WPF Standard Control Demo App (.NET 10)

Overview: Centralized UI Validation for Next-Gen .NET

This application is a centralized demo tool designed to verify how WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) standard controls operate and render on the latest .NET 10 runtime.

It covers everything from basic elements like Buttons and TextBoxes to complex components like ListViews and DataGrids. More than just a catalog, it serves as a "living specification" for testing focus transitions and visual styles under real OS conditions.

Pre-built executables (.exe) are available via GitHub Releases. You can experience next-gen WPF behavior instantly by simply downloading the app—even without the .NET 10 SDK installed on your system.

Background: Balancing "Raw Beauty" and Portability

As .NET evolves, WPF undergoes subtle rendering changes. Verifying existing UI assets on the latest runtime is essential for modern Windows app development.

My focus was achieving high visibility using only standard features, without relying on third-party libraries. While external UI kits make it easy to polish an app, they often obscure the "standard behavior" we need to verify.

By adhering to Style definitions to optimize hierarchy and visibility, I've created a tool that provides instant access to "Pure WPF." Providing it in a pre-built format removes the barrier of environment setup, allowing everyone to interact with the tech immediately.

Technical Insights: Tips for Clean Style Design in WPF

Here are the key design principles used to customize standard controls in this app.

1. Design Leveraging Property Orthogonality

By utilizing "orthogonality" in Style definitions, I ensured that changing one property doesn't break others. This creates a robust UI that remains stable even when experimenting with complex property combinations.

2. Effective Use of Inheritance (BasedOn)

To avoid code duplication, I defined common Base Styles and extended them using BasedOn. This provides the flexibility to adapt to new rendering characteristics across the entire app at once.

3. Separation via Resource Dictionaries

Design (XAML) and logic (C#) are strictly separated, with all styles managed through ResourceDictionary. This structure makes it easy for developers to "cherry-pick" specific styles for their own projects.

Technology Stack

• Runtime: .NET 10
• Framework: WPF
• UI Implementation: XAML (Pure Style Definition / ResourceDictionary)
• Development Environment: C# 14 / Visual Studio 2026

Control Reference Pages

Detailed documentation for each control demonstrated in the app is available on the pages below. Each page covers the control's overview and an explanation of each property and its behavior.

Inputs

• TextBox

  Text input, wrapping, character casing, max length and more.

• PasswordBox

  Password masking, caret brush, selection brush, max length.

• Button

  IsCancel, IsDefault, ClickMode, Command, CommandParameter.

• RepeatButton

  Delay and Interval for continuous click firing.

• ToggleButton

  IsChecked state (Null/False/True), IsThreeState.

• CheckBox

  IsChecked, IsThreeState, VerticalContentAlignment.

• RadioButton

  GroupName for mutual exclusivity, VerticalContentAlignment.

• ComboBox

  IsEditable, IsReadOnly, SelectedValue, DisplayMemberPath and more.

• DatePicker

  SelectedDate, DisplayDate range, FirstDayOfWeek, SelectedDateFormat.

• Slider

  Value range, orientation, tick marks, auto-tooltip and more.

Layout

• Grid

  Row/Column placement, spans, shared size groups, and sizing rules.

• StackPanel

  Orientation, background, Z-order.

• WrapPanel

  Orientation, ItemHeight, ItemWidth.

• DockPanel

  Dock attached property, LastChildFill.

• UniformGrid

  Columns, Rows, FirstColumn for even grid layouts.

• Viewbox

  Stretch and StretchDirection for scaling content.

• ScrollViewer

  Scrollbar visibility, deferred scrolling, scroll state properties.

Display

• TextBlock

  Text, wrapping, trimming, font properties, foreground, line height.

• Label

  Target (access key), content, font properties, border.

• ProgressBar

  IsIndeterminate mode, Orientation.

• GroupBox

  Header, content, padding, font properties, border.

• Expander

  IsExpanded, ExpandDirection, header, content, font properties.

List

• ListBox

  SelectionMode, DisplayMemberPath, SelectedValue, scrollbars.

• ListView

  GridView columns, AllowsColumnReorder, SelectionMode.

• TreeView

  IsExpanded, IsSelected, HierarchicalDataTemplate.

• DataGrid

  Comprehensive data table: AutoGenerateColumns, SelectionMode, editing, and more.

Graphics

• Image

  Source, Stretch, StretchDirection.

• Canvas

  Absolute positioning with Top/Left/Right/Bottom, ZIndex.

• InkCanvas

  EditingMode, drawing attributes, strokes.

Selectors

• TabControl

  TabStripPlacement, SelectedContent.

• TabItem

  IsSelected, TabStripPlacement.

Menu

• Menu

  IsMainMenu, MenuItem properties: IsCheckable, Command, Icon.

• ToolBar

  Overflow items, Band/BandIndex, ToolBarTray orientation.

Overlays

• ToolTip

  Placement, timing (ToolTipService), appearance customization.

• Popup

  IsOpen, StaysOpen, Placement, PopupAnimation.

Resizer

• GridSplitter

  ResizeDirection, ResizeBehavior, ShowsPreview, DragIncrement.

Downloads & Repository

You can download the latest version or explore the source code on GitHub:

🚀 Download Pre-built .exe (GitHub Releases)

View GitHub Repository (Source Code)