How can I bind a background color in WPF/XAML?

Question

What do I have to change to the following code so that the background is red, neither of the 2 ways I tried worked:

XAML:

<Window x:Class="TestBackground88238.Window1"
    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
    Title="Window1" Height="300" Width="300">
    <StackPanel>

        <TextBlock Text="{Binding Message}" Background="{Binding Background}"/>

        <TextBlock Text="{Binding Message}">
            <TextBlock.Background>
                <SolidColorBrush Color="{Binding Background}"/>
            </TextBlock.Background>
        </TextBlock>

    </StackPanel>
</Window>

Code Behind:

using System.Windows;
using System.ComponentModel;

namespace TestBackground88238
{
    public partial class Window1 : Window, INotifyPropertyChanged
    {

        #region ViewModelProperty: Background
        private string _background;
        public string Background
        {
            get
            {
                return _background;
            }

            set
            {
                _background = value;
                OnPropertyChanged("Background");
            }
        }
        #endregion

        #region ViewModelProperty: Message
        private string _message;
        public string Message
        {
            get
            {
                return _message;
            }

            set
            {
                _message = value;
                OnPropertyChanged("Message");
            }
        }
        #endregion



        public Window1()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
            DataContext = this;

            Background = "Red";
            Message = "This is the title, the background should be " + Background + ".";

        }

        #region INotifiedProperty Block
        public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;

        protected void OnPropertyChanged(string propertyName)
        {
            PropertyChangedEventHandler handler = PropertyChanged;

            if (handler != null)
            {
                handler(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
            }
        }
        #endregion

    }
}

Update 1:

I tried Aviad's answer which didn't seem to work. I can do this manually with x:Name as shown here but I want to be able to bind the color to a INotifyPropertyChanged property, how can I do this?

_{(source: deviantsart.com)}

XAML:

<Window x:Class="TestBackground88238.Window1"
    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
    Title="Window1" Height="300" Width="300">
    <StackPanel>

        <TextBlock Text="{Binding Message}" Background="{Binding Background}"/>

        <TextBlock x:Name="Message2" Text="This one is manually orange."/>

    </StackPanel>
</Window>

Code Behind:

using System.Windows;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Windows.Media;

namespace TestBackground88238
{
    public partial class Window1 : Window, INotifyPropertyChanged
    {

        #region ViewModelProperty: Background
        private Brush _background;
        public Brush Background
        {
            get
            {
                return _background;
            }

            set
            {
                _background = value;
                OnPropertyChanged("Background");
            }
        }
        #endregion

        #region ViewModelProperty: Message
        private string _message;
        public string Message
        {
            get
            {
                return _message;
            }

            set
            {
                _message = value;
                OnPropertyChanged("Message");
            }
        }
        #endregion

        public Window1()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
            DataContext = this;

            Background = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.Red);
            Message = "This is the title, the background should be " + Background + ".";

            Message2.Background = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.Orange);

        }

        #region INotifiedProperty Block
        public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;

        protected void OnPropertyChanged(string propertyName)
        {
            PropertyChangedEventHandler handler = PropertyChanged;

            if (handler != null)
            {
                handler(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
            }
        }
        #endregion

    }
}

Related: stackoverflow.com/questions/33309271/…

BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft
– BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft

2016-06-25 04:25:07 +00:00
Commented Jun 25, 2016 at 4:25 — BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft
– BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft, Commented Jun 25, 2016 at 4:25

Simon_Weaver · Accepted Answer · 2018-03-16 03:10:36Z

69

Important:

Make sure you're using System.Windows.Media.Brush and not System.Drawing.Brush

They're not compatible and you'll get binding errors.

The color enumeration you need to use is also different

System.Windows.Media.Colors.Aquamarine (class name is Colors) <--- use this one System.Drawing.Color.Aquamarine (class name is Color)

If in doubt use Snoop and inspect the element's background property to look for binding errors - or just look in your debug log.

edited Mar 16, 2018 at 3:10

answered Nov 2, 2012 at 19:57

Simon_Weaver

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2 Comments

John Doe Over a year ago

Please note that System.Windows.Media.Colors namespace returns a System.Windows.Media.Color with no s.

david2020 Over a year ago

"Make sure you're using System.Windows.Media.Brush and not System.Drawing.Brush" this phrase helped

Aviad P. · Accepted Answer · 2013-07-16 11:23:57Z

30

The Background property expects a Brush object, not a string. Change the type of the property to Brush and initialize it thus:

Background = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.Red);

edited Jul 16, 2013 at 11:23

answered Dec 25, 2009 at 22:57

Aviad P.

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5 Comments

Edward Tanguay Over a year ago

that didn't seem to work for me, I posted the code above (update 1)

Simon_Weaver Over a year ago

be sure to use SolidColorBrush from System.Windows.Media and not SolidBrush from System.Drawing

DanteTheEgregore Over a year ago

I know I'm a bit late to the party but it's Colors.Red, not Color.Red. Was a bit confused by your answer till I found that one out.

Marťas Over a year ago

The simplest variant in such case is to use predefined solid color brushes Background = Brushes.Red //System.Windows.Media

John Doe Over a year ago

A frustrating and easily missed concept: <TextBlock Background="{Binding TheBackground}"/> was asked and needs the System.Windows.Media.SolidColorBrush namespace. If you need opacity and so use <TextBlock><TextBlock.Background><SolidColorBrush Color="{Binding TheBackground}" Opacity="{Binding TheOpacity}"/></TextBlock.Background></TextBlock>, you need System.Windows.Media.Color namespace. This answer shows how to convert between the two.

Andrzej Gis · Accepted Answer · 2012-11-30 23:53:33Z

8

Here you've got a copy-paste code:

class NameToBackgroundConverter : IValueConverter
    {
        public object Convert(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
        {
            if(value.ToString() == "System")
            {
                return new SolidColorBrush(System.Windows.Media.Colors.Aqua);
            }else
            {
                return new SolidColorBrush(System.Windows.Media.Colors.Blue);
            }
        }

        public object ConvertBack(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
        {
            return null;
        }
    }

answered Nov 30, 2012 at 23:53

Andrzej Gis

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1 Comment

frostymarvelous Over a year ago

Changing from using raw colors to using SolidColorBrush solved it for me. thanks

Edward Tanguay · Accepted Answer · 2009-12-25 23:25:28Z

5

I figured this out, it was just a naming conflict issue: if you use TheBackground instead of Background it works as posted in the first example. The property Background was interfering with the Window property background.

answered Dec 25, 2009 at 23:25

Edward Tanguay

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Comments

Oliver Hanappi · Accepted Answer · 2009-12-25 23:34:25Z

4

I recommend reading the following blog post about debugging data binding: http://beacosta.com/blog/?p=52

And for this concrete issue: If you look at the compiler warnings, you will notice that you property has been hiding the Window.Background property (or Control or whatever class the property defines).

answered Dec 25, 2009 at 23:34

Oliver Hanappi

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3 Comments

Edward Tanguay Over a year ago

yes, the compiler warning was how I discovered it, thanks for the link, good information there

Ouissal Over a year ago

Unfortunately that link no longer works, do you know about a similar post? Thanks

Serious Angel Over a year ago

@Ouissal web.archive.org/web/20151215181325/http://www.zagstudio.com/…

Eranda · Accepted Answer · 2014-06-19 05:20:31Z

2

The xaml code:

<Grid x:Name="Message2">
   <TextBlock Text="This one is manually orange."/>
</Grid>

The c# code:

protected override void OnNavigatedTo(NavigationEventArgs e)
    {
        CreateNewColorBrush();
    }

    private void CreateNewColorBrush()
    {

        SolidColorBrush my_brush = new SolidColorBrush(Color.FromArgb(255, 255, 215, 0));
        Message2.Background = my_brush;

    }

This one works in windows 8 store app. Try and see. Good luck !

answered Jun 19, 2014 at 5:20

Eranda

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1 Comment

Marťas Over a year ago

The simplest variant in such case is to use predefined solid color brushes Background = Brushes.Red //System.Windows.Media

thewhiteambit · Accepted Answer · 2019-08-19 11:57:55Z

You assigned a string "Red". Your Background property should be of type Color:

using System.Windows;
using System.ComponentModel;

namespace TestBackground88238
{
    public partial class Window1 : Window, INotifyPropertyChanged
    {

        #region ViewModelProperty: Background
        private Color _background;
        public Color Background
        {
            get
            {
                return _background;
            }

            set
            {
                _background = value;
                OnPropertyChanged("Background");
            }
        }
        #endregion

        //...//
}

Then you can use the binding to the SolidColorBrush like this:

public Window1()
{
    InitializeComponent();
    DataContext = this;

    Background = Colors.Red;
    Message = "This is the title, the background should be " + Background.toString() + ".";

}

not 100% sure about the .toString() method on Color-Object. It might tell you it is a Color-Class, but you will figur this out ;)

Gus · Accepted Answer · 2009-12-26 23:41:47Z

0

You can still use "Background" as the property name, as long as you give your window a name and use this name on the "Source" of the Binding.

answered Dec 26, 2009 at 23:41

Gus

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