ShaderEffect Class

Microsoft Silverlight will reach end of support after October 2021. Learn more.

Provides a custom bitmap effect by using a PixelShader.

Inheritance Hierarchy

System.Object
  System.Windows.DependencyObject
    System.Windows.Media.Effects.Effect
      System.Windows.Media.Effects.ShaderEffect

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

Syntax

'Declaration
Public MustInherit Class ShaderEffect _
    Inherits Effect

public abstract class ShaderEffect : Effect

The ShaderEffect type exposes the following members.

Constructors

	Name	Description
	ShaderEffect	Initializes a new instance of the ShaderEffect class.

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Properties

	Name	Description
	DdxUvDdyUvRegisterIndex	Gets or sets a value that indicates the shader register to use for the partial derivatives of the texture coordinates with respect to screen space.
	Dispatcher	Gets the Dispatcher this object is associated with. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
	EffectMapping	When overridden in a derived class, transforms mouse input and coordinate systems through the effect. (Inherited from Effect.)
	PaddingBottom	Gets or sets the amount by which the effect's output texture is larger than its input texture along the bottom edge of the effect.
	PaddingLeft	Gets or sets the amount by which the effect's output texture is larger than its input texture along the left edge.
	PaddingRight	Gets or sets the amount by which the effect's output texture is larger than its input texture along the right edge.
	PaddingTop	Gets or sets the amount by which the effect's output texture is larger than its input texture along the top edge.
	PixelShader	Gets or sets the PixelShader to use for the effect.

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Methods

	Name	Description
	CheckAccess	Determines whether the calling thread has access to this object. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
	ClearValue	Clears the local value of a dependency property. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
	Equals(Object)	Determines whether the specified Object is equal to the current Object. (Inherited from Object.)
	Finalize	Allows an object to try to free resources and perform other cleanup operations before the Object is reclaimed by garbage collection. (Inherited from Object.)
	GetAnimationBaseValue	Returns any base value established for a Silverlight dependency property, which would apply in cases where an animation is not active. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
	GetHashCode	Serves as a hash function for a particular type. (Inherited from Object.)
	GetType	Gets the Type of the current instance. (Inherited from Object.)
	GetValue	Returns the current effective value of a dependency property from a DependencyObject. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
	MemberwiseClone	Creates a shallow copy of the current Object. (Inherited from Object.)
	PixelShaderConstantCallback	Associates a dependency property value with a pixel shader's float constant register.
	PixelShaderSamplerCallback(Int32)	Associates a dependency property value with a pixel shader's sampler register.
	PixelShaderSamplerCallback(Int32, SamplingMode)	Associates a dependency property value with a pixel shader's sampler register and a SamplingMode.
	ReadLocalValue	Returns the local value of a dependency property, if a local value is set. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
	RegisterPixelShaderSamplerProperty(String, Type, Int32)	Associates a dependency property with a shader sampler register.
	RegisterPixelShaderSamplerProperty(String, Type, Int32, SamplingMode)	Associates a dependency property with a shader sampler register and a sampling mode.
	SetValue	Sets the local value of a dependency property on a DependencyObject. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
	ToString	Returns a string that represents the current object. (Inherited from Object.)
	UpdateShaderValue	Notifies the effect that the shader constant or sampler corresponding to the specified dependency property should be updated.

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Fields

	Name	Description
	PixelShaderProperty	Identifies the PixelShader dependency property.

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Remarks

Shader effects allow you to add effects to rendered objects such as grayscale, redeye removal, pixel brightness effects, shadows, etc by enabling you to use an algorithm to alter how pixels are displayed.

Note:

Silverlight shader effects are rendered in software mode. Any object that applies an effect will also be rendered in software. Performance is degraded the most when using effects on large visuals or animating properties of an effect. This is not to say that you should not use shader effects in this way at all, but you should use caution and test thoroughly to ensure that your users are getting the experience you expect.

Examples

The following example shows an image with and without a shader effect applied to it.

Run this sample

This "invert colors" effect is a custom shader effect. To create your own effect, do the following:

1. Create a shader using High Level Shader Language (HLSL), part of the DirectX SDK, and compile into a .ps file. To compile .ps files, you can directly use the fxc command line tool provided with the DirectX SDK or another tool like Shazzam which gives you a convenient UI for working with the fxc command line tool.

2. Derive your custom effect from the ShaderEffect class and set the PixelShader property of your custom shader effect to your .ps file.

using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Media;
using System.Windows.Media.Effects;
using System;

namespace PixelShaderSample
{

    public class MyPixelInvertedEffect : ShaderEffect
    {

        public MyPixelInvertedEffect()
        {

            // Include your project name and .ps file.
            Uri u = new Uri(@"/PixelShaderSample;component/InvertColors.ps", UriKind.Relative);

            // Set the PixelShader of the custom shader effect to use your custom .ps file.
            PixelShader myPixelShader = new PixelShader();
            myPixelShader.UriSource = u;
            this.PixelShader = myPixelShader;

        }
    }
}

3. Apply the custom shader effect to your object (in this case an Image).

    <UserControl x:Class="PixelShaderSample.MainPage"
    xmlns:shader="clr-namespace:PixelShaderSample"
    xmlns="https://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation" 
    xmlns:x="https://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml" 
    Width="400" Height="300">
    <StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal">

        <!-- Image without PixelShader effect on the left and image with
             custom shader on the right. -->
        <Image Height="200" Width="200" Source="tree_blossoms.jpg" Stretch="Fill"/>
        <Image Height="200" Width="200" Source="tree_blossoms.jpg" Stretch="Fill">
            <Image.Effect>
                <shader:MyPixelInvertedEffect />
            </Image.Effect>
        </Image>
    </StackPanel>
</UserControl>

Version Information

Silverlight

Supported in: 5, 4, 3

Platforms

For a list of the operating systems and browsers that are supported by Silverlight, see Supported Operating Systems and Browsers.

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.

See Also

Reference

System.Windows.Media.Effects Namespace