Walkthrough: Hosting a Windows Forms Composite Control in Windows Presentation Foundation

Article
11/03/2006

Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) provides a rich environment for creating applications. However, when you have a substantial investment in Windows Forms code, it can be more effective to reuse at least some of that code in your WPF application rather than to rewrite it from scratch. The most common scenario is when you have existing custom Windows Forms controls. In some cases, you might not even have access to the source code for these controls. WPF provides a straightforward procedure for hosting such controls in a WPF application. For example, you can use WPF for most of your programming while hosting your specialized System.Windows.Forms.DataGridView controls.

This walkthrough steps you through an application that hosts a composite Windows Forms control on a WPF page. This general procedure can be extended to more complex applications and controls.

The walkthrough is divided into two sections. The first section briefly describes the implementation of the Windows Forms control. The second section discusses in detail how to host the control in a WPF application, receive events from the control, and access some of the control's properties.

Tasks illustrated in this walkthrough include:

Implementing the Windows Forms control.
Implementing the host application with Windows Presentation Foundation.

For a complete code listing of the tasks illustrated in this walkthrough, see Hosting a Windows Forms Composite Control on a Windows Presentation Foundation Page Sample.

Prerequisites

To complete this walkthrough you will need:

Development Tools for .NET Framework 3.0, which enable you to create a WPF application project. For information on installing these tools, see Installation Instructions for the Windows SDK.

Implementing the Windows Forms Control

The Windows Forms control used in this example is a simple data-entry form. This form takes the user's name and address and then uses a custom event to return that information to the host. The following illustration shows the rendered control.

The Windows Forms control

Simple Windows Forms control

Creating the Project

To start the project:

Launch Microsoft Visual Studio, and open the New Project dialog box.
Select C# Projects with the Windows Control Library template.
Name the new project MyControls, and click OK to create the project. The default project contains a single control named UserControl1.
Change the name of UserControl1 to MyControl1.

Your project should have references to the following system DLLs. If any of these DLLs are not included by default, add them to the project.

System
System.Data
System.Drawing
System.Windows.Forms
System.XML

Adding Controls to the Form

To add controls to the form:

Open the designer for MyControl1.

Place six System.Windows.Forms.Label controls and their corresponding System.Windows.Forms.TextBox controls, sized and arranged as they are in the preceding illustration, on the form. In the example, the TextBox controls are named:

txtName
txtAddress
txtCity
txtState
txtZip

Add two System.Windows.Forms.Button controls labeled OK and Cancel. In the example, the button names are btnOK and btnCancel, respectively.

Implementing the Supporting Code

Open the form's code view. The control returns the collected data to its host by raising the custom OnButtonClick event. The data is contained in the event argument object. The following code example shows the event and delegate declaration. Add this code to the code file, below the designer-generated code.

public delegate void MyControlEventHandler(object sender, MyControlEventArgs args);
public event MyControlEventHandler OnButtonClick;

Public Delegate Sub MyControlEventHandler(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal args As MyControlEventArgs)
Public Event OnButtonClick As MyControlEventHandler

The MyControlEventArgs class contains the information to be returned to the host. Add the following class to the form's namespace.

public class MyControlEventArgs : EventArgs
{
    private string _Name;
    private string _StreetAddress;
    private string _City;
    private string _State;
    private string _Zip;
    private bool _IsOK;

    public MyControlEventArgs(bool result,
                                   string name,
                                   string address,
                                   string city,
                                   string state,
                                   string zip)
    {
        _IsOK = result;
        _Name = name;
        _StreetAddress = address;
        _City = city;
        _State = state;
        _Zip = zip;
    }

    public string MyName
    {
        get { return _Name; }
        set { _Name = value; }
    }
    public string MyStreetAddress
    {
        get { return _StreetAddress; }
        set { _StreetAddress = value; }
    }
    public string MyCity
    {
        get { return _City; }
        set { _City = value; }
    }
    public string MyState
    {
        get { return _State; }
        set { _State = value; }
    }
    public string MyZip
    {
        get { return _Zip; }
        set { _Zip = value; }
    }
    public bool IsOK
    {
        get { return _IsOK; }
        set { _IsOK = value; }
    }
}

Public Class MyControlEventArgs
    Inherits EventArgs
    Private _Name As String
    Private _StreetAddress As String
    Private _City As String
    Private _State As String
    Private _Zip As String
    Private _IsOK As Boolean
    
    
    Public Sub New(ByVal result As Boolean, ByVal name As String, ByVal address As String, ByVal city As String, ByVal state As String, ByVal zip As String) 
        _IsOK = result
        _Name = name
        _StreetAddress = address
        _City = city
        _State = state
        _Zip = zip
    
    End Sub
    
    
    Public Property MyName() As String 
        Get
            Return _Name
        End Get
        Set
            _Name = value
        End Set
    End Property
    
    Public Property MyStreetAddress() As String 
        Get
            Return _StreetAddress
        End Get
        Set
            _StreetAddress = value
        End Set
    End Property
    
    Public Property MyCity() As String 
        Get
            Return _City
        End Get
        Set
            _City = value
        End Set
    End Property
    
    Public Property MyState() As String 
        Get
            Return _State
        End Get
        Set
            _State = value
        End Set
    End Property
    
    Public Property MyZip() As String 
        Get
            Return _Zip
        End Get
        Set
            _Zip = value
        End Set
    End Property
    
    Public Property IsOK() As Boolean 
        Get
            Return _IsOK
        End Get
        Set
            _IsOK = value
        End Set
    End Property
End Class

When the user clicks the OK or Cancel button, the System.Windows.Forms.Control.Click event handlers create a MyControlEventArgs object that contains the data and raises the OnButtonClick event. The only difference between the two handlers is the event argument's IsOK property. This property enables the host to determine which button was clicked. It is set to true for the OK button, and false for the Cancel button. The following code example shows the two button handlers. Add this code to your class, placing it below the event and delegate declaration shown in the first code example in this section.

private void OKButton_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{

    MyControlEventArgs retvals = new MyControlEventArgs(true,
                                                         txtName.Text,
                                                         txtAddress.Text,
                                                         txtCity.Text,
                                                         txtState.Text,
                                                         txtZip.Text);
    OnButtonClick(this, retvals);
}

private void CancelButton_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{
    MyControlEventArgs retvals = new MyControlEventArgs(false,
                                                         txtName.Text,
                                                         txtAddress.Text,
                                                         txtCity.Text,
                                                         txtState.Text,
                                                         txtZip.Text);
    OnButtonClick(this, retvals);
}

    Private Sub OKButton_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnOK.Click

        Dim retvals As New MyControlEventArgs(True, txtName.Text, txtAddress.Text, txtCity.Text, txtState.Text, txtZip.Text)
        RaiseEvent OnButtonClick(Me, retvals)

    End Sub


    Private Sub CancelButton_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnCancel.Click
        Dim retvals As New MyControlEventArgs(False, txtName.Text, txtAddress.Text, txtCity.Text, txtState.Text, txtZip.Text)
        RaiseEvent OnButtonClick(Me, retvals)

    End Sub
End Class

Giving the Assembly a Strong Name and Building the Assembly

For this assembly to be referenced by a WPF application, it must have a strong name. To create a strong name, create a key file with Sn.exe and add it to your project's AssemblyInfo.cs file.

Open a Visual Studio command prompt. To do so, click the Start menu, and then select All Programs/Microsoft Visual Studio 2005/Visual Studio Tools/Visual Studio 2005 Command Prompt. This launches a console window with customized environment variables.
At the command prompt, use the "cd" command to go to your project folder.
Generate a key file named MyControls.snk by running the following command.
```
Sn.exe -k MyControls.snk
```
To include the key file in your project, right-click the project name in Solution Explorer and open the Properties dialog box. Select the Signing tab, and enter the name of your key file.
Build the assembly. The build will produce a DLL named MyControls.dll.

Implementing the Host Application with Windows Presentation Foundation

The WPF host application uses the WindowsFormsHost control to host MyControl1. The application handles the OnButtonClick event to receive the data from the control. It also has a collection of option buttons that enable you to change some of the control's properties from the WPF page. The following illustration shows the finished application.

The complete application, showing the control embedded in the Windows Presentation Foundation page

Creating the Project

To start the project:

Open Visual Studio, and select New Project.
Select the Windows Application (WPF) template.
Name the project WpfHost, and click OK to open the project.

You will also need to add a reference to the DLL that contains MyControl1. The simplest way to add the reference is as follows.

Right-click the project name in Solution Explorer, and launch the Add Reference dialog box.
Click the Browse tab, and browse to the Windows Form control's output folder. For this sample, this folder is MyControls\bin\Debug.
Select the DLL that contains the control, and click OK to add it to the list of references. For Hosting a Windows Forms Composite Control in a Windows Presentation Foundation Page Sample, this DLL is named MyControls.dll.
In Solution Explorer, add a reference to the WindowsFormsIntegration assembly, which is named WindowsFormsIntegration.dll.

The default location for this file is %programfiles%\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\v3.0\WindowsFormsIntegration.dll.

Implementing the Basic Layout

The user interface (UI) of the host application is implemented in Page1.xaml. This file contains Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML) markup that defines the page layout, and hosts the Windows Forms control. The page is divided into three regions:

The Control Properties panel, which contains a collection of option buttons that you can use to modify various properties of the hosted control.
The Data from Control panel, which contains several TextBlock elements that display the data returned from the hosted control.
The hosted control itself.

The basic layout code is shown in the following code example. The markup code that is needed to host MyControl1 is omitted from this example, but will be discussed later. Replace the code in Page1.xaml with the following.

<Page xmlns="https://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
      xmlns:x="https://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
      x:Class="WpfHost.Page1"
      xmlns:mcl="clr-namespace:MyControls;assembly=MyControls"
      Loaded="Init">
  <DockPanel>
    <DockPanel.Resources>
      <Style x:Key="inlineText" TargetType="{x:Type Inline}">
        <Setter Property="FontWeight" Value="Normal"/>
      </Style>
      <Style x:Key="titleText" TargetType="{x:Type TextBlock}">
        <Setter Property="DockPanel.Dock" Value="Top"/>
        <Setter Property="FontWeight" Value="Bold"/>
        <Setter Property="Margin" Value="10,5,10,0"/>
      </Style>
    </DockPanel.Resources>

    <StackPanel Orientation="Vertical"
                DockPanel.Dock="Left"
                Background="Bisque"
                Width="250">

      <TextBlock  Margin="10,10,10,10"
                  FontWeight="Bold"
                  FontSize="12">Control Properties</TextBlock>
      <TextBlock Style="{StaticResource titleText}">Background Color</TextBlock>
      <StackPanel Margin="10,10,10,10">
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnOriginalBackColor"
                    IsChecked="True"
                    Click="BackColorChanged">Original</RadioButton>
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnBackGreen"
                    Click="BackColorChanged">LightGreen</RadioButton>
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnBackSalmon"
                    Click="BackColorChanged">LightSalmon</RadioButton>
      </StackPanel>

      <TextBlock Style="{StaticResource titleText}">Foreground Color</TextBlock>
      <StackPanel Margin="10,10,10,10">
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnOriginalForeColor"
                    IsChecked="True"
                    Click="ForeColorChanged">Original</RadioButton>
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnForeRed"
                    Click="ForeColorChanged">Red</RadioButton>
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnForeYellow"
                    Click="ForeColorChanged">Yellow</RadioButton>
      </StackPanel>

      <TextBlock Style="{StaticResource titleText}">Font Family</TextBlock>
      <StackPanel Margin="10,10,10,10">
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnOriginalFamily"
                     IsChecked="True"
                    Click="FontChanged">Original</RadioButton>
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnTimes"
                    Click="FontChanged">Times New Roman</RadioButton>
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnWingdings"
                    Click="FontChanged">Wingdings</RadioButton>
      </StackPanel>

      <TextBlock Style="{StaticResource titleText}">Font Size</TextBlock>
      <StackPanel Margin="10,10,10,10">
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnOriginalSize"
                    IsChecked="True"
                    Click="FontSizeChanged">Original</RadioButton>
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnTen"
                    Click="FontSizeChanged">10</RadioButton>
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnTwelve"
                    Click="FontSizeChanged">12</RadioButton>
      </StackPanel>

      <TextBlock Style="{StaticResource titleText}">Font Style</TextBlock>
      <StackPanel Margin="10,10,10,10">
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnNormalStyle"
                     IsChecked="True"
                     Click="StyleChanged">Original</RadioButton>
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnItalic"
                     Click="StyleChanged">Italic</RadioButton>
      </StackPanel>

      <TextBlock Style="{StaticResource titleText}">Font Weight</TextBlock>
      <StackPanel Margin="10,10,10,10">
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnOriginalWeight"
                     IsChecked="True"
                   Click="WeightChanged">
          Original
        </RadioButton>
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnBold"
                   Click="WeightChanged">Bold</RadioButton>
      </StackPanel>
    </StackPanel>

    <WindowsFormsHost Name="wfh"
                     DockPanel.Dock="Top"
                     Height="300">
      <mcl:MyControl1 Name="mc"/>
    </WindowsFormsHost>
    
    <StackPanel Orientation="Vertical"
                Height="Auto"
                Background="LightBlue">
      <TextBlock Margin="10,10,10,10"
            FontWeight="Bold"
            FontSize="12">Data From Control</TextBlock>
      <TextBlock Style="{StaticResource titleText}">
        Name: <Span Name="txtName" Style="{StaticResource inlineText}"/>
      </TextBlock>
      <TextBlock Style="{StaticResource titleText}">
        Street Address: <Span Name="txtAddress" Style="{StaticResource inlineText}"/>
      </TextBlock>
      <TextBlock Style="{StaticResource titleText}">
        City: <Span Name="txtCity" Style="{StaticResource inlineText}"/>
      </TextBlock>
      <TextBlock Style="{StaticResource titleText}">
        State: <Span Name="txtState" Style="{StaticResource inlineText}"/>
      </TextBlock>
      <TextBlock Style="{StaticResource titleText}">
        Zip: <Span Name="txtZip" Style="{StaticResource inlineText}"/>
      </TextBlock>
    </StackPanel>
  </DockPanel>
</Page>

<Page xmlns="https://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
      xmlns:x="https://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
      x:Class="Page1"
      xmlns:mcl="clr-namespace:MyControls;assembly=MyControls"
      Loaded="Init">
  <DockPanel>
    <DockPanel.Resources>
      <Style x:Key="inlineText" TargetType="{x:Type Inline}">
        <Setter Property="FontWeight" Value="Normal"/>
      </Style>
      <Style x:Key="titleText" TargetType="{x:Type TextBlock}">
        <Setter Property="DockPanel.Dock" Value="Top"/>
        <Setter Property="FontWeight" Value="Bold"/>
        <Setter Property="Margin" Value="10,5,10,0"/>
      </Style>
    </DockPanel.Resources>

    <StackPanel Orientation="Vertical"
                DockPanel.Dock="Left"
                Background="Bisque"
                Width="250">

      <TextBlock  Margin="10,10,10,10"
                  FontWeight="Bold"
                  FontSize="12">Control Properties</TextBlock>
      <TextBlock Style="{StaticResource titleText}">Background Color</TextBlock>
      <StackPanel Margin="10,10,10,10">
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnOriginalBackColor"
                    IsChecked="True"
                    Click="BackColorChanged">Original</RadioButton>
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnBackGreen"
                    Click="BackColorChanged">LightGreen</RadioButton>
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnBackSalmon"
                    Click="BackColorChanged">LightSalmon</RadioButton>
      </StackPanel>

      <TextBlock Style="{StaticResource titleText}">Foreground Color</TextBlock>
      <StackPanel Margin="10,10,10,10">
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnOriginalForeColor"
                    IsChecked="True"
                    Click="ForeColorChanged">Original</RadioButton>
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnForeRed"
                    Click="ForeColorChanged">Red</RadioButton>
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnForeYellow"
                    Click="ForeColorChanged">Yellow</RadioButton>
      </StackPanel>

      <TextBlock Style="{StaticResource titleText}">Font Family</TextBlock>
      <StackPanel Margin="10,10,10,10">
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnOriginalFamily"
                     IsChecked="True"
                    Click="FontChanged">Original</RadioButton>
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnTimes"
                    Click="FontChanged">Times New Roman</RadioButton>
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnWingdings"
                    Click="FontChanged">Wingdings</RadioButton>
      </StackPanel>

      <TextBlock Style="{StaticResource titleText}">Font Size</TextBlock>
      <StackPanel Margin="10,10,10,10">
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnOriginalSize"
                    IsChecked="True"
                    Click="FontSizeChanged">Original</RadioButton>
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnTen"
                    Click="FontSizeChanged">10</RadioButton>
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnTwelve"
                    Click="FontSizeChanged">12</RadioButton>
      </StackPanel>

      <TextBlock Style="{StaticResource titleText}">Font Style</TextBlock>
      <StackPanel Margin="10,10,10,10">
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnNormalStyle"
                     IsChecked="True"
                     Click="StyleChanged">Original</RadioButton>
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnItalic"
                     Click="StyleChanged">Italic</RadioButton>
      </StackPanel>

      <TextBlock Style="{StaticResource titleText}">Font Weight</TextBlock>
      <StackPanel Margin="10,10,10,10">
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnOriginalWeight"
                     IsChecked="True"
                   Click="WeightChanged">
          Original
        </RadioButton>
        <RadioButton Name="rdbtnBold"
                   Click="WeightChanged">Bold</RadioButton>
      </StackPanel>
    </StackPanel>

    <WindowsFormsHost Name="wfh"
                     DockPanel.Dock="Top"
                     Height="300">
      <mcl:MyControl1 Name="mc"/>
    </WindowsFormsHost>
    
    <StackPanel Orientation="Vertical"
                Height="Auto"
                Background="LightBlue">
      <TextBlock Margin="10,10,10,10"
            FontWeight="Bold"
            FontSize="12">Data From Control</TextBlock>
      <TextBlock Style="{StaticResource titleText}">
        Name: <Span Name="txtName" Style="{StaticResource inlineText}"/>
      </TextBlock>
      <TextBlock Style="{StaticResource titleText}">
        Street Address: <Span Name="txtAddress" Style="{StaticResource inlineText}"/>
      </TextBlock>
      <TextBlock Style="{StaticResource titleText}">
        City: <Span Name="txtCity" Style="{StaticResource inlineText}"/>
      </TextBlock>
      <TextBlock Style="{StaticResource titleText}">
        State: <Span Name="txtState" Style="{StaticResource inlineText}"/>
      </TextBlock>
      <TextBlock Style="{StaticResource titleText}">
        Zip: <Span Name="txtZip" Style="{StaticResource inlineText}"/>
      </TextBlock>
    </StackPanel>
  </DockPanel>
</Page>

The first StackPanel element contains several sets of RadioButton controls that enable you to modify various default properties of the hosted control. That is followed by a WindowsFormsHost element, which hosts MyControl1. The final StackPanel element contains several TextBlock elements that display the data that is returned by the hosted control. The ordering of the elements and the Dock and Height attribute settings embed the hosted control into the page with no gaps or distortion.

Hosting the Control

The following edited version of the previous code example focuses on the elements that are needed to host MyControl1.

<Page xmlns="https://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
      xmlns:x="https://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
      x:Class="WpfHost.Page1"
      xmlns:mcl="clr-namespace:MyControls;assembly=MyControls"
      Loaded="Init">

   ...

<Page xmlns="https://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
      xmlns:x="https://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
      x:Class="Page1"
      xmlns:mcl="clr-namespace:MyControls;assembly=MyControls"
      Loaded="Init">

   ...

    <WindowsFormsHost Name="wfh"
                     DockPanel.Dock="Top"
                     Height="300">
      <mcl:MyControl1 Name="mc"/>
    </WindowsFormsHost>

   ...

    <WindowsFormsHost Name="wfh"
                     DockPanel.Dock="Top"
                     Height="300">
      <mcl:MyControl1 Name="mc"/>
    </WindowsFormsHost>

The xmlns namespace mapping attribute creates a reference to the MyControls namespace that contains the hosted control. This mapping enables you to represent MyControl1 in XAML as <mcl:MyControl1>.

Two elements in the code example handle the hosting:

WindowsFormsHost represents the WindowsFormsHost element that enables you to host a Windows Forms control on a WPF page.
mcl:MyControl1, which represents MyControl1, is added to the WindowsFormsHost element's child collection. As a result, this Windows Forms control is rendered as part of the WPF page, and you can communicate with the control from the page.

Implementing the Code-Behind File

The code-behind file, Page1.xaml.cs, contains the procedural code that implements the functionality of the UI discussed in the preceding section. The primary tasks are:

Attaching an event handler to MyControl1's OnButtonClick event.
Modifying various properties of MyControl1, based on how the collection of option buttons are set.
Displaying the data collected by the control.

Initializing the Application

The initialization code is contained in an event handler for the page's Loaded event and attaches an event handler to the control's OnButtonClick event. Copy the following code into the Page1 class in Page1.xaml.cs.

public partial class Page1 : Page
{
    private Application app;
    private NavigationWindow myWindow;
    FontWeight initFontWeight;
    Double initFontSize;
    FontStyle initFontStyle;
    SolidColorBrush initBackBrush;
    SolidColorBrush initForeBrush;
    FontFamily initFontFamily;
    bool UIIsReady = false;

    private void Init(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        app = System.Windows.Application.Current;
        myWindow = (NavigationWindow)app.MainWindow;
        myWindow.SizeToContent = SizeToContent.WidthAndHeight;
        wfh.TabIndex = 10;
        initFontSize = wfh.FontSize;
        initFontWeight = wfh.FontWeight;
        initFontFamily = wfh.FontFamily;
        initFontStyle = wfh.FontStyle;
        initBackBrush = (SolidColorBrush)wfh.Background;
        initForeBrush = (SolidColorBrush)wfh.Foreground;
        (wfh.Child as MyControl1).OnButtonClick += new MyControl1.MyControlEventHandler(Pane1_OnButtonClick);
        UIIsReady = true;
    }

Class Page1
    Inherits Page

    Private app As Application
    Private myWindow As NavigationWindow
    Private initFontWeight As FontWeight
    Private initFontSize As [Double]
    Private initFontStyle As FontStyle
    Private initBackBrush As SolidColorBrush
    Private initForeBrush As SolidColorBrush
    Private initFontFamily As FontFamily
    Private UIIsReady As Boolean = False
    
    
    Private Sub Init(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As RoutedEventArgs)
        app = System.Windows.Application.Current
        myWindow = CType(app.MainWindow, NavigationWindow)
        myWindow.SizeToContent = SizeToContent.WidthAndHeight
        wfh.TabIndex = 10
        initFontSize = wfh.FontSize
        initFontWeight = wfh.FontWeight
        initFontFamily = wfh.FontFamily
        initFontStyle = wfh.FontStyle
        initBackBrush = CType(wfh.Background, SolidColorBrush)
        initForeBrush = CType(wfh.Foreground, SolidColorBrush)

        Dim mc As MyControl1 = wfh.Child

        AddHandler mc.OnButtonClick, AddressOf Pane1_OnButtonClick 
        UIIsReady = True

    End Sub

Because the XAML code discussed previously added MyControl1 to the WindowsFormsHost element's child element collection, you can cast the WindowsFormsHost element's Child to get the reference to MyControl1. You can then use that reference to attach an event handler to OnButtonClick.

In addition to providing a reference to the control itself, WindowsFormsHost exposes a number of the control's properties, which you can manipulate from the page. The initialization code assigns those values to private global variables for later use in the application.

Handling the OnButtonClick Event

MyControl1 raises the OnButtonClick event when the user clicks either of the control's buttons. Add the following code to your Page1 class.

//Handle button clicks on the Windows Form control
private void Pane1_OnButtonClick(object sender, MyControlEventArgs args)
{
    txtName.Inlines.Clear();
    txtAddress.Inlines.Clear();
    txtCity.Inlines.Clear();
    txtState.Inlines.Clear();
    txtZip.Inlines.Clear();

    if (args.IsOK)
    {
        txtName.Inlines.Add( " " + args.MyName );
        txtAddress.Inlines.Add( " " + args.MyStreetAddress );
        txtCity.Inlines.Add( " " + args.MyCity );
        txtState.Inlines.Add( " " + args.MyState );
        txtZip.Inlines.Add( " " + args.MyZip );
    }
}

    'Handle button clicks on the Windows Form control
    Private Sub Pane1_OnButtonClick(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal args As MyControlEventArgs) 
        txtName.Inlines.Clear()
        txtAddress.Inlines.Clear()
        txtCity.Inlines.Clear()
        txtState.Inlines.Clear()
        txtZip.Inlines.Clear()
        
        If args.IsOK Then
            txtName.Inlines.Add(" " + args.MyName)
            txtAddress.Inlines.Add(" " + args.MyStreetAddress)
            txtCity.Inlines.Add(" " + args.MyCity)
            txtState.Inlines.Add(" " + args.MyState)
            txtZip.Inlines.Add(" " + args.MyZip)
        End If
    
    End Sub
End Class

The data in the text boxes is packed into the MyControlEventArgs object. If the user clicks the OK button, the event handler extracts the data and displays it in the panel below MyControl1.

Modifying the Control’s Properties

The WindowsFormsHost element exposes several of the hosted control's default properties. As a result, you can change the appearance of the control to match the style of your page more closely. The sets of option buttons in the left panel enable the user to modify several color and font properties. Each set of buttons has a handler for the Click event, which detects the user's option button selections and changes the corresponding property on the control. Copy the following code to your Page1 class. You can now compile and run the application.

private void BackColorChanged(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
    if (sender == rdbtnBackGreen)
        wfh.Background = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.LightGreen);
    else if (sender == rdbtnBackSalmon)
        wfh.Background = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.LightSalmon);
    else if (UIIsReady == true)
        wfh.Background = initBackBrush;
}

private void ForeColorChanged(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
    if (sender == rdbtnForeRed)
        wfh.Foreground = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.Red);
    else if (sender == rdbtnForeYellow)
        wfh.Foreground = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.Yellow);
    else if (UIIsReady == true)
        wfh.Foreground = initForeBrush;
}

private void FontChanged(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
    if (sender == rdbtnTimes)
        wfh.FontFamily = new FontFamily("Times New Roman");
    else if (sender == rdbtnWingdings)
        wfh.FontFamily = new FontFamily("Wingdings");
    else if (UIIsReady == true)
        wfh.FontFamily = initFontFamily;
}
private void FontSizeChanged(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
    if (sender == rdbtnTen)
        wfh.FontSize = 10;
    else if (sender == rdbtnTwelve)
        wfh.FontSize = 12;
    else if (UIIsReady == true)
        wfh.FontSize = initFontSize;
}
private void StyleChanged(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
    if (sender == rdbtnItalic)
        wfh.FontStyle = FontStyles.Italic;
    else if (UIIsReady == true)
        wfh.FontStyle = initFontStyle;
}
private void WeightChanged(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
    if (sender == rdbtnBold)
        wfh.FontWeight = FontWeights.Bold;
    else if (UIIsReady == true)
        wfh.FontWeight = initFontWeight;
}

Private Sub BackColorChanged(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As RoutedEventArgs)

    If sender.Equals(rdbtnBackGreen) Then
        wfh.Background = New SolidColorBrush(Colors.LightGreen)
    ElseIf sender.Equals(rdbtnBackSalmon) Then
        wfh.Background = New SolidColorBrush(Colors.LightSalmon)
    ElseIf UIIsReady = True Then
        wfh.Background = initBackBrush
    End If

End Sub
 
Private Sub ForeColorChanged(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As RoutedEventArgs) 
    If sender.Equals(rdbtnForeRed) Then
        wfh.Foreground = New SolidColorBrush(Colors.Red)
    ElseIf sender.Equals(rdbtnForeYellow) Then
        wfh.Foreground = New SolidColorBrush(Colors.Yellow)
    ElseIf UIIsReady = True Then
        wfh.Foreground = initForeBrush
    End If

End Sub
 
Private Sub FontChanged(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As RoutedEventArgs) 
    If sender.Equals(rdbtnTimes) Then
        wfh.FontFamily = New FontFamily("Times New Roman")
    ElseIf sender.Equals(rdbtnWingdings) Then
        wfh.FontFamily = New FontFamily("Wingdings")
    ElseIf UIIsReady = True Then
        wfh.FontFamily = initFontFamily
    End If

End Sub

Private Sub FontSizeChanged(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As RoutedEventArgs) 
    If sender.Equals(rdbtnTen) Then
        wfh.FontSize = 10
    ElseIf sender.Equals(rdbtnTwelve) Then
        wfh.FontSize = 12
    ElseIf UIIsReady = True Then
        wfh.FontSize = initFontSize
    End If

End Sub

Private Sub StyleChanged(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As RoutedEventArgs) 
    If sender.Equals(rdbtnItalic) Then
        wfh.FontStyle = FontStyles.Italic
    ElseIf UIIsReady = True Then
        wfh.FontStyle = initFontStyle
    End If

End Sub

Private Sub WeightChanged(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As RoutedEventArgs) 
    If sender.Equals(rdbtnBold) Then
        wfh.FontWeight = FontWeights.Bold
    ElseIf UIIsReady = True Then
        wfh.FontWeight = initFontWeight
    End If

End Sub

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Walkthrough: Hosting a Windows Forms Composite Control in Windows Presentation Foundation

Prerequisites

Implementing the Windows Forms Control

Creating the Project

Adding Controls to the Form

Implementing the Supporting Code

Giving the Assembly a Strong Name and Building the Assembly

Implementing the Host Application with Windows Presentation Foundation

Creating the Project

Implementing the Basic Layout

Hosting the Control

Implementing the Code-Behind File

Initializing the Application

Handling the OnButtonClick Event

Modifying the Control’s Properties

See Also

Tasks

Reference

Concepts

Additional resources