Brush Class
Assembly: PresentationCore (in presentationcore.dll)
XML Namespace: http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation
[TypeConverterAttribute(typeof(BrushConverter))] [LocalizabilityAttribute(LocalizationCategory.None, Readability=Readability.Unreadable)] public abstract class Brush : Animatable, IFormattable
/** @attribute TypeConverterAttribute(System.Windows.Media.BrushConverter) */ /** @attribute LocalizabilityAttribute(LocalizationCategory.None, Readability=Readability.Unreadable) */ public abstract class Brush extends Animatable implements IFormattable
TypeConverterAttribute(System.Windows.Media.BrushConverter) LocalizabilityAttribute(LocalizationCategory.None, Readability=Readability.Unreadable) public abstract class Brush extends Animatable implements IFormattable
For XAML information, see the Remarks section.
A Brush "paints" an area with its output. Different brushes have different types of output. Some brushes paint an area with a solid color, others with a gradient, pattern, image, or drawing. The following list describes the different types of WPF brushes:
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SolidColorBrush: Paints an area with a solid Color.
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LinearGradientBrush: Paints an area with a linear gradient.
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RadialGradientBrush: Paints an area with a radial gradient.
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ImageBrush: Paints an area with an image (represented by an ImageSource object).
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DrawingBrush: Paints an area with a Drawing. The drawing may include vector and bitmap objects.
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VisualBrush: Paints an area with a Visual object. A VisualBrush enables you to project content from one portion of your application into another area; it's very useful for creating reflection effects and magnifying portions of the screen.
Predefined Brushes
Brushes in XAML
The following table lists the different Brush types that can be used in XAML and the syntax they support. For detailed syntax information for a specific brush, see that brush's type page.
| Class | Attribute Syntax | Object Element Syntax |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | Yes | |
| No | Yes | |
| No | Yes | |
| No | Yes | |
| No | Yes | |
| No | Yes |
For an example showing how to quickly paint an area with a solid color, see How to: Paint an Area with a Solid Color.
Freezable Features
A brush is a type of Freezable object. For information about Freezable features, such as freezing and cloning, see the Freezable Objects Overview.
To paint an area with a solid color, you can use a predefined system brush, such as Red or Blue, or you can create a new SolidColorBrush and describe its Color using alpha, red, green, and blue values. In XAML, you may also paint an area with a solid color by using hexidecimal notation.
The following examples uses each of these techniques to paint a Rectangle blue.
Using a Predefined Brush
In the following example uses the predefined brush Blue to paint a rectangle blue.
<Rectangle Width="50" Height="50" Fill="Blue" />
// Create a rectangle and paint it with // a predefined brush. Rectangle myPredefinedBrushRectangle = new Rectangle(); myPredefinedBrushRectangle.Width = 50; myPredefinedBrushRectangle.Height = 50; myPredefinedBrushRectangle.Fill = Brushes.Blue;
For a list of predefined brushes, see the Brushes class.
Using Hexadecimal Notation
The next example uses 8-digit hexadecimal notation to paint a rectangle blue.
<!-- Note that the first two characters "FF" of the 8-digit value is the alpha which controls the transparency of the color. Therefore, to make a completely transparent color (invisible), use "00" for those digits (e.g. #000000FF). --> <Rectangle Width="50" Height="50" Fill="#FF0000FF" />
Using ARGB Values
The next example creates a SolidColorBrush and describes its Color using the ARGB values for the color blue.
<Rectangle Width="50" Height="50"> <Rectangle.Fill> <SolidColorBrush> <SolidColorBrush.Color> <!-- Describes the brush's color using RGB values. Each value has a range of 0-255. R is for red, G is for green, and B is for blue. A is for alpha which controls transparency of the color. Therefore, to make a completely transparent color (invisible), use a value of 0 for Alpha. --> <Color A="255" R="0" G="0" B="255" /> </SolidColorBrush.Color> </SolidColorBrush> </Rectangle.Fill> </Rectangle>
Rectangle myRgbRectangle = new Rectangle(); myRgbRectangle.Width = 50; myRgbRectangle.Height = 50; SolidColorBrush mySolidColorBrush = new SolidColorBrush(); // Describes the brush's color using RGB values. // Each value has a range of 0-255. mySolidColorBrush.Color = Color.FromArgb(255, 0, 0, 255); myRgbRectangle.Fill = mySolidColorBrush;
For other ways of describing color, see the Color structure.
Related Topics
For more information about SolidColorBrush and additional examples, see the Painting with WPF Brushes overview.
This code example is part of a larger example provided for the SolidColorBrush class. For the complete sample, see the Brushes Sample.
More Code
| How to: Make a UIElement Transparent or Semi-Transparent | This example shows how to make a UIElement transparent or semi-transparent. To make an element transparent or semi-transparent, you set its Opacity property. A value of 0.0 makes the element completely transparent, while a value of 1.0 makes the element completely opaque. A value of 0.5 makes the element 50% opaque, and so on. An element's Opacity is set to 1.0 by default. |
| How to: Paint an Area with a Linear Gradient | This example shows how to use the LinearGradientBrush class to paint an area with a linear gradient. In the following example, the Fill of a Rectangle is painted with a diagonal linear gradient that transitions from yellow to red to blue to lime green. |
| How to: Paint an Area with a Radial Gradient | This example shows how to use the RadialGradientBrush class to paint an area with a radial gradient. |
| How to: Paint an Area with an Image | This example shows how to use the ImageBrush class to paint an area by using an image. An ImageBrush displays a single image, which is specified by its ImageSource property. |
| How to: Paint an Area with a System Brush | The SystemColors class provides access to system brushes and colors, such as ControlBrush, ControlBrushKey, and DesktopBrush. A system brush is a SolidColorBrush object that paints an area with the specified system color. A system brush always produces a solid fill; it can't be used to create a gradient. |
| How to: Paint an Area with a Visual | This example shows how to use the VisualBrush class to paint an area with a Visual. |
Windows 98, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows CE, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Starter Edition
The Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 is supported on Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows XP SP2, and Windows Server 2003 SP1.