How to: Paint an Area with a Visual

This example shows how to use the VisualBrush class to paint an area with a Visual.

In the following example, several controls and a panel are used as the background of a rectangle.

Example

<Rectangle Width="150" Height="150" Stroke="Black" Margin="5,0,5,0">
  <Rectangle.Fill>
    <VisualBrush>
      <VisualBrush.Visual>
        <StackPanel Background="White">
          <Rectangle Width="25" Height="25" Fill="Red" Margin="2" />
          <TextBlock FontSize="10pt" Margin="2">Hello, World!</TextBlock>
          <Button Margin="2">A Button</Button>
        </StackPanel>
      </VisualBrush.Visual>
    </VisualBrush>
  </Rectangle.Fill>
</Rectangle>

            Dim myVisualBrush As New VisualBrush()

            ' Create the visual brush's contents.
            Dim myStackPanel As New StackPanel()
            myStackPanel.Background = Brushes.White

            Dim redRectangle As New Rectangle()
            With redRectangle
                .Width = 25
                .Height = 25
                .Fill = Brushes.Red
                .Margin = New Thickness(2)
            End With
            myStackPanel.Children.Add(redRectangle)

            Dim someText As New TextBlock()
            Dim myFontSizeConverter As New FontSizeConverter()
            someText.FontSize = CDbl(myFontSizeConverter.ConvertFrom("10pt"))
            someText.Text = "Hello, World!"
            someText.Margin = New Thickness(2)
            myStackPanel.Children.Add(someText)

            Dim aButton As New Button()
            aButton.Content = "A Button"
            aButton.Margin = New Thickness(2)
            myStackPanel.Children.Add(aButton)

            ' Use myStackPanel as myVisualBrush's content.
            myVisualBrush.Visual = myStackPanel

            ' Create a rectangle to paint.
            Dim myRectangle As New Rectangle()
            With myRectangle
                .Width = 150
                .Height = 150
                .Stroke = Brushes.Black
                .Margin = New Thickness(5, 0, 5, 0)
            End With

            ' Use myVisualBrush to paint myRectangle.
            myRectangle.Fill = myVisualBrush

            VisualBrush myVisualBrush = new VisualBrush();

            // Create the visual brush's contents.
            StackPanel myStackPanel = new StackPanel();
            myStackPanel.Background = Brushes.White;

            Rectangle redRectangle = new Rectangle();
            redRectangle.Width = 25;
            redRectangle.Height =25; 
            redRectangle.Fill = Brushes.Red;
            redRectangle.Margin = new Thickness(2);
            myStackPanel.Children.Add(redRectangle);

            TextBlock someText = new TextBlock();
            FontSizeConverter myFontSizeConverter = new FontSizeConverter();
            someText.FontSize = (double)myFontSizeConverter.ConvertFrom("10pt");
            someText.Text = "Hello, World!";
            someText.Margin = new Thickness(2);
            myStackPanel.Children.Add(someText);

            Button aButton = new Button();
            aButton.Content = "A Button";
            aButton.Margin = new Thickness(2);
            myStackPanel.Children.Add(aButton);

            // Use myStackPanel as myVisualBrush's content.
            myVisualBrush.Visual = myStackPanel;

            // Create a rectangle to paint.
            Rectangle myRectangle = new Rectangle();
            myRectangle.Width = 150;
            myRectangle.Height = 150;
            myRectangle.Stroke = Brushes.Black;
            myRectangle.Margin = new Thickness(5,0,5,0);

            // Use myVisualBrush to paint myRectangle.
            myRectangle.Fill = myVisualBrush;

For more information about VisualBrush and additional examples, see the Painting with Images, Drawings, and Visuals overview.

This code example is part of a larger example provided for the VisualBrush class. For the complete sample, see the VisualBrush Sample.

See Also

Concepts

Painting with Images, Drawings, and Visuals