The derived classes of TileBrush define the contents of the tiles that you use to paint a region. For example, use the ImageBrush class to paint an area by using an image.

Use a TileBrush to control how you paint an area. For example, Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) provides several types of brushes:

• To paint by using an image, use the ImageBrush.

• To paint by drawing, use the DrawingBrush.

• To paint by using a Visual, use the VisualBrush.

When you use the TileBrush to paint an area, instead of painting an area by using a single stretched image, you can paint an area by using a series of image tiles that create a pattern.

When you paint an area by using a TileBrush, you use three components: content, tiles, and the output area. The following illustrations show how these three TileBrush components relate to each other.

Content: A TileBrush can have different types of content:

• If the brush is an ImageBrush, this content is an image. The ImageSource property specifies the contents of the ImageBrush.

• If the brush is a DrawingBrush, this content is a drawing. The Drawing property specifies the contents of the DrawingBrush.

• If the brush is a VisualBrush, this content is a visual. The Visual property specifies the content of the VisualBrush.

You can specify the position and dimensions of TileBrush content by using the Viewbox property.

Tiles: A TileBrush produces one or more tiles. By default, the content of the brush is stretched to fill a single tile and that tile is stretched to fill the output area. The Viewport property is used to specify the size and position of the base tile for the TileBrush. The ViewportUnits property determines whether the size and position of the Viewport are relative to the output area (the default behavior) or whether they are absolute values.

Output Area: The output area is the area that the brush paints, such as the Fill of an Ellipse or the Background of a Button.

For more information about the TileBrush class, see Painting with Images, Drawings, and Visuals .

Freezable Features

When you inherit from the TileBrush class, you must override the CreateInstanceCore method. For more information about inheriting from Freezable types, see the Freezable Objects Overview.

This example shows how to use the TileMode property of a TileBrush to create a pattern.

The TileMode property enables you to specify how the content of a TileBrush is repeated, that is, tiled to fill an output area. To create a pattern, you set the TileMode to Tile, FlipX, FlipY, or FlipXY. You must also set the Viewport of the TileBrush so that it is smaller than the area that you are painting; otherwise, only a single tile is produced, regardless which TileMode setting you use.

The following example creates five DrawingBrush objects, gives them each a different TileMode setting, and uses them to paint five rectangles. Although this example uses the DrawingBrush class to demonstrate TileMode behavior, the TileMode property works identically for all the TileBrush objects, that is, for ImageBrush, VisualBrush, and DrawingBrush.

The following illustration shows the output that this example produces.

<!-- Demonstrates TileMode values. -->
<Page  
  xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
  xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
  xmlns:PresentationOptions="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation/options" 
  xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
  mc:Ignorable="PresentationOptions"
  Background="White" Margin="20">
  <Page.Resources>

    <!-- Define a Drawing as a resource that it can be easily used
         as content for all the DrawingBrush objects in this example. -->
    <GeometryDrawing x:Key="TriangleDrawing"
      Geometry="M0,0 L50,0 0,50Z" Brush="#CCCCFF"
      PresentationOptions:Freeze="True" >
      <GeometryDrawing.Pen>
        <Pen Thickness="2" Brush="Black" MiterLimit="0" />
      </GeometryDrawing.Pen>
    </GeometryDrawing>
  </Page.Resources>

  <StackPanel HorizontalAlignment="Left">
    <TextBlock Margin="0,10,0,0">None</TextBlock>
    <Rectangle Width="50" Height="50" Stroke="Black" StrokeThickness="1">
      <Rectangle.Fill>

        <!-- The DrawingBrush's content is not tiled in this example. -->
        <DrawingBrush TileMode="None" 
          Drawing="{StaticResource TriangleDrawing}" />
      </Rectangle.Fill>
    </Rectangle>

    <TextBlock Margin="0,10,0,0">Tile</TextBlock>
    <Rectangle Width="50" Height="50" Stroke="Black" StrokeThickness="1">
      <Rectangle.Fill>

        <!-- The DrawingBrush's content is tiled in this example. 
             The Viewport property is set to create four tiles. -->
        <DrawingBrush TileMode="Tile" Viewport="0,0,0.5,0.5" 
          Drawing="{StaticResource TriangleDrawing}"/>
      </Rectangle.Fill>
    </Rectangle>

    <TextBlock Margin="0,10,0,0">FlipX</TextBlock>
    <Rectangle Width="50" Height="50" Stroke="Black" StrokeThickness="1">
      <Rectangle.Fill>

        <!-- The DrawingBrush's content is flipped horizontally as it is
             tiled in this example. -->
        <DrawingBrush 
          TileMode="FlipX" Viewport="0,0,0.5,0.5"
          Drawing="{StaticResource TriangleDrawing}" />
      </Rectangle.Fill>
    </Rectangle>

    <TextBlock Margin="0,10,0,0">FlipY</TextBlock>
    <Rectangle Width="50" Height="50" Stroke="Black" StrokeThickness="1">
      <Rectangle.Fill>

        <!-- The DrawingBrush's content is flipped vertically as it is
             tiled in this example. -->
        <DrawingBrush TileMode="FlipY" Viewport="0,0,0.5,0.5" 
          Drawing="{StaticResource TriangleDrawing}" />
      </Rectangle.Fill>
    </Rectangle>

    <TextBlock Margin="0,10,0,0">FlipXY</TextBlock>
    <Rectangle Width="50" Height="50" Stroke="Black" StrokeThickness="1">
      <Rectangle.Fill>

        <!-- The DrawingBrush's content is flipped horizontally
             and vertically as it is tiled in this example. -->
        <DrawingBrush TileMode="FlipXY" Viewport="0,0,0.5,0.5" 
          Drawing="{StaticResource TriangleDrawing}" />
      </Rectangle.Fill>
    </Rectangle>

  </StackPanel>
</Page>

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