Copy or apply attributes to an object

You can make an object on the artboard have the same appearance as another object of a similar type by using the Eyedropper and PaintBucket tools in Microsoft Expression Blend. The following attributes are copied or applied during Eyedropper and PaintBucket actions:

  • Brushes   Foreground, Background, Border Brush, Fill, Stroke, and Opacity Mask

  • Appearance   Opacity, Stroke Thickness, Stroke Miter Limit, Stroke Start Line Cap, Stroke End Line Cap, Stroke Line Join, and Stroke Dash Cap

  • Text   Font Family, Font Size, Font Weight, Font Style, Text Decorations, Line Height, Text Indent, and Text Alignment

To paste attributes to the selected object from another object

  1. Select the object or objects with the attributes that you want to change.

  2. In the Toolbox, click the Eyedropper Cc294755.199cf53a-f100-43f6-9a06-7c9f1a453f39(en-us,Expression.10).png tool. Notice that the pointer changes to an eyedropper Cc294755.02163053-dad9-464e-b6e0-cea4692bea87(en-us,Expression.10).png.

  3. With the eyedropper pointer, click the object from which you want to copy attributes. The attributes will automatically be applied to the object or objects that you selected in step 1. You can continue to click objects with the Eyedropper tool, pasting the attributes onto your selected object or objects.

    Note

    Only objects of a similar type can copy and paste attributes. For example, if you select an ellipse object on the artboard, and then click a button object with the Eyedropper Cc294755.199cf53a-f100-43f6-9a06-7c9f1a453f39(en-us,Expression.10).png tool, the attributes of the button will not be applied to the ellipse. For information about object types, see the "Categories of controls" section in the Controls overview.

To apply active attributes to an object

  1. Select the object or objects from which you want to copy attributes. The attributes appear in the Properties panel under Brushes, Appearance, and, if the object is a content control such as a button or text box, under Text also.

  2. In the Toolbox, click the Paint Bucket Cc294755.39a62108-d8d1-4c6b-8d89-8678a055ff36(en-us,Expression.10).png tool. Notice that the pointer changes to a paint bucket Cc294755.f595d405-90d8-45f0-84ba-aa73bd756bcd(en-us,Expression.10).png.

  3. With the paint bucket pointer, click an object to which you want to copy the active attributes that appear in the Properties panel. You can click any number of additional objects to apply the attributes. You can also change a property, which will be reflected on the object that you selected in step 1, and on any subsequent objects that you click with the paint bucket pointer.

    Note

    Only objects of a similar type can copy and paste attributes. For example, if you select a button object on the artboard, and then click an ellipse object with the Paint Bucket Cc294755.39a62108-d8d1-4c6b-8d89-8678a055ff36(en-us,Expression.10).png tool, the attributes of the button will not be applied to the ellipse. Instead, the attributes of the last shape object that was selected by the Eyedropper Cc294755.199cf53a-f100-43f6-9a06-7c9f1a453f39(en-us,Expression.10).png tool will be applied to the button. For information about object types, see the "Categories of controls" section in the Controls overview.

See also

Concepts

Appearance overview

Create a brush or color resource

Controls overview