended/Accent/MaterialDesignColor.Lime.xaml" />
</ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
</ResourceDictionary>
You should then be able to set the properties using property element syntax after you have set the Resources property:
<Page ...
d:DesignHeight="450" d:DesignWidth="800">
<Page.Resources>
<ResourceDictionary Source="/MyAsembly;component/ResourceDictionary/MaterialDesign.xaml" />
</Page.Resources>
<Page.Background>
<DynamicResource ResourceKey="MaterialDesignPaper" />
</Page.Background>
</Page>
Without adding those lines.
Double check if the MaterialDesign dll file get copied to the output path of the application.
I have seen such issue before, just adding nonsense code and Visual Studio realize your application that depends on your lib also depends on MaterialDesign lib and then copies the dll again as one would expect in the first place.
Instead of adding those lines you could then
Reference MaterialDesign directly in your application as well
Use a build event to make sure the DLL is copied to the build path.
This comment solves the problem for me,
but make sure you don't have another errors and if you have just find them and fix theme then try to run the project and it will work.
using MaterialDesignColors;
using MaterialDesignThemes.Wpf;
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeMaterialDesign();
InitializeComponent();
}
private void InitializeMaterialDesign()
{
// Create dummy objects to force the MaterialDesign assemblies to be loaded
// from this assembly, which causes the MaterialDesign assemblies to be searched
// relative to this assembly's path. Otherwise, the MaterialDesign assemblies
// are searched relative to Eclipse's path, so they're not found.
var card = new Card();
var hue = new Hue("Dummy", Colors.Black, Colors.White);
}

Styles from resource dictionary not found in user control

I have a resource dictionary with a bunch of styles that I am linking too in my user controls like so:
<UserControl.Resources>
<ResourceDictionary>
<ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
<ResourceDictionary Source="../Theme/ThemedResources.xaml" />
</ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
</ResourceDictionary>
</UserControl.Resources>
This all works fine during runtime.
However I get a recurring problem in that one of the styles in the resource dictionary 'cannot be found' in whichever user control is the most recent, until the solution is rebuilt. This error will then appear again after I stop the debugging process, and again will disappear with a rebuild.
I don't think this is linked to a specific style, as when I add new styles the style that can't be found seems to change.
Any ideas how I can stop this from happening?
You have used a Relative URI, so it will looks for your resource file in a somewhere that you used your UserControl. It can't find you resource file because your resource file is not in the AbsolutePath.
AbsolutePath = CurrentPath (r.g Where you used your UserControl) + RelativePath
so Use an AbsolutePath:
<ResourceDictionary Source="pack://application:,,,/{YourAssemblyName};component/Theme/ThemedResources.xaml" />

Use an External ResourceDictionary in a WindowsPhone 7/8 app

I have separated libraries for my applications and I want to put ResourceDictionary to keep my default styles in one place.
In my project mylib that is build to mylib.dll i have Styles/General.xaml:
<ResourceDictionary
x:Class="gjdapi.Style.General"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:System="clr-namespace:System;assembly=mscorlib">
I'm referencing it in my App.xaml:
<Application.Resources>
<ResourceDictionary x:Key="General">
<ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
<ResourceDictionary Source="/mylib;component/Styles/General.xaml"/>
</ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
</ResourceDictionary>
</Application.Resources>
Build for Styles/General.xaml is set to Page.
I found some tips here:
Use an External ResourceDictionary in a WindowsPhone 7 app
xClassNotDerivedFromElement error when adding Code Behind to Resource Dictionary in silverlight
Error using ResourceDictionary in Silverlight
but nothing seems to work i always hit this exception:
Message "Parser internal error: Object writer 'xClassNotDerivedFromElement'. [Line: 15 Position: 32]" string
Please tell me what am I missing?
As lisp suggested ResourceDictionary can't have code behind so line x:Class="gjdapi.Style.General" should be removed

How to add ResourceDictionary in Phone class library project and access it

I am working on a project where i have child project which is referencing the library project.
In my Library project(Phone class library) how do i create ResourceDictionary.xaml where i need to add some styles and use it in xaml files and as well as .cs files.
I need to access styles in ResourceDictionary.xaml in my xaml files as well as .cs files how to do it ?
Create a folder as Generic in the root folder and have your resource files there...
To access it in XAML
<ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
<ResourceDictionary Source="Generic.xaml" />
</ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
or
<ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
<ResourceDictionary Source="/AssembleName;component/Generic.xaml" />
</ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
To access it in .cs
new URI(pack://application:,,,/AssembleName;component/Generic.xaml)
OK, Finally i solved it myself. here is how i solved it.
When you create Phone Class Library Project you will not the ResourceDictionary.xaml by default, so what create a xaml page,like how you create a normal xaml file.
Right click on solution ->Add New Item ->Windows Phone Portrait Page.
Now remove the .cs file that is created, add in the .XAML file add your style which is within ResourceDictionary tag.
The above is all done in Library project.
Now in the child app:
<Application.Resources>
<ResourceDictionary>
<ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
<ResourceDictionary Source="LibraryResourceDictionary.xaml"/>
</ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
</ResourceDictionary>
</Application.Resources>
suppose you have a style defined in ResourceDictionary as MainScreenButtonStyle you can set in this way
button.Style = (Style)Application.Current.Resources["MainScreenButtonStyle"] as Style;

Xaml: C# How to keep style consistent

I'm working on a semi-large windows application using wpf and C# in VS 2010. While working on the xaml, I added a tag so that all buttons and datagrids are styled in the same way. I've copied and pasted this block into several of my .xaml files and that works fine. Of course the problem I'm running into now is that I've added to and changed the style several times.
What is the best way to keep style consistent between my different Windows? Is it subclassing, using Resources.resx, or another way enirely?
If you define the style in the Application level ResourceDictionary (App.xaml), then it will automatically be inherited by your other XAML Windows/Controls.
yeah, if you were to create a new file called Resources.xaml and then add this to your Application.xaml file:
<Application.Resources>
<ResourceDictionary>
<ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
<ResourceDictionary Source="Resources.xaml"/>
</ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
</ResourceDictionary>
</Application.Resources>
then you should be able to reference the styles in the Resources.xaml from all the windows in your application.

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