How should I use the Visual Studio 2022 Image Library?

Question

I am developing a WinForm application using C# in VS2022, targeting .NET 8.0.

I downloaded the "Visual Studio 2022 Image Library," which contains PNG and SVG files. I want to use the PNG files to add images to my buttons, but the resolution they provide is too small. In the documentation, I noticed a term: "image service" and then looked up the relevant documents.

After reading, it's hard for me to understand how the "image service" should integrate with my current development environment.

I saw a section titled "How do I update WinForms UI?" but I can't find the things mentioned in it in my project.

My question is, how should I correctly use the "Visual Studio 2022 Image Library"?

If I can use the "image service," how should I set up my project to use it?

Thank you.　

Answer 1

The image library is just a set of images. You can copy those images and place them directly in your code. In most cases people create an images or similar folder in their project and drop the images there. Then add them to your app by using the Resources editor to add them as resources. You can then use the Resources type at runtime. If you prefer to ship the files as raw images and load them as regular files you can do that as well.

The PNG files are standard-sized images for use in Windows apps. PNGs are generally designed to be resized up or down a little ways and are your best choice for Windows apps. If they don't look good when you make them bigger then your best bet is to create your own images based upon the samples given.

The SVG files are vector files. They are designed for resizing because they can grow and shrink without having to calculate the missing bits, unlike bitmap-based files like PNGs. They are best suited for web apps that need to dynamically size images. If you want to use an SVG in your Windows app then you're going to struggle. There is no direct support so you would need to use a library like SVG.NET to make them renderable. If you're showing data in a web UI then this isn't an issue because web browsers support SVG. But honestly an SVG requires more processing than a PNG so I wouldn't use an SVG at all. In the worst case use the SVG to get an image the size you want, using an image editor, and then save the resulting image as a PNG and use that instead.