VisualState Class (System.Windows)

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.NET Framework Class Library
VisualState Class

Represents the visual appearance of the control when it is in a specific state.

Inheritance Hierarchy
System.Object
  System.Windows.Threading.DispatcherObject
    System.Windows.DependencyObject
      System.Windows.VisualState

Namespace:  System.Windows
Assembly:  PresentationFramework (in PresentationFramework.dll)
XMLNS for XAML: http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation, http://schemas.microsoft.com/netfx/2007/xaml/presentation
Syntax
Visual Basic
<ContentPropertyAttribute("Storyboard")> _
<RuntimeNamePropertyAttribute("Name")> _
Public Class VisualState _
	Inherits DependencyObject
C#
[ContentPropertyAttribute("Storyboard")]
[RuntimeNamePropertyAttribute("Name")]
public class VisualState : DependencyObject
Visual C++
[ContentPropertyAttribute(L"Storyboard")]
[RuntimeNamePropertyAttribute(L"Name")]
public ref class VisualState : public DependencyObject
F#
[<ContentPropertyAttribute("Storyboard")>]
[<RuntimeNamePropertyAttribute("Name")>]
type VisualState =  
    class
        inherit DependencyObject
    end
XAML Object Element Usage
<VisualState>
  Storyboard
</VisualState>

The VisualState type exposes the following members.

Constructors
  Name Description
Public method VisualState Initializes a new instance of the VisualState class.
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Properties
  Name Description
Public property DependencyObjectType Gets the DependencyObjectType that wraps the CLR type of this instance.  (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
Public property Dispatcher Gets the Dispatcher this DispatcherObject is associated with. (Inherited from DispatcherObject.)
Public property IsSealed Gets a value that indicates whether this instance is currently sealed (read-only). (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
Public property Name Gets or sets the name of the VisualState.
Public property Storyboard Gets or sets a Storyboard that defines the appearance of the control when it is in the state that is represented by the VisualState.
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Methods
  Name Description
Public method CheckAccess Determines whether the calling thread has access to this DispatcherObject. (Inherited from DispatcherObject.)
Public method ClearValue(DependencyProperty) Clears the local value of a property. The property to be cleared is specified by a DependencyProperty identifier. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
Public method ClearValue(DependencyPropertyKey) Clears the local value of a read-only property. The property to be cleared is specified by a DependencyPropertyKey. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
Public method CoerceValue Coerces the value of the specified dependency property. This is accomplished by invoking any CoerceValueCallback function specified in property metadata for the dependency property as it exists on the calling DependencyObject. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
Public method Equals Determines whether a provided DependencyObject is equivalent to the current DependencyObject. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
Protected method Finalize Allows an object to try to free resources and perform other cleanup operations before it is reclaimed by garbage collection. (Inherited from Object.)
Public method GetHashCode Gets a hash code for this DependencyObject. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
Public method GetLocalValueEnumerator Creates a specialized enumerator for determining which dependency properties have locally set values on this DependencyObject. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
Public method GetType Gets the Type of the current instance. (Inherited from Object.)
Public method GetValue Returns the current effective value of a dependency property on this instance of a DependencyObject. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
Public method InvalidateProperty Re-evaluates the effective value for the specified dependency property (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
Protected method MemberwiseClone Creates a shallow copy of the current Object. (Inherited from Object.)
Protected method OnPropertyChanged Invoked whenever the effective value of any dependency property on this DependencyObject has been updated. The specific dependency property that changed is reported in the event data. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
Public method ReadLocalValue Returns the local value of a dependency property, if it exists. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
Public method SetCurrentValue Sets the value of a dependency property without changing its value source. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
Public method SetValue(DependencyProperty, Object) Sets the local value of a dependency property, specified by its dependency property identifier. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
Public method SetValue(DependencyPropertyKey, Object) Sets the local value of a read-only dependency property, specified by the DependencyPropertyKey identifier of the dependency property. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
Protected method ShouldSerializeProperty Returns a value that indicates whether serialization processes should serialize the value for the provided dependency property. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
Public method ToString Returns a string that represents the current object. (Inherited from Object.)
Public method VerifyAccess Enforces that the calling thread has access to this DispatcherObject. (Inherited from DispatcherObject.)
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Remarks

A VisualState specifies how the control looks when it is in a certain state. For example, when a Button is pressed, its border might be a different color than normal. The VisualState class has a Storyboard property that changes the appearance of the control. When the control enters the state that is specified by the VisualState.Name property, the Storyboard begins. When the control exits the state, the Storyboard stops.

The VisualStateGroup.States property contains VisualState objects. VisualStateGroup objects are added to the VisualStateManager.VisualStateGroups attached property, which is defined on the on a FrameworkElement. You can add VisualState objects to any FrameworkElement, but they are typically are used in a ControlTemplate of a Control. For information about how to create a ControlTemplate and VisualState objects for existing controls, see Customizing the Appearance of an Existing Control by Creating a ControlTemplate. For an example of using VisualState objects outside of a ControlTemplate, see the VisualStateManager class.

Examples

The following example creates a VisualStateGroup in the ControlTemplate of a Button called CommonStates and adds VisualState objects for the states, Normal, Pressed, and MouseOver. The Button also defines a state called Disabled that is in the CommonStates VisualStateGroup, but the example omits it for brevity. For the entire example, see Customizing the Appearance of an Existing Control by Creating a ControlTemplate.

XAML

  <!--Define the states and transitions for the common states.
      The states in the VisualStateGroup are mutually exclusive to
      each other.-->
  <VisualStateGroup Name="CommonStates">

    <!--The Normal state is the state the button is in
        when it is not in another state from this VisualStateGroup.-->
    <VisualState Name="Normal" />

    <!--Change the SolidColorBrush, BorderBrush, to red when the
        mouse is over the button.-->
    <VisualState Name="MouseOver">
      <Storyboard>
        <ColorAnimation Storyboard.TargetName="BorderBrush" 
                        Storyboard.TargetProperty="Color" 
                        To="Red" />
      </Storyboard>
    </VisualState>

    <!--Change the SolidColorBrush, BorderBrush, to Transparent when the
        button is pressed.-->
    <VisualState Name="Pressed">
      <Storyboard>
        <ColorAnimation Storyboard.TargetName="BorderBrush" 
                        Storyboard.TargetProperty="Color"
                        To="Transparent"/>
      </Storyboard>
    </VisualState>

    <!--The Disabled state is omitted for brevity.-->
  </VisualStateGroup>
</VisualStateManager.VisualStateGroups>
Version Information

.NET Framework

Supported in: 4

.NET Framework Client Profile

Supported in: 4
Platforms

Windows 7, Windows Vista SP1 or later, Windows XP SP3, Windows Server 2008 (Server Core not supported), Windows Server 2008 R2 (Server Core supported with SP1 or later), Windows Server 2003 SP2

The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.
Thread Safety
Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.
See Also

Reference

System.Windows Namespace