Storyboard Class

Definition

Namespace:

Windows.UI.Xaml.Media.Animation

Controls animations with a timeline, and provides object and property targeting information for its child animations.

public ref class Storyboard sealed : Timeline

/// [Windows.Foundation.Metadata.ContractVersion(Windows.Foundation.UniversalApiContract, 65536)]
/// [Windows.Foundation.Metadata.MarshalingBehavior(Windows.Foundation.Metadata.MarshalingType.Agile)]
/// [Windows.Foundation.Metadata.Threading(Windows.Foundation.Metadata.ThreadingModel.Both)]
/// [Windows.UI.Xaml.Markup.ContentProperty(Name="Children")]
/// [Windows.Foundation.Metadata.Activatable(65536, "Windows.Foundation.UniversalApiContract")]
class Storyboard final : Timeline

[Windows.Foundation.Metadata.ContractVersion(typeof(Windows.Foundation.UniversalApiContract), 65536)]
[Windows.Foundation.Metadata.MarshalingBehavior(Windows.Foundation.Metadata.MarshalingType.Agile)]
[Windows.Foundation.Metadata.Threading(Windows.Foundation.Metadata.ThreadingModel.Both)]
[Windows.UI.Xaml.Markup.ContentProperty(Name="Children")]
[Windows.Foundation.Metadata.Activatable(65536, "Windows.Foundation.UniversalApiContract")]
public sealed class Storyboard : Timeline

Public NotInheritable Class Storyboard
Inherits Timeline

<Storyboard ...>
  oneOrMoreChildTimelines
</Storyboard>

Inheritance

Object Platform::Object IInspectable DependencyObject Timeline Storyboard

Attributes

ActivatableAttribute ContractVersionAttribute MarshalingBehaviorAttribute ThreadingAttribute ContentPropertyAttribute

Windows requirements

Device family	Windows 10 (introduced in 10.0.10240.0)
API contract	Windows.Foundation.UniversalApiContract (introduced in v1.0)

Examples

The following example shows how to use the Begin, Stop, Pause, and Resume methods to control the playback of a storyboard (animation). A set of buttons allow the user to call these methods.

<StackPanel x:Name="LayoutRoot" >
    <StackPanel.Resources>
        <Storyboard x:Name="myStoryboard">
            <DoubleAnimation From="1" To="6" Duration="00:00:6" 
            Storyboard.TargetName="rectScaleTransform" 
            Storyboard.TargetProperty="ScaleY">
                <DoubleAnimation.EasingFunction>
                    <BounceEase Bounces="2" EasingMode="EaseOut" 
                            Bounciness="2" />
                </DoubleAnimation.EasingFunction>
            </DoubleAnimation>
        </Storyboard>
    </StackPanel.Resources>

    <!-- Button that begins animation. -->
    <Button Click="Animation_Begin"
         Margin="2" Content="Begin" />

    <!-- Button that pauses Animation. -->
    <Button Click="Animation_Pause"
         Margin="2" Content="Pause" />

    <!-- Button that resumes Animation. -->
    <Button Click="Animation_Resume"
         Margin="2" Content="Resume" />

    <!-- Button that stops Animation. Stopping the animation 
         returns the ellipse to its original location. -->
    <Button Click="Animation_Stop"
         Margin="2" Content="Stop" />

    <Rectangle Fill="Blue" Width="200" Height="30">
        <Rectangle.RenderTransform>
            <ScaleTransform x:Name="rectScaleTransform" />
        </Rectangle.RenderTransform>
    </Rectangle>

</StackPanel>

private void Animation_Begin(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
    myStoryboard.Begin();
}
private void Animation_Pause(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
    myStoryboard.Pause();
}
private void Animation_Resume(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
    myStoryboard.Resume();
}
private void Animation_Stop(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
    myStoryboard.Stop();
}

Private Sub Animation_Begin(sender As Object, e As RoutedEventArgs)
    myStoryboard.Begin()
End Sub

Private Sub Animation_Pause(sender As Object, e As RoutedEventArgs)
    myStoryboard.Pause()
End Sub

Private Sub Animation_Resume(sender As Object, e As RoutedEventArgs)
    myStoryboard.Resume()
End Sub

Private Sub Animation_Stop(sender As Object, e As RoutedEventArgs)
    myStoryboard.Stop()
End Sub

//using Windows.UI.Xaml.Media.Animation;
//using Windows.UI.Xaml.Shapes;
//using Windows.UI

private void Create_And_Run_Animation(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
    // Create a red rectangle that will be the target
    // of the animation.
    Rectangle myRectangle = new Rectangle();
    myRectangle.Width = 200;
    myRectangle.Height = 200;
    SolidColorBrush myBrush = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.Red);
    myRectangle.Fill = myBrush;

    // Create the transform
    TranslateTransform moveTransform = new TranslateTransform();
    moveTransform.X = 0;
    moveTransform.Y = 0;
    myRectangle.RenderTransform = moveTransform;

    // Add the rectangle to the tree.
    LayoutRoot.Children.Add(myRectangle);

    // Create a duration of 2 seconds.
    Duration duration = new Duration(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(2));
    // Create two DoubleAnimations and set their properties.
    DoubleAnimation myDoubleAnimationX = new DoubleAnimation();
    DoubleAnimation myDoubleAnimationY = new DoubleAnimation();
    myDoubleAnimationX.Duration = duration;
    myDoubleAnimationY.Duration = duration;
    Storyboard justintimeStoryboard = new Storyboard();
    justintimeStoryboard.Duration = duration;
    justintimeStoryboard.Children.Add(myDoubleAnimationX);
    justintimeStoryboard.Children.Add(myDoubleAnimationY);
    Storyboard.SetTarget(myDoubleAnimationX, moveTransform);
    Storyboard.SetTarget(myDoubleAnimationY, moveTransform);

    // Set the X and Y properties of the Transform to be the target properties
    // of the two respective DoubleAnimations.
    Storyboard.SetTargetProperty(myDoubleAnimationX, "X");
    Storyboard.SetTargetProperty(myDoubleAnimationY, "Y");
    myDoubleAnimationX.To = 200;
    myDoubleAnimationY.To = 200;

    // Make the Storyboard a resource.
    LayoutRoot.Resources.Add("justintimeStoryboard", justintimeStoryboard);
    // Begin the animation.
    justintimeStoryboard.Begin();
}

' need Imports for Windows.UI.Xaml.Shapes, Windows.UI.Media.Animation, Windows.UI
Private Sub Create_And_Run_Animation(sender As Object, e As RoutedEventArgs)
    ' Create a red rectangle that will be the target
    ' of the animation.
    Dim myRectangle As Rectangle = New Rectangle
    myRectangle.Width = 200
    myRectangle.Height = 200
    Dim myBrush As SolidColorBrush = New SolidColorBrush(Colors.Red)
    myRectangle.Fill = myBrush

   ' Create the transform
    Dim moveTransform As TranslateTransform = New TranslateTransform
    moveTransform.X = 0
    moveTransform.Y = 0
    myRectangle.RenderTransform = moveTransform

    ' Add the rectangle to the tree.
    LayoutRoot.Children.Add(myRectangle)

    ' Create a duration of 2 seconds.
    Dim duration As Duration = New Duration(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(2))
    ' Create two DoubleAnimations and set their properties.
    Dim myDoubleAnimationX As DoubleAnimation = New DoubleAnimation
    Dim myDoubleAnimationY As DoubleAnimation = New DoubleAnimation
    myDoubleAnimationX.Duration = duration
    myDoubleAnimationY.Duration = duration
    Dim justintimeStoryboard As Storyboard = New Storyboard
    justintimeStoryboard.Duration = duration
    justintimeStoryboard.Children.Add(myDoubleAnimationX)
    justintimeStoryboard.Children.Add(myDoubleAnimationY)
    Storyboard.SetTarget(myDoubleAnimationX, moveTransform)
    Storyboard.SetTarget(myDoubleAnimationY, moveTransform)

    ' Set the X and Y properties of the Transform to be the target properties
    ' of the two respective DoubleAnimations.
    Storyboard.SetTargetProperty(myDoubleAnimationX, "X")
    Storyboard.SetTargetProperty(myDoubleAnimationY, "Y")
    myDoubleAnimationX.To = 200
    myDoubleAnimationY.To = 200

    ' Make the Storyboard a resource.
    LayoutRoot.Resources.Add("justintimeStoryboard", justintimeStoryboard)
    ' Begin the animation.
    justintimeStoryboard.Begin()
End Sub

Remarks

Storyboard is an important class in the concept of storyboarded animations. For more info on the concept, see Storyboarded animations.

Storyboard is used for these properties:

• VisualState.Storyboard
• VisualTransition.Storyboard
• BeginStoryboard.Storyboard

These properties aren't the only place where a Storyboard is defined. The typical way that a Storyboard is used for a storyboarded animation is that the Storyboard is defined in a Resources collection (either Application.Resources or FrameworkElement.Resources, or possibly as a resource within a file such as Generic.xaml for a custom control). Whenever it's defined as a XAML resource, you should always assign an x:Name attribute value to your Storyboard. You can then reference the name as a programming variable later in code-behind. You'll need this reference to actually run the animations that the Storyboard contains, by calling the Begin method on that Storyboard instance. Storyboard also has other control methods such as Stop that can control the animation thereafter.

Storyboard inherits several properties from Timeline. These properties can be applied either to a Storyboard or to one of the animations within it (in the Children collection). There are pros and cons to setting Timeline properties on the main Storyboard instead of on each animation. For more info, see Storyboarded animations.

You also need a Storyboard in order to control the predefined animations that you add to controls or UI, if you are using one of the theme animations. Theme animations don't have an innate trigger point, so you need to contain theme animations in a Storyboard as the Children. If the Storyboard is used as the VisualState.Storyboard value then the animation runs when that visual state is loaded. Or, if it's in a VisualTransition.Storyboard, the animation runs when that transition is detected by the visual state manager. These are the most common way to use a theme animation, but you could also put one in a loose Storyboard resource and explicitly start the animation by calling Begin. For more info on how to use theme animations, see Quickstart: Animating your UI using library animations or Storyboarded animations for visual states.

XAML attached properties

Storyboard is the host service class for several XAML attached properties. These enable child animations under control by the Storyboard to each target separate target elements and target properties, while still following the same controlling timeline and triggering mechanism as the parent.

In order to support XAML processor access to the attached properties, and also to expose equivalent get and set operations to code, each XAML attached property has a pair of Get and Set accessor methods. Another way to get or set the value in code is to use the dependency property system, calling either GetValue or SetValue and passing the identifier field as the dependency property identifier.

Attached property	Description
TargetName	Gets or sets the name of the object to animate.
TargetProperty	Gets or sets the property that should be animated.

Constructors

Storyboard()

Initializes a new instance of the Storyboard class.

Properties

AutoReverse	Gets or sets a value that indicates whether the timeline plays in reverse after it completes a forward iteration. (Inherited from Timeline)
BeginTime	Gets or sets the time at which this Timeline should begin. (Inherited from Timeline)
Children	Gets the collection of child Timeline objects.
Dispatcher	Gets the CoreDispatcher that this object is associated with. The CoreDispatcher represents a facility that can access the DependencyObject on the UI thread even if the code is initiated by a non-UI thread. (Inherited from DependencyObject)
Duration	Gets or sets the length of time for which this timeline plays, not counting repetitions. (Inherited from Timeline)
FillBehavior	Gets or sets a value that specifies how the animation behaves after it reaches the end of its active period. (Inherited from Timeline)
RepeatBehavior	Gets or sets the repeating behavior of this timeline. (Inherited from Timeline)
SpeedRatio	Gets or sets the rate, relative to its parent, at which time progresses for this Timeline. (Inherited from Timeline)
TargetNameProperty	Identifies the Storyboard.TargetName XAML attached property.
TargetPropertyProperty	Identifies the Storyboard.TargetProperty XAML attached property.

Attached Properties

TargetName	Gets or sets the name of the object to animate.
TargetProperty	Gets or sets the property that should be animated.

Methods

Begin()	Initiates the set of animations associated with the storyboard.
ClearValue(DependencyProperty)	Clears the local value of a dependency property. (Inherited from DependencyObject)
GetAnimationBaseValue(DependencyProperty)	Returns any base value established for a dependency property, which would apply in cases where an animation is not active. (Inherited from DependencyObject)
GetCurrentState()	Gets the clock state of the Storyboard.
GetCurrentTime()	Gets the current animation clock time of the Storyboard.
GetTargetName(Timeline)	Gets the value of the Storyboard.TargetName XAML attached property from a target element.
GetTargetProperty(Timeline)	Gets the value of the Storyboard.TargetProperty XAML attached property from a target element.
GetValue(DependencyProperty)	Returns the current effective value of a dependency property from a DependencyObject. (Inherited from DependencyObject)
Pause()	Pauses the animation clock associated with the storyboard.
ReadLocalValue(DependencyProperty)	Returns the local value of a dependency property, if a local value is set. (Inherited from DependencyObject)
RegisterPropertyChangedCallback(DependencyProperty, DependencyPropertyChangedCallback)	Registers a notification function for listening to changes to a specific DependencyProperty on this DependencyObject instance. (Inherited from DependencyObject)
Resume()	Resumes the animation clock, or run-time state, associated with the storyboard.
Seek(TimeSpan)	Moves the storyboard to the specified animation position. The storyboard performs the requested seek when the next clock tick occurs.
SeekAlignedToLastTick(TimeSpan)	Moves the storyboard to the specified animation position immediately (synchronously).
SetTarget(Timeline, DependencyObject)	Causes the specified Timeline to target the specified object.
SetTargetName(Timeline, String)	Sets the value of the Storyboard.TargetName XAML attached property for a target element.
SetTargetProperty(Timeline, String)	Sets the value of the Storyboard.TargetProperty XAML attached property for a target element.
SetValue(DependencyProperty, Object)	Sets the local value of a dependency property on a DependencyObject. (Inherited from DependencyObject)
SkipToFill()	Advances the current time of the storyboard's clock to the end of its active period.
Stop()	Stops the storyboard.
UnregisterPropertyChangedCallback(DependencyProperty, Int64)	Cancels a change notification that was previously registered by calling RegisterPropertyChangedCallback. (Inherited from DependencyObject)

Events

Completed

Occurs when the Storyboard object has completed playing. (Inherited from Timeline)

See also

• Timeline
• TimelineCollection
• Storyboard
• Storyboard
• Storyboarded animations
• Storyboarded animations for visual states
• Key-frame animations and easing function animations
• Quickstart: Animating your UI using library animations
• Property-path syntax
• Attached properties overview