Brush Class

.NET Framework (current version)

Defines objects used to paint graphical objects. Classes that derive from Brush describe how the area is painted.

Namespace: System.Windows.Media
Assembly: PresentationCore (in PresentationCore.dll)

Inheritance Hierarchy

System::Object
System.Windows.Threading::DispatcherObject
System.Windows::DependencyObject
System.Windows::Freezable
System.Windows.Media.Animation::Animatable
System.Windows.Media::Brush
System.Windows.Media::BitmapCacheBrush
System.Windows.Media::GradientBrush
System.Windows.Media::SolidColorBrush
System.Windows.Media::TileBrush

Syntax

C++

[LocalizabilityAttribute(LocalizationCategory::None, Readability = Readability::Unreadable)]
[TypeConverterAttribute((BrushConverter^::typeid))]
public ref class Brush abstract : Animatable, IFormattable

Constructors

	Name	Description
	Brush()	Initializes a new instance of the Brush class.

Properties

	Name	Description
	CanFreeze	Gets a value that indicates whether the object can be made unmodifiable. (Inherited from Freezable.)
	DependencyObjectType	Gets the DependencyObjectType that wraps the CLR type of this instance. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
	Dispatcher	Gets the Dispatcher this DispatcherObject is associated with. (Inherited from DispatcherObject.)
	HasAnimatedProperties	Gets a value that indicates whether one or more AnimationClock objects is associated with any of this object's dependency properties.(Inherited from Animatable.)
	IsFrozen	Gets a value that indicates whether the object is currently modifiable. (Inherited from Freezable.)
	IsSealed	Gets a value that indicates whether this instance is currently sealed (read-only).(Inherited from DependencyObject.)
	Opacity	Gets or sets the degree of opacity of a Brush.
	RelativeTransform	Gets or sets the transformation that is applied to the brush using relative coordinates.
	Transform	Gets or sets the transformation that is applied to the brush. This transformation is applied after the brush's output has been mapped and positioned.

Methods

	Name	Description
	ApplyAnimationClock(DependencyProperty^, AnimationClock^)	Applies an AnimationClock to the specified DependencyProperty. If the property is already animated, the SnapshotAndReplace handoff behavior is used.(Inherited from Animatable.)
	ApplyAnimationClock(DependencyProperty^, AnimationClock^, HandoffBehavior)	Applies an AnimationClock to the specified DependencyProperty. If the property is already animated, the specified HandoffBehavior is used.(Inherited from Animatable.)
	BeginAnimation(DependencyProperty^, AnimationTimeline^)	Applies an animation to the specified DependencyProperty. The animation is started when the next frame is rendered. If the specified property is already animated, the SnapshotAndReplace handoff behavior is used.(Inherited from Animatable.)
	BeginAnimation(DependencyProperty^, AnimationTimeline^, HandoffBehavior)	Applies an animation to the specified DependencyProperty. The animation is started when the next frame is rendered. If the specified property is already animated, the specified HandoffBehavior is used. (Inherited from Animatable.)
	CheckAccess()	Determines whether the calling thread has access to this DispatcherObject.(Inherited from DispatcherObject.)
	ClearValue(DependencyProperty^)	Clears the local value of a property. The property to be cleared is specified by a DependencyProperty identifier. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
	ClearValue(DependencyPropertyKey^)	Clears the local value of a read-only property. The property to be cleared is specified by a DependencyPropertyKey. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
	Clone()	Creates a modifiable clone of this Brush, making deep copies of this object's values. When copying dependency properties, this method copies resource references and data bindings (but they might no longer resolve) but not animations or their current values.
	CloneCore(Freezable^)	Makes the instance a clone (deep copy) of the specified Freezable using base (non-animated) property values. (Inherited from Freezable.)
	CloneCurrentValue()	Creates a modifiable clone of this Brush object, making deep copies of this object's current values. Resource references, data bindings, and animations are not copied, but their current values are.
	CloneCurrentValueCore(Freezable^)	Makes the instance a modifiable clone (deep copy) of the specified Freezable using current property values.(Inherited from Freezable.)
	CoerceValue(DependencyProperty^)	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.)
	CreateInstance()	Initializes a new instance of the Freezable class. (Inherited from Freezable.)
	CreateInstanceCore()	When implemented in a derived class, creates a new instance of the Freezable derived class. (Inherited from Freezable.)
	Equals(Object^)	Determines whether a provided DependencyObject is equivalent to the current DependencyObject.(Inherited from DependencyObject.)
	Finalize()	Allows an object to try to free resources and perform other cleanup operations before it is reclaimed by garbage collection.(Inherited from Object.)
	Freeze()	Makes the current object unmodifiable and sets its IsFrozen property to true. (Inherited from Freezable.)
	FreezeCore(Boolean)	Makes this Animatable object unmodifiable or determines whether it can be made unmodifiable.(Inherited from Animatable.)
	GetAnimationBaseValue(DependencyProperty^)	Returns the non-animated value of the specified DependencyProperty.(Inherited from Animatable.)
	GetAsFrozen()	Creates a frozen copy of the Freezable, using base (non-animated) property values. Because the copy is frozen, any frozen sub-objects are copied by reference. (Inherited from Freezable.)
	GetAsFrozenCore(Freezable^)	Makes the instance a frozen clone of the specified Freezable using base (non-animated) property values.(Inherited from Freezable.)
	GetCurrentValueAsFrozen()	Creates a frozen copy of the Freezable using current property values. Because the copy is frozen, any frozen sub-objects are copied by reference.(Inherited from Freezable.)
	GetCurrentValueAsFrozenCore(Freezable^)	Makes the current instance a frozen clone of the specified Freezable. If the object has animated dependency properties, their current animated values are copied.(Inherited from Freezable.)
	GetHashCode()	Gets a hash code for this DependencyObject.(Inherited from DependencyObject.)
	GetLocalValueEnumerator()	Creates a specialized enumerator for determining which dependency properties have locally set values on this DependencyObject. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
	GetType()	Gets the Type of the current instance.(Inherited from Object.)
	GetValue(DependencyProperty^)	Returns the current effective value of a dependency property on this instance of a DependencyObject. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
	InvalidateProperty(DependencyProperty^)	Re-evaluates the effective value for the specified dependency property(Inherited from DependencyObject.)
	MemberwiseClone()	Creates a shallow copy of the current Object.(Inherited from Object.)
	OnChanged()	Called when the current Freezable object is modified. (Inherited from Freezable.)
	OnFreezablePropertyChanged(DependencyObject^, DependencyObject^)	Ensures that appropriate context pointers are established for a DependencyObjectType data member that has just been set.(Inherited from Freezable.)
	OnFreezablePropertyChanged(DependencyObject^, DependencyObject^, DependencyProperty^)	This member supports the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) infrastructure and is not intended to be used directly from your code.(Inherited from Freezable.)
	OnPropertyChanged(DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs)	Overrides the DependencyObject implementation of OnPropertyChanged to also invoke any Changed handlers in response to a changing dependency property of type Freezable.(Inherited from Freezable.)
	ReadLocalValue(DependencyProperty^)	Returns the local value of a dependency property, if it exists. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
	ReadPreamble()	Ensures that the Freezable is being accessed from a valid thread. Inheritors of Freezable must call this method at the beginning of any API that reads data members that are not dependency properties.(Inherited from Freezable.)
	SetCurrentValue(DependencyProperty^, Object^)	Sets the value of a dependency property without changing its value source. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
	SetValue(DependencyProperty^, Object^)	Sets the local value of a dependency property, specified by its dependency property identifier. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
	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.)
	ShouldSerializeProperty(DependencyProperty^)	Returns a value that indicates whether serialization processes should serialize the value for the provided dependency property.(Inherited from DependencyObject.)
	ToString()	Return string representation of this Brush. (Overrides Object::ToString().)
	ToString(IFormatProvider^)	Creates a string representation of this object based on the specified culture-specific formatting information.
	VerifyAccess()	Enforces that the calling thread has access to this DispatcherObject.(Inherited from DispatcherObject.)
	WritePostscript()	Raises the Changed event for the Freezable and invokes its OnChanged method. Classes that derive from Freezable should call this method at the end of any API that modifies class members that are not stored as dependency properties.(Inherited from Freezable.)
	WritePreamble()	Verifies that the Freezable is not frozen and that it is being accessed from a valid threading context. Freezable inheritors should call this method at the beginning of any API that writes to data members that are not dependency properties. (Inherited from Freezable.)

Fields

	Name	Description
	OpacityProperty	Identifies the Opacity dependency property.
	RelativeTransformProperty	Identifies the RelativeTransform dependency property.
	TransformProperty	Identifies the Transform dependency property.

Events

	Name	Description
	Changed	Occurs when the Freezable or an object it contains is modified. (Inherited from Freezable.)

Explicit Interface Implementations

	Name	Description
	IFormattable::ToString(String^, IFormatProvider^)	Formats the value of the current instance using the specified format.

A Brush "paints" or "fills" 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:

SolidColorBrush: Paints an area with a solid Color.
LinearGradientBrush: Paints an area with a linear gradient.
RadialGradientBrush: Paints an area with a radial gradient.
ImageBrush: Paints an area with an image (represented by an ImageSource object).
DrawingBrush: Paints an area with a Drawing. The drawing may include vector and bitmap objects.
VisualBrush: Paints an area with a Visual object. A VisualBrush enables you to duplicate 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

Use the Brushes class to paint an object using a predefined solid color, such as AliceBlue or Red.

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
SolidColorBrush	Yes	Yes
DrawingBrush	No	Yes
ImageBrush	No	Yes
LinearGradientBrush	No	Yes
RadialGradientBrush	No	Yes
VisualBrush	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.

XAML Text Usage

For XAML information, see the Remarks section.

Notes to Inheritors:

When you inherit from the Brush class, you must override the CreateInstanceCore method. Depending on whether your class must perform additional initialization work or contains non-dependency property data members, you might need to override additional Freezable methods. For more information about inheriting from Freezable types, see the Freezable Objects Overview.

Version Information

.NET Framework
Available since 3.0
Silverlight
Available since 2.0
Windows Phone Silverlight
Available since 7.0

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.