question on using ThemeManager

Hi Chris,

The "Actipro Shared Library\Themes" topic in our help files describes how the ThemeManager works in general terms. But effecitvely it merges in one or more resource dictionaries into the Application.Resources. These resource dictionaries contain Styles/Brushes/etc for a specific theme. Our WPF products all register themselves (more specifically, their themes) with the ThemeManager, so it know what it needs to merge.

We don't currently have themes built for the native WPF controls. We do provide themed versions of some of the controls, but they currently have to be explicitly used. For example, the Ribbon for WPF has styles for several controls, as seen in the "Styles for Core WPF Controls" QuickStart under the Ribbon section.

I've marked down your request for themes for the native WPF controls, as it is something we have discussed building in the past.

I'd like to second Chris's suggestion.

One of the biggest attractions of a well-styled control suite is that it allows design-challenged developers to to create attractive and coherent UIs without pulling out too much hair. This is only possible if theming supports all the controls that will be used, which almost always includes some of the built-in framework controls.

You have done an excellent job of creating elegant theming for your own controls, so how hard can it be to go the last half mile?

I am currently trying to build a UI that looks a bit like Outlook. Your NavigationBar is perfect for the left side of the window, but I am struggling to create a matching header for the main pane. I assume your NavigationBarHeader control can do this, but it's not so easy to discover how to configure it so that its font size (and maybe other properties) stays in sync with that of the header in the NavigationBar. Do you have any tutorials for this, or is this control not really intended for public consumption?

Thanks,
Tim

Hi Tim,

Thanks for your comments, we do keep track of what customers would like to see and I've marked your vote for more common control themes.

Did you see the "Container" QuickStart under the NavigationBar QuickStarts section? Is that what you are looking for? The "Themed Standalone Expander" QuickStart may also be useful for you.

We have the same requirement as that of Chris.

Currently we are using the Actipro WPF controls as our UI framework, while a lot of places we still use the MS VS 2010 built-in WPF controls. In our application the theme inconsistency is one of the issues need to be fixed.

We are looking forward a future Actipro release could provide an easy solution.

Bill,

I have to echo (and third) Tim Coulter's words about the great job you guys do on your controls. However, like the guys above, being able to easily apply the themes/styling found in your controls with the stock WPF controls really *would* be completing the last half mile. I know you have it on the burner. I hoping that my ten cents might be enough to cause you to make it a reality.

Thanks,
Chris

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the feedback, it is likely the next major product we'll work on. We're currently finishing up enhancements to our existing products and then will hopefully move onto it.

Hi Chris/Tim,

Just FYI, we've added theme support for native controls in WPF Studio 2011.2.

On a related theme (pun intended), have you noticed that the LunaNormalColor Theme seems to display as the LunaHomestead theme? It thought the LunaNormalColor theme should be like XP Blue. Is this a recent anomaly?

Hi Steve,

Both Luna blue and green use the same control color. Originally our Docking themes were based on control colors so yes, they appeared the same. But as you said, it didn't end up looking that great in Luna blue so we've already adjusted Docking theme colors in Luna blue for the next maintenance release to be blueish.

OK, Thanks.

[Modified at 01/06/2012 02:35 AM]