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Dotnet Desktop WPF App Development

The document provides an overview of the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) framework, detailing its capabilities for developing standalone applications, XAML browser applications, custom control libraries, and class libraries. It covers key functionalities such as application management, window and dialog box handling, navigation, and deployment processes. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of the Application class for managing application lifecycle and resources, while cautioning against using WPF types in Windows services and the limitations of XBAPs in modern browsers.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)

17 views263 pages

Dotnet Desktop WPF App Development

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Maxime Ngansop

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Application Development
Article • 05/07/2025

Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) is a presentation framework that can be used to

develop the following types of applications:

Standalone Applications (traditional style Windows applications built as executable

assemblies that are installed to and run from the client computer).

XAML browser applications (XBAPs) (applications composed of navigation pages that are
built as executable assemblies and hosted by Web browsers such as Microsoft Internet
Explorer or Mozilla Firefox).

Custom Control Libraries (non-executable assemblies containing reusable controls).

Class Libraries (non-executable assemblies that contain reusable classes).

７ Note

Using WPF types in a Windows service is strongly discouraged. If you attempt to use these
features in a Windows service, they may not work as expected.

To build this set of applications, WPF implements a host of services. This topic provides an
overview of these services and where to find more information.

Application Management
Executable WPF applications commonly require a core set of functionality that includes the
following:

Creating and managing common application infrastructure (including creating an entry

point method and a Windows message loop to receive system and input messages).

Tracking and interacting with the lifetime of an application.

Retrieving and processing command-line parameters.

Sharing application-scope properties and UI resources.

Detecting and processing unhandled exceptions.

Returning exit codes.

Managing windows in standalone applications.

Tracking navigation in XAML browser applications (XBAPs), and standalone applications
with navigation windows and frames.

２ Warning

XBAPs require legacy browsers to operate, such as Internet Explorer and old versions
of Firefox. These older browsers are usually unsupported on Windows 10 and
Windows 11. Modern browsers no longer support the technology required for XBAP
apps due to security risks. Plugins that enable XBAPs are no longer supported. For
more information, see Frequently asked questions about WPF browser-hosted
applications (XBAP).

These capabilities are implemented by the Application class, which you add to your
applications using an application definition.

For more information, see Application Management Overview.

WPF Application Resource, Content, and Data Files

WPF extends the core support in the Microsoft .NET Framework for embedded resources with
support for three kinds of non-executable data files: resource, content, and data. For more
information, see WPF Application Resource, Content, and Data Files.

A key component of the support for WPF non-executable data files is the ability to identify and
load them using a unique URI. For more information, see Pack URIs in WPF.

Windows and Dialog Boxes

Users interact with WPF standalone applications through windows. The purpose of a window is
to host application content and expose application functionality that usually allows users to
interact with the content. In WPF, windows are encapsulated by the Window class, which
supports:

Creating and showing windows.

Establishing owner/owned window relationships.

Configuring window appearance (for example, size, location, icons, title bar text, border).

Tracking and interacting with the lifetime of a window.

For more information, see WPF Windows Overview.

Window supports the ability to create a special type of window known as a dialog box. Both
modal and modeless types of dialog boxes can be created.

For convenience, and the benefits of reusability and a consistent user experience across
applications, WPF exposes three of the common Windows dialog boxes: OpenFileDialog,
SaveFileDialog, and PrintDialog.

A message box is a special type of dialog box for showing important textual information to
users, and for asking simple Yes/No/OK/Cancel questions. You use the MessageBox class to
create and show message boxes.

For more information, see Dialog Boxes Overview.

Navigation
WPF supports Web-style navigation using pages (Page) and hyperlinks (Hyperlink). Navigation
can be implemented in a variety of ways that include the following:

Standalone pages that are hosted in a Web browser.

Pages compiled into an XBAP that is hosted in a Web browser.

Pages compiled into a standalone application and hosted by a navigation window

(NavigationWindow).

Pages that are hosted by a frame (Frame), which may be hosted in a standalone page, or
a page compiled into either an XBAP or a standalone application.

To facilitate navigation, WPF implements the following:

NavigationService, the shared navigation engine for processing navigation requests that
is used by Frame, NavigationWindow, and XBAPs to support intra-application navigation.

Navigation methods to initiate navigation.

Navigation events to track and interact with navigation lifetime.

Remembering back and forward navigation using a journal, which can also be inspected
and manipulated.

For information, see Navigation Overview.

WPF also supports a special type of navigation known as structured navigation. Structured
navigation can be used to call one or more pages that return data in a structured and
predictable way that is consistent with calling functions. This capability depends on the
PageFunction<T> class, which is described further in Structured Navigation Overview.
PageFunction<T> also serves to simplify the creation of complex navigation topologies, which
are described in Navigation Topologies Overview.

Hosting
XBAPs can be hosted in Microsoft Internet Explorer or Firefox. Each hosting model has its own
set of considerations and constraints that are covered in Hosting.

Build and Deploy

Although simple WPF applications can be built from a command prompt using command-line
compilers, WPF integrates with Visual Studio to provide additional support that simplified the
development and build process. For more information, see Building a WPF Application.

Depending on the type of application you build, there are one or more deployment options to
choose from. For more information, see Deploying a WPF Application.

Application Management Provides an overview of the Application class including managing

Overview application lifetime, windows, application resources, and navigation.

Windows in WPF Provides details of managing windows in your application including how
to use the Window class and dialog boxes.

Navigation Overview Provides an overview of managing navigation between pages of your

application.

Hosting Provides an overview of XAML browser applications (XBAPs).

Build and Deploy Describes how to build and deploy your WPF application.

Introduction to WPF in Visual Describes the main features of WPF.

Studio

Walkthrough: My first WPF A walkthrough that shows how to create a WPF application using page
desktop application navigation, layout, controls, images, styles, and binding.
Application Management Overview
Article • 05/07/2025

All applications tend to share a common set of functionality that applies to application
implementation and management. This topic provides an overview of the functionality in the
Application class for creating and managing applications.

The Application Class

In WPF, common application-scoped functionality is encapsulated in the Application class. The
Application class includes the following functionality:

Tracking and interacting with application lifetime.

Retrieving and processing command-line parameters.

Detecting and responding to unhandled exceptions.

Sharing application-scope properties and resources.

Managing windows in standalone applications.

Tracking and managing navigation.

How to Perform Common Tasks Using the

Application Class
If you are not interested in all of the details of the Application class, the following table lists
some of the common tasks for Application and how to accomplish them. By viewing the
related API and topics, you can find more information and sample code.

ﾉ Expand table

Task Approach

Get an object that represents the Use the Application.Current property.

current application

Add a startup screen to an See Add a Splash Screen to a WPF Application.

application

Start an application Use the Application.Run method.

Stop an application Use the Shutdown method of the Application.Current object.

Task Approach

Get arguments from the command Handle the Application.Startup event and use the
line StartupEventArgs.Args property. For an example, see the
Application.Startup event.

Get and set the application exit Set the ExitEventArgs.ApplicationExitCode property in the
code Application.Exit event handler or call the Shutdown method and
pass in an integer.

Detect and respond to unhandled Handle the DispatcherUnhandledException event.

exceptions

Get and set application-scoped Use the Application.Resources property.

resources

Use an application-scope resource See Use an Application-Scope Resource Dictionary.

dictionary

Get and set application-scoped Use the Application.Properties property.

properties

Get and save an application's state See Persist and Restore Application-Scope Properties Across
Application Sessions.

Manage non-code data files, See WPF Application Resource, Content, and Data Files.
including resource files, content
files, and site-of-origin files.

Manage windows in standalone See WPF Windows Overview.

applications

Track and manage navigation See Navigation Overview.

The Application Definition

To utilize the functionality of the Application class, you must implement an application
definition. A WPF application definition is a class that derives from Application and is
configured with a special MSBuild setting.

Implementing an Application Definition

A typical WPF application definition is implemented using both markup and code-behind. This
allows you to use markup to declaratively set application properties, resources, and register
events, while handling events and implementing application-specific behavior in code-behind.
The following example shows how to implement an application definition using both markup
and code-behind:

XAML

using System.Windows;

namespace SDKSample
{
public partial class App : Application { }
}

To allow a markup file and code-behind file to work together, the following needs to happen:

In markup, the Application element must include the x:Class attribute. When the
application is built, the existence of x:Class in the markup file causes MSBuild to create a
partial class that derives from Application and has the name that is specified by the

x:Class attribute. This requires the addition of an XML namespace declaration for the

XAML schema ( xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml" ).

In code-behind, the class must be a partial class with the same name that is specified by
the x:Class attribute in markup and must derive from Application. This allows the code-
behind file to be associated with the partial class that is generated for the markup file
when the application is built (see Building a WPF Application).

７ Note

When you create a new WPF Application project or WPF Browser Application project using
Visual Studio, an application definition is included by default and is defined using both
markup and code-behind.

This code is the minimum that is required to implement an application definition. However, an
additional MSBuild configuration needs to be made to the application definition before
building and running the application.

Configuring the Application Definition for MSBuild

Standalone applications and XAML browser applications (XBAPs) require the implementation of
a certain level of infrastructure before they can run. The most important part of this
infrastructure is the entry point. When an application is launched by a user, the operating
system calls the entry point, which is a well-known function for starting applications.

２ Warning

XBAPs require legacy browsers to operate, such as Internet Explorer and old versions of
Firefox. These older browsers are usually unsupported on Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Modern browsers no longer support the technology required for XBAP apps due to
security risks. Plugins that enable XBAPs are no longer supported. For more information,
see Frequently asked questions about WPF browser-hosted applications (XBAP).

Traditionally, developers have needed to write some or all of this code for themselves,
depending on the technology. However, WPF generates this code for you when the markup file
of your application definition is configured as an MSBuild ApplicationDefinition item, as
shown in the following MSBuild project file:

XML

<Project
DefaultTargets="Build"

xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
...
<ApplicationDefinition Include="App.xaml" />
<Compile Include="App.xaml.cs" />
...
</Project>

Because the code-behind file contains code, it is marked as an MSBuild Compile item, as is
normal.

The application of these MSBuild configurations to the markup and code-behind files of an
application definition causes MSBuild to generate code like the following:

using System;
using System.Windows;

namespace SDKSample
{
public class App : Application
{
public App() { }
[STAThread]
public static void Main()
{
// Create new instance of application subclass
App app = new App();

// Code to register events and set properties that were

// defined in XAML in the application definition
app.InitializeComponent();

// Start running the application

app.Run();
}

public void InitializeComponent()

{
// Initialization code goes here.
}
}
}

The resulting code augments your application definition with additional infrastructure code,
which includes the entry-point method Main . The STAThreadAttribute attribute is applied to
the Main method to indicate that the main UI thread for the WPF application is an STA thread,
which is required for WPF applications. When called, Main creates a new instance of App before
calling the InitializeComponent method to register the events and set the properties that are
implemented in markup. Because InitializeComponent is generated for you, you don't need to
explicitly call InitializeComponent from an application definition like you do for Page and
Window implementations. Finally, the Run method is called to start the application.

Getting the Current Application

Because the functionality of the Application class are shared across an application, there can be
only one instance of the Application class per AppDomain. To enforce this, the Application class
is implemented as a singleton class (see Implementing Singleton in C#), which creates a single
instance of itself and provides shared access to it with the static Current property.

The following code shows how to acquire a reference to the Application object for the current
AppDomain.

// Get current application

Application current = App.Current;
Current returns a reference to an instance of the Application class. If you want a reference to
your Application derived class you must cast the value of the Current property, as shown in the
following example.

// Get strongly-typed current application

App app = (App)App.Current;

You can inspect the value of Current at any point in the lifetime of an Application object.
However, you should be careful. After the Application class is instantiated, there is a period
during which the state of the Application object is inconsistent. During this period, Application
is performing the various initialization tasks that are required by your code to run, including
establishing application infrastructure, setting properties, and registering events. If you try to
use the Application object during this period, your code may have unexpected results,
particularly if it depends on the various Application properties being set.

When Application completes its initialization work, its lifetime truly begins.

Application Lifetime
The lifetime of a WPF application is marked by several events that are raised by Application to
let you know when your application has started, has been activated and deactivated, and has
been shut down.

Splash Screen
Starting in the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1, you can specify an image to be used in a startup
window, or splash screen. The SplashScreen class makes it easy to display a startup window
while your application is loading. The SplashScreen window is created and shown before Run is
called. For more information, see Application Startup Time and Add a Splash Screen to a WPF
Application.

Starting an Application
After Run is called and the application is initialized, the application is ready to run. This
moment is signified when the Startup event is raised:

using System.Windows;
namespace SDKSample
{
public partial class App : Application
{
void App_Startup(object sender, StartupEventArgs e)
{
// Application is running
}
}
}

At this point in an application's lifetime, the most common thing to do is to show a UI.

Showing a User Interface

Most standalone Windows applications open a Window when they begin running. The Startup
event handler is one location from which you can do this, as demonstrated by the following
code.

XAML

using System.Windows;

namespace SDKSample
{
public partial class App : Application
{
void App_Startup(object sender, StartupEventArgs e)
{
// Open a window
MainWindow window = new MainWindow();
window.Show();
}
}
}

７ Note
The first Window to be instantiated in a standalone application becomes the main
application window by default. This Window object is referenced by the
Application.MainWindow property. The value of the MainWindow property can be
changed programmatically if a different window than the first instantiated Window should
be the main window.

When an XBAP first starts, it will most likely navigate to a Page. This is shown in the following
code.

XAML

using System;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Navigation;

namespace SDKSample
{
public partial class App : Application
{
void App_Startup(object sender, StartupEventArgs e)
{
((NavigationWindow)this.MainWindow).Navigate(new Uri("HomePage.xaml",
UriKind.Relative));
}
}
}

If you handle Startup to only open a Window or navigate to a Page, you can set the StartupUri
attribute in markup instead.

The following example shows how to use the StartupUri from a standalone application to open
a Window.

XAML

<Application
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
StartupUri="MainWindow.xaml" />
The following example shows how to use StartupUri from an XBAP to navigate to a Page.

XAML

This markup has the same effect as the previous code for opening a window.

７ Note

For more information on navigation, see Navigation Overview.

You need to handle the Startup event to open a Window if you need to instantiate it using a
non-parameterless constructor, or you need to set its properties or subscribe to its events
before showing it, or you need to process any command-line arguments that were supplied
when the application was launched.

Processing Command-Line Arguments

In Windows, standalone applications can be launched from either a command prompt or the
desktop. In both cases, command-line arguments can be passed to the application. The
following example shows an application that is launched with a single command-line
argument, "/StartMinimized":

wpfapplication.exe /StartMinimized

During application initialization, WPF retrieves the command-line arguments from the
operating system and passes them to the Startup event handler via the Args property of the
StartupEventArgs parameter. You can retrieve and store the command-line arguments using
code like the following.

XAML

C#
using System.Windows;

namespace SDKSample
{
public partial class App : Application
{
void App_Startup(object sender, StartupEventArgs e)
{
// Application is running
// Process command line args
bool startMinimized = false;
for (int i = 0; i != e.Args.Length; ++i)
{
if (e.Args[i] == "/StartMinimized")
{
startMinimized = true;
}
}

// Create main application window, starting minimized if specified

MainWindow mainWindow = new MainWindow();
if (startMinimized)
{
mainWindow.WindowState = WindowState.Minimized;
}
mainWindow.Show();
}
}
}

The code handles Startup to check whether the /StartMinimized command-line argument was
provided; if so, it opens the main window with a WindowState of Minimized. Note that because
the WindowState property must be set programmatically, the main Window must be opened
explicitly in code.

XBAPs cannot retrieve and process command-line arguments because they are launched using
ClickOnce deployment (see Deploying a WPF Application). However, they can retrieve and
process query string parameters from the URLs that are used to launch them.

Application Activation and Deactivation

Windows allows users to switch between applications. The most common way is to use the
ALT+TAB key combination. An application can only be switched to if it has a visible Window
that a user can select. The currently selected Window is the active window (also known as the
foreground window) and is the Window that receives user input. The application with the active
window is the active application (or foreground application). An application becomes the active
application in the following circumstances:
It is launched and shows a Window.

A user switches from another application by selecting a Window in the application.

You can detect when an application becomes active by handling the Application.Activated
event.

Likewise, an application can become inactive in the following circumstances:

A user switches to another application from the current one.

When the application shuts down.

You can detect when an application becomes inactive by handling the Application.Deactivated
event.

The following code shows how to handle the Activated and Deactivated events to determine
whether an application is active.

XAML

using System;
using System.Windows;

namespace SDKSample
{
public partial class App : Application
{
bool isApplicationActive;

void App_Activated(object sender, EventArgs e)

{
// Application activated
this.isApplicationActive = true;
}

void App_Deactivated(object sender, EventArgs e)

{
// Application deactivated
this.isApplicationActive = false;
}
}
}

A Window can also be activated and deactivated. See Window.Activated and

Window.Deactivated for more information.

７ Note

Neither Application.Activated nor Application.Deactivated is raised for XBAPs.

Application Shutdown
The life of an application ends when it is shut down, which can occur for the following reasons:

A user closes every Window.

A user closes the main Window.

A user ends the Windows session by logging off or shutting down.

An application-specific condition has been met.

To help you manage application shutdown, Application provides the Shutdown method, the
ShutdownMode property, and the SessionEnding and Exit events.

７ Note

Shutdown can only be called from applications that have UIPermission. Standalone WPF
applications always have this permission. However, XBAPs running in the Internet zone
partial-trust security sandbox do not.

Shutdown Mode
Most applications shut down either when all the windows are closed or when the main window
is closed. Sometimes, however, other application-specific conditions may determine when an
application shuts down. You can specify the conditions under which your application will shut
down by setting ShutdownMode with one of the following ShutdownMode enumeration
values:

OnLastWindowClose
OnMainWindowClose

OnExplicitShutdown

The default value of ShutdownMode is OnLastWindowClose, which means that an application

automatically shuts down when the last window in the application is closed by the user.
However, if your application should be shut down when the main window is closed, WPF
automatically does that if you set ShutdownMode to OnMainWindowClose. This is shown in
the following example.

XAML

When you have application-specific shutdown conditions, you set ShutdownMode to

OnExplicitShutdown. In this case, it is your responsibility to shut an application down by
explicitly calling the Shutdown method; otherwise, your application will continue running even
if all the windows are closed. Note that Shutdown is called implicitly when the ShutdownMode
is either OnLastWindowClose or OnMainWindowClose.

７ Note

ShutdownMode can be set from an XBAP, but it is ignored; an XBAP is always shut down
when it is navigated away from in a browser or when the browser that hosts the XBAP is
closed. For more information, see Navigation Overview.

Session Ending

The shutdown conditions that are described by the ShutdownMode property are specific to an
application. In some cases, though, an application may shut down as a result of an external
condition. The most common external condition occurs when a user ends the Windows session
by the following actions:

Logging off

Shutting down

Restarting

Hibernating
To detect when a Windows session ends, you can handle the SessionEnding event, as illustrated
in the following example.

XAML

using System.Windows;

namespace SDKSample
{
public partial class App : Application
{
void App_SessionEnding(object sender, SessionEndingCancelEventArgs e)
{
// Ask the user if they want to allow the session to end
string msg = string.Format("{0}. End session?",
e.ReasonSessionEnding);
MessageBoxResult result = MessageBox.Show(msg, "Session Ending",
MessageBoxButton.YesNo);

// End session, if specified

if (result == MessageBoxResult.No)
{
e.Cancel = true;
}
}
}
}

In this example, the code inspects the ReasonSessionEnding property to determine how the
Windows session is ending. It uses this value to display a confirmation message to the user. If
the user does not want the session to end, the code sets Cancel to true to prevent the
Windows session from ending.

７ Note

SessionEnding is not raised for XBAPs.

Exit
When an application shuts down, it may need to perform some final processing, such as
persisting application state. For these situations, you can handle the Exit event, as the App_Exit
event handler does in the following example. It is defined as an event handler in the App.xaml
file. Its implementation is highlighted in the App.xaml.cs and Application.xaml.vb files.

XAML

using System.Windows;
using System.IO;
using System.IO.IsolatedStorage;

namespace SDKSample
{
public partial class App : Application
{
string filename = "App.txt";

public App()
{
// Initialize application-scope property
this.Properties["NumberOfAppSessions"] = 0;
}

private void App_Startup(object sender, StartupEventArgs e)

{
// Restore application-scope property from isolated storage
IsolatedStorageFile storage =
IsolatedStorageFile.GetUserStoreForDomain();
try
{
using (IsolatedStorageFileStream stream = new
IsolatedStorageFileStream(filename, FileMode.Open, storage))
using (StreamReader reader = new StreamReader(stream))
{
// Restore each application-scope property individually
while (!reader.EndOfStream)
{
string[] keyValue = reader.ReadLine().Split(new char[]
{','});
this.Properties[keyValue[0]] = keyValue[1];
}
}
}
catch (FileNotFoundException ex)
{
// Handle when file is not found in isolated storage:
// * When the first application session
// * When file has been deleted
}
}

private void App_Exit(object sender, ExitEventArgs e)

{
// Persist application-scope property to isolated storage
IsolatedStorageFile storage =
IsolatedStorageFile.GetUserStoreForDomain();
using (IsolatedStorageFileStream stream = new
IsolatedStorageFileStream(filename, FileMode.Create, storage))
using (StreamWriter writer = new StreamWriter(stream))
{
// Persist each application-scope property individually
foreach (string key in this.Properties.Keys)
{
writer.WriteLine("{0},{1}", key, this.Properties[key]);
}
}
}
}
}

For the complete example, see Persist and Restore Application-Scope Properties Across
Application Sessions.

Exit can be handled by both standalone applications and XBAPs. For XBAPs, Exit is raised when
in the following circumstances:

An XBAP is navigated away from.

In Internet Explorer, when the tab that is hosting the XBAP is closed.

When the browser is closed.

Exit Code
Applications are mostly launched by the operating system in response to a user request.
However, an application can be launched by another application to perform some specific task.
When the launched application shuts down, the launching application may want to know the
condition under which the launched application shut down. In these situations, Windows allows
applications to return an application exit code on shutdown. By default, WPF applications
return an exit code value of 0.

７ Note

When you debug from Visual Studio, the application exit code is displayed in the Output
window when the application shuts down, in a message that looks like the following:

The program '[5340] AWPFApp.vshost.exe: Managed' has exited with code 0 (0x0).

You open the Output window by clicking Output on the View menu.

To change the exit code, you can call the Shutdown(Int32) overload, which accepts an integer
argument to be the exit code:

// Shutdown and return a non-default exit code

Application.Current.Shutdown(-1);

You can detect the value of the exit code, and change it, by handling the Exit event. The Exit
event handler is passed an ExitEventArgs which provides access to the exit code with the
ApplicationExitCode property. For more information, see Exit.

７ Note

You can set the exit code in both standalone applications and XBAPs. However, the exit
code value is ignored for XBAPs.

Unhandled Exceptions
Sometimes an application may shut down under abnormal conditions, such as when an
unanticipated exception is thrown. In this case, the application may not have the code to detect
and process the exception. This type of exception is an unhandled exception; a notification
similar to that shown in the following figure is displayed before the application is closed.
From the user experience perspective, it is better for an application to avoid this default
behavior by doing some or all of the following:

Displaying user-friendly information.

Attempting to keep an application running.

Recording detailed, developer-friendly exception information in the Windows event log.

Implementing this support depends on being able to detect unhandled exceptions, which is
what the DispatcherUnhandledException event is raised for.

XAML

using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Threading;

namespace SDKSample
{
public partial class App : Application
{
void App_DispatcherUnhandledException(object sender,
DispatcherUnhandledExceptionEventArgs e)
{
// Process unhandled exception

// Prevent default unhandled exception processing

e.Handled = true;
}
}
}

The DispatcherUnhandledException event handler is passed a

DispatcherUnhandledExceptionEventArgs parameter that contains contextual information
regarding the unhandled exception, including the exception itself
(DispatcherUnhandledExceptionEventArgs.Exception). You can use this information to
determine how to handle the exception.

When you handle DispatcherUnhandledException, you should set the

DispatcherUnhandledExceptionEventArgs.Handled property to true ; otherwise, WPF still
considers the exception to be unhandled and reverts to the default behavior described earlier.
If an unhandled exception is raised and either the DispatcherUnhandledException event is not
handled, or the event is handled and Handled is set to false , the application shuts down
immediately. Furthermore, no other Application events are raised. Consequently, you need to
handle DispatcherUnhandledException if your application has code that must run before the
application shuts down.

Although an application may shut down as a result of an unhandled exception, an application

usually shuts down in response to a user request, as discussed in the next section.

Application Lifetime Events

Standalone applications and XBAPs don't have exactly the same lifetimes. The following figure
illustrates the key events in the lifetime of a standalone application and shows the sequence in
which they are raised.
Likewise, the following figure illustrates the key events in the lifetime of an XBAP, and shows
the sequence in which they are raised.

See also
Application
WPF Windows Overview
Navigation Overview
WPF Application Resource, Content, and Data Files
Pack URIs in WPF
Application Model: How-to Topics
Application Development
WPF Application Resource, Content, and
Data Files
Article • 05/07/2025

Microsoft Windows applications often depend on files that contain non-executable data, such
as Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML), images, video, and audio. Windows
Presentation Foundation (WPF) offers special support for configuring, identifying, and using
these types of data files, which are called application data files. This support revolves around a
specific set of application data file types, including:

Resource Files: Data files that are compiled into either an executable or library WPF
assembly.

Content Files: Standalone data files that have an explicit association with an executable
WPF assembly.

Site of Origin Files: Standalone data files that have no association with an executable
WPF assembly.

One important distinction to make between these three types of files is that resource files and
content files are known at build time; an assembly has explicit knowledge of them. For site of
origin files, however, an assembly may have no knowledge of them at all, or implicit knowledge
through a pack uniform resource identifier (URI) reference; the case of the latter, there is no
guarantee that the referenced site of origin file actually exists.

To reference application data files, Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) uses the Pack
uniform resource identifier (URI) Scheme, which is described in detail in Pack URIs in WPF).

This topic describes how to configure and use application data files.

Resource Files
If an application data file must always be available to an application, the only way to guarantee
availability is to compile it into an application's main executable assembly or one of its
referenced assemblies. This type of application data file is known as a resource file.

You should use resource files when:

You don't need to update the resource file's content after it is compiled into an assembly.

You want to simplify application distribution complexity by reducing the number of file
dependencies.
Your application data file needs to be localizable (see WPF Globalization and Localization
Overview).

７ Note

The resource files described in this section are different than the resource files described
in XAML Resources and different than the embedded or linked resources described in
Manage Application Resources (.NET).

Configuring Resource Files

In WPF, a resource file is a file that is included in an Microsoft build engine (MSBuild) project as
a Resource item.

XML

<Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003" ... >

...
<ItemGroup>
<Resource Include="ResourceFile.xaml" />
</ItemGroup>
...
</Project>

７ Note

In Visual Studio, you create a resource file by adding a file to a project and setting its
Build Action to Resource .

When the project is built, MSBuild compiles the resource into the assembly.

Using Resource Files

To load a resource file, you can call the GetResourceStream method of the Application class,
passing a pack URI that identifies the desired resource file. GetResourceStream returns a
StreamResourceInfo object, which exposes the resource file as a Stream and describes its
content type.

As an example, the following code shows how to use GetResourceStream to load a Page
resource file and set it as the content of a Frame ( pageFrame ):

C#
// Navigate to xaml page
Uri uri = new Uri("/PageResourceFile.xaml", UriKind.Relative);
StreamResourceInfo info = Application.GetResourceStream(uri);
System.Windows.Markup.XamlReader reader = new System.Windows.Markup.XamlReader();
Page page = (Page)reader.LoadAsync(info.Stream);
this.pageFrame.Content = page;

While calling GetResourceStream gives you access to the Stream, you need to perform the
additional work of converting it to the type of the property that you'll be setting it with.
Instead, you can let WPF take care of opening and converting the Stream by loading a resource
file directly into the property of a type using code.

The following example shows how to load a Page directly into a Frame ( pageFrame ) using code.

Uri pageUri = new Uri("/PageResourceFile.xaml", UriKind.Relative);

this.pageFrame.Source = pageUri;

The following example is the markup equivalent of the preceding example.

XAML

<Frame Name="pageFrame" Source="PageResourceFile.xaml" />

Application Code Files as Resource Files

A special set of WPF application code files can be referenced using pack URIs, including
windows, pages, flow documents, and resource dictionaries. For example, you can set the
Application.StartupUri property with a pack URI that references the window or page that you
would like to load when an application starts.

XAML

You can do this when a XAML file is included in an MSBuild project as a Page item.

XML

<Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003" ... >

...
<ItemGroup>
<Page Include="MainWindow.xaml" />
</ItemGroup>
...
</Project>

７ Note

In Visual Studio, you add a new Window, NavigationWindow, Page, FlowDocument, or

ResourceDictionary to a project, the Build Action for the markup file will default to Page .

When a project with Page items is compiled, the XAML items are converted to binary format
and compiled into the associated assembly. Consequently, these files can be used in the same
way as typical resource files.

７ Note

If a XAML file is configured as a Resource item, and does not have a code-behind file, the
raw XAML is compiled into an assembly rather than a binary version of the raw XAML.

Content Files
A content file is distributed as a loose file alongside an executable assembly. Although they are
not compiled into an assembly, assemblies are compiled with metadata that establishes an
association with each content file.

You should use content files when your application requires a specific set of application data
files that you want to be able to update without recompiling the assembly that consumes
them.

Configuring Content Files

To add a content file to a project, an application data file must be included as a Content item.
Furthermore, because a content file is not compiled directly into the assembly, you need to set
the MSBuild CopyToOutputDirectory metadata element to specify that the content file is copied
to a location that is relative to the built assembly. If you want the resource to be copied to the
build output folder every time a project is built, you set the CopyToOutputDirectory metadata
element with the Always value. Otherwise, you can ensure that only the newest version of the
resource is copied to the build output folder by using the PreserveNewest value.
The following shows a file that is configured as a content file which is copied to the build
output folder only when a new version of the resource is added to the project.

XML

<Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003" ... >

...
<ItemGroup>
<Content Include="ContentFile.xaml">
<CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
</Content>
</ItemGroup>
...
</Project>

７ Note

In Visual Studio, you create a content file by adding a file to a project and setting its Build
Action to Content , and set its Copy to Output Directory to Copy always (same as Always )

and Copy if newer (same as PreserveNewest ).

When the project is built, an AssemblyAssociatedContentFileAttribute attribute is compiled into

the metadata of the assembly for each content file.

[assembly: AssemblyAssociatedContentFile("ContentFile.xaml")]

The value of the AssemblyAssociatedContentFileAttribute implies the path to the content file
relative to its position in the project. For example, if a content file was located in a project
subfolder, the additional path information would be incorporated into the
AssemblyAssociatedContentFileAttribute value.

[assembly: AssemblyAssociatedContentFile("Resources/ContentFile.xaml")]

The AssemblyAssociatedContentFileAttribute value is also the value of the path to the content
file in the build output folder.

Using Content Files

To load a content file, you can call the GetContentStream method of the Application class,
passing a pack URI that identifies the desired content file. GetContentStream returns a
StreamResourceInfo object, which exposes the content file as a Stream and describes its
content type.
As an example, the following code shows how to use GetContentStream to load a Page content
file and set it as the content of a Frame ( pageFrame ).

// Navigate to xaml page

Uri uri = new Uri("/PageContentFile.xaml", UriKind.Relative);
StreamResourceInfo info = Application.GetContentStream(uri);
System.Windows.Markup.XamlReader reader = new System.Windows.Markup.XamlReader();
Page page = (Page)reader.LoadAsync(info.Stream);
this.pageFrame.Content = page;

While calling GetContentStream gives you access to the Stream, you need to perform the
additional work of converting it to the type of the property that you'll be setting it with.
Instead, you can let WPF take care of opening and converting the Stream by loading a resource
file directly into the property of a type using code.

The following example shows how to load a Page directly into a Frame ( pageFrame ) using code.

Uri pageUri = new Uri("/PageContentFile.xaml", UriKind.Relative);

this.pageFrame.Source = pageUri;

The following example is the markup equivalent of the preceding example.

XAML

<Frame Name="pageFrame" Source="PageContentFile.xaml" />

Site of Origin Files

Resource files have an explicit relationship with the assemblies that they are distributed
alongside, as defined by the AssemblyAssociatedContentFileAttribute. But, there are times
when you may want to establish either an implicit or non-existent relationship between an
assembly and an application data file, including when:

A file doesn't exist at compile time.

You don't know what files your assembly will require until run time.

You want to be able to update files without recompiling the assembly that they are
associated with.
Your application uses large data files, such as audio and video, and you only want users to
download them if they choose to.

It is possible to load these types of files by using traditional URI schemes, such as the file:///
and http:// schemes.

XAML

<Image Source="file:///C:/DataFile.bmp" />

However, the file:/// and http:// schemes require your application to have full trust. If your
application is a XAML browser application (XBAP) that was launched from the Internet or
intranet, and it requests only the set of permissions that are allowed for applications launched
from those locations, loose files can only be loaded from the application's site of origin (launch
location). Such files are known as site of origin files.

Site of origin files are the only option for partial trust applications, although are not limited to
partial trust applications. Full trust applications may still need to load application data files that
they do not know about at build time; while full trust applications could use file:///, it is likely
that the application data files will be installed in the same folder as, or a subfolder of, the
application assembly. In this case, using site of origin referencing is easier than using file:///,
because using file:/// requires you to work out the full path the file.

７ Note

Site of origin files are not cached with an XAML browser application (XBAP) on a client
machine, while content files are. Consequently, they are only downloaded when
specifically requested. If an XAML browser application (XBAP) application has large media
files, configuring them as site of origin files means the initial application launch is much
faster, and the files are only downloaded on demand.

Configuring Site of Origin Files

If your site of origin files are non-existent or unknown at compile time, you need to use
traditional deployment mechanisms for ensuring the required files are available at run time,
including using either the XCopy command-line program or the Microsoft Windows Installer.

If you do know at compile time the files that you would like to be located at the site of origin,
but still want to avoid an explicit dependency, you can add those files to an MSBuild project as
None item. As with content files, you need to set the MSBuild CopyToOutputDirectory attribute
to specify that the site of origin file is copied to a location that is relative to the built assembly,
by specifying either the Always value or the PreserveNewest value.

XML

<Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003" ... >

...
<None Include="PageSiteOfOriginFile.xaml">
<CopyToOutputDirectory>Always</CopyToOutputDirectory>
</None>
...
</Project>

７ Note

In Visual Studio, you create a site of origin file by adding a file to a project and setting its
Build Action to None .

When the project is built, MSBuild copies the specified files to the build output folder.

Using Site of Origin Files

To load a site of origin file, you can call the GetRemoteStream method of the Application class,
passing a pack URI that identifies the desired site of origin file. GetRemoteStream returns a
StreamResourceInfo object, which exposes the site of origin file as a Stream and describes its
content type.

As an example, the following code shows how to use GetRemoteStream to load a Page site of
origin file and set it as the content of a Frame ( pageFrame ).

// Navigate to xaml page

Uri uri = new Uri("/SiteOfOriginFile.xaml", UriKind.Relative);
StreamResourceInfo info = Application.GetRemoteStream(uri);
System.Windows.Markup.XamlReader reader = new System.Windows.Markup.XamlReader();
Page page = (Page)reader.LoadAsync(info.Stream);
this.pageFrame.Content = page;

While calling GetRemoteStream gives you access to the Stream, you need to perform the
additional work of converting it to the type of the property that you'll be setting it with.
Instead, you can let WPF take care of opening and converting the Stream by loading a resource
file directly into the property of a type using code.
The following example shows how to load a Page directly into a Frame ( pageFrame ) using code.

Uri pageUri = new Uri("pack://siteoforigin:,,,/SiteOfOriginFile.xaml",

UriKind.Absolute);
this.pageFrame.Source = pageUri;

The following example is the markup equivalent of the preceding example.

XAML

<Frame Name="pageFrame" Source="pack://siteoforigin:,,,/SiteOfOriginFile.xaml" />

Rebuilding After Changing Build Type

After you change the build type of an application data file, you need to rebuild the entire
application to ensure those changes are applied. If you only build the application, the changes
are not applied.

See also
Pack URIs in WPF
Pack URIs in WPF
Article • 05/07/2025

In Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), uniform resource identifiers (URIs) are used to
identify and load files in many ways, including the following:

Specifying the user interface (UI) to show when an application first starts.

Loading images.

Navigating to pages.

Loading non-executable data files.

Furthermore, URIs can be used to identify and load files from a variety of locations, including
the following:

The current assembly.

A referenced assembly.

A location relative to an assembly.

The application's site of origin.

To provide a consistent mechanism for identifying and loading these types of files from these
locations, WPF leverages the extensibility of the pack URI scheme. This topic provides an
overview of the scheme, covers how to construct pack URIs for a variety of scenarios, discusses
absolute and relative URIs and URI resolution, before showing how to use pack URIs from both
markup and code.

The Pack URI Scheme

The pack URI scheme is used by the Open Packaging Conventions (OPC) specification, which
describes a model for organizing and identifying content. The key elements of this model are
packages and parts, where a package is a logical container for one or more logical parts. The
following figure illustrates this concept.
To identify parts, the OPC specification leverages the extensibility of RFC 2396 (Uniform
Resource Identifiers (URI): Generic Syntax) to define the pack URI scheme.

The scheme that is specified by a URI is defined by its prefix; http, ftp, and file are well-known
examples. The pack URI scheme uses "pack" as its scheme, and contains two components:
authority and path. The following is the format for a pack URI.

pack://authority/path

The authority specifies the type of package that a part is contained by, while the path specifies
the location of a part within a package.

This concept is illustrated by the following figure:

Packages and parts are analogous to applications and files, where an application (package) can
include one or more files (parts), including:

Resource files that are compiled into the local assembly.

Resource files that are compiled into a referenced assembly.

Resource files that are compiled into a referencing assembly.

Content files.

Site of origin files.

To access these types of files, WPF supports two authorities: application:/// and siteoforigin:///.
The application:/// authority identifies application data files that are known at compile time,
including resource and content files. The siteoforigin:/// authority identifies site of origin files.
The scope of each authority is shown in the following figure.
７ Note

The authority component of a pack URI is an embedded URI that points to a package and
must conform to RFC 2396. Additionally, the "/" character must be replaced with the ","
character, and reserved characters such as "%" and "?" must be escaped. See the OPC for
details.

The following sections explain how to construct pack URIs using these two authorities in
conjunction with the appropriate paths for identifying resource, content, and site of origin files.

Resource File Pack URIs

Resource files are configured as MSBuild Resource items and are compiled into assemblies.
WPF supports the construction of pack URIs that can be used to identify resource files that are
either compiled into the local assembly or compiled into an assembly that is referenced from
the local assembly.

Local Assembly Resource File

The pack URI for a resource file that is compiled into the local assembly uses the following
authority and path:

Authority: application:///.

Path: The name of the resource file, including its path, relative to the local assembly
project folder root.

The following example shows the pack URI for a XAML resource file that is located in the root
of the local assembly's project folder.
pack://application:,,,/ResourceFile.xaml

The following example shows the pack URI for a XAML resource file that is located in a
subfolder of the local assembly's project folder.

pack://application:,,,/Subfolder/ResourceFile.xaml

Referenced Assembly Resource File

The pack URI for a resource file that is compiled into a referenced assembly uses the following
authority and path:

Authority: application:///.

Path: The name of a resource file that is compiled into a referenced assembly. The path
must conform to the following format:

AssemblyShortName{;Version]{;PublicKey];component/Path

AssemblyShortName: the short name for the referenced assembly.

;Version [optional]: the version of the referenced assembly that contains the resource
file. This is used when two or more referenced assemblies with the same short name
are loaded.

;PublicKey [optional]: the public key that was used to sign the referenced assembly.
This is used when two or more referenced assemblies with the same short name are
loaded.

;component: specifies that the assembly being referred to is referenced from the local
assembly.

/Path: the name of the resource file, including its path, relative to the root of the
referenced assembly's project folder.

The following example shows the pack URI for a XAML resource file that is located in the root
of the referenced assembly's project folder.

pack://application:,,,/ReferencedAssembly;component/ResourceFile.xaml

The following example shows the pack URI for a XAML resource file that is located in a
subfolder of the referenced assembly's project folder.

pack://application:,,,/ReferencedAssembly;component/Subfolder/ResourceFile.xaml
The following example shows the pack URI for a XAML resource file that is located in the root
folder of a referenced, version-specific assembly's project folder.

pack://application:,,,/ReferencedAssembly;v1.0.0.1;component/ResourceFile.xaml

Note that the pack URI syntax for referenced assembly resource files can be used only with the
application:/// authority. For example, the following is not supported in WPF.

pack://siteoforigin:,,,/SomeAssembly;component/ResourceFile.xaml

Content File Pack URIs

The pack URI for a content file uses the following authority and path:

Authority: application:///.

Path: The name of the content file, including its path relative to the file system location of
the application's main executable assembly.

The following example shows the pack URI for a XAML content file, located in the same folder
as the executable assembly.

pack://application:,,,/ContentFile.xaml

The following example shows the pack URI for a XAML content file, located in a subfolder that
is relative to the application's executable assembly.

pack://application:,,,/Subfolder/ContentFile.xaml

７ Note

HTML content files cannot be navigated to. The URI scheme only supports navigation to
HTML files that are located at the site of origin.

Site of Origin Pack URIs

The pack URI for a site of origin file uses the following authority and path:

Authority: siteoforigin:///.

Path: The name of the site of origin file, including its path relative to the location from
which the executable assembly was launched.
The following example shows the pack URI for a XAML site of origin file, stored in the location
from which the executable assembly is launched.

pack://siteoforigin:,,,/SiteOfOriginFile.xaml

The following example shows the pack URI for a XAML site of origin file, stored in subfolder
that is relative to the location from which the application's executable assembly is launched.

pack://siteoforigin:,,,/Subfolder/SiteOfOriginFile.xaml

Page Files
XAML files that are configured as MSBuild Page items are compiled into assemblies in the
same way as resource files. Consequently, MSBuild Page items can be identified using pack
URIs for resource files.

The types of XAML files that are commonly configured as MSBuild Page items have one of the
following as their root element:

System.Windows.Window

System.Windows.Controls.Page

System.Windows.Navigation.PageFunction<T>

System.Windows.ResourceDictionary

System.Windows.Documents.FlowDocument

System.Windows.Controls.UserControl

Absolute vs. Relative Pack URIs

A fully qualified pack URI includes the scheme, the authority, and the path, and it is considered
an absolute pack URI. As a simplification for developers, XAML elements typically allow you to
set appropriate attributes with a relative pack URI, which includes only the path.

For example, consider the following absolute pack URI for a resource file in the local assembly.

pack://application:,,,/ResourceFile.xaml

The relative pack URI that refers to this resource file would be the following.

/ResourceFile.xaml
７ Note

Because site of origin files are not associated with assemblies, they can only be referred to
with absolute pack URIs.

By default, a relative pack URI is considered relative to the location of the markup or code that
contains the reference. If a leading backslash is used, however, the relative pack URI reference
is then considered relative to the root of the application. For example, consider the following
project structure.

App.xaml

Page2.xaml

\SubFolder

+ Page1.xaml

+ Page2.xaml

If Page1.xaml contains a URI that references Root\SubFolder\Page2.xaml, the reference can use
the following relative pack URI.

Page2.xaml

If Page1.xaml contains a URI that references Root\Page2.xaml, the reference can use the
following relative pack URI.

/Page2.xaml

Pack URI Resolution

The format of pack URIs makes it possible for pack URIs for different types of files to look the
same. For example, consider the following absolute pack URI.

pack://application:,,,/ResourceOrContentFile.xaml

This absolute pack URI could refer to either a resource file in the local assembly or a content
file. The same is true for the following relative URI.

/ResourceOrContentFile.xaml

In order to determine the type of file that a pack URI refers to, WPF resolves URIs for resource
files in local assemblies and content files by using the following heuristics:
1. Probe the assembly metadata for an AssemblyAssociatedContentFileAttribute attribute
that matches the pack URI.

2. If the AssemblyAssociatedContentFileAttribute attribute is found, the path of the pack URI

refers to a content file.

3. If the AssemblyAssociatedContentFileAttribute attribute is not found, probe the set

resource files that are compiled into the local assembly.

4. If a resource file that matches the path of the pack URI is found, the path of the pack URI
refers to a resource file.

5. If the resource is not found, the internally created Uri is invalid.

URI resolution does not apply for URIs that refer to the following:

Content files in referenced assemblies: these file types are not supported by WPF.

Embedded files in referenced assemblies: URIs that identify them are unique because they
include both the name of the referenced assembly and the ;component suffix.

Site of origin files: URIs that identify them are unique because they are the only files that
can be identified by pack URIs that contain the siteoforigin:/// authority.

One simplification that pack URI resolution allows is for code to be somewhat independent of
the locations of resource and content files. For example, if you have a resource file in the local
assembly that is reconfigured to be a content file, the pack URI for the resource remains the
same, as does the code that uses the pack URI.

Programming with Pack URIs

Many WPF classes implement properties that can be set with pack URIs, including:

Application.StartupUri

Frame.Source

NavigationWindow.Source

Hyperlink.NavigateUri

Window.Icon

Image.Source
These properties can be set from both markup and code. This section demonstrates the basic
constructions for both and then shows examples of common scenarios.

Using Pack URIs in Markup

A pack URI is specified in markup by setting the element of an attribute with the pack URI. For
example:

<element attribute="pack://application:,,,/File.xaml" />

Table 1 illustrates the various absolute pack URIs that you can specify in markup.

Table 1: Absolute Pack URIs in Markup

ﾉ Expand table

File Absolute pack URI

Resource file - "pack://application:,,,/ResourceFile.xaml"

local assembly

Resource file in "pack://application:,,,/Subfolder/ResourceFile.xaml"

subfolder - local
assembly

Resource file - "pack://application:,,,/ReferencedAssembly;component/ResourceFile.xaml"

referenced
assembly

Resource file in "pack://application:,,,/ReferencedAssembly;component/Subfolder/ResourceFile.xaml"

subfolder of
referenced
assembly

Resource file in "pack://application:,,,/ReferencedAssembly;v1.0.0.0;component/ResourceFile.xaml"

versioned
referenced
assembly

Content file "pack://application:,,,/ContentFile.xaml"

Content file in "pack://application:,,,/Subfolder/ContentFile.xaml"

subfolder

Site of origin file "pack://siteoforigin:,,,/SOOFile.xaml"

Site of origin file "pack://siteoforigin:,,,/Subfolder/SOOFile.xaml"

in subfolder
Table 2 illustrates the various relative pack URIs that you can specify in markup.

Table 2: Relative Pack URIs in Markup

ﾉ Expand table

File Relative pack URI

Resource file in local assembly "/ResourceFile.xaml"

Resource file in subfolder of local "/Subfolder/ResourceFile.xaml"

assembly

Resource file in referenced assembly "/ReferencedAssembly;component/ResourceFile.xaml"

Resource file in subfolder of referenced "/ReferencedAssembly;component/Subfolder/ResourceFile.xaml"

assembly

Content file "/ContentFile.xaml"

Content file in subfolder "/Subfolder/ContentFile.xaml"

Using Pack URIs in Code

You specify a pack URI in code by instantiating the Uri class and passing the pack URI as a
parameter to the constructor. This is demonstrated in the following example.

Uri uri = new Uri("pack://application:,,,/File.xaml");

By default, the Uri class considers pack URIs to be absolute. Consequently, an exception is
raised when an instance of the Uri class is created with a relative pack URI.

Uri uri = new Uri("/File.xaml");

Fortunately, the Uri(String, UriKind) overload of the Uri class constructor accepts a parameter of
type UriKind to allow you to specify whether a pack URI is either absolute or relative.

// Absolute URI (default)

Uri absoluteUri = new Uri("pack://application:,,,/File.xaml", UriKind.Absolute);
// Relative URI
Uri relativeUri = new Uri("/File.xaml",
UriKind.Relative);

You should specify only Absolute or Relative when you are certain that the provided pack URI is
one or the other. If you don't know the type of pack URI that is used, such as when a user
enters a pack URI at run time, use RelativeOrAbsolute instead.

// Relative or Absolute URI provided by user via a text box

TextBox userProvidedUriTextBox = new TextBox();
Uri uri = new Uri(userProvidedUriTextBox.Text, UriKind.RelativeOrAbsolute);

Table 3 illustrates the various relative pack URIs that you can specify in code by using
System.Uri.

Table 3: Absolute Pack URIs in Code

ﾉ Expand table

File Absolute pack URI

Resource Uri uri = new Uri("pack://application:,,,/ResourceFile.xaml", UriKind.Absolute);

file - local
assembly

Resource Uri uri = new Uri("pack://application:,,,/Subfolder/ResourceFile.xaml",

file in UriKind.Absolute);
subfolder -
local
assembly

Resource Uri uri = new

file - Uri("pack://application:,,,/ReferencedAssembly;component/ResourceFile.xaml",
referenced UriKind.Absolute);
assembly

Resource Uri uri = new

file in Uri("pack://application:,,,/ReferencedAssembly;component/Subfolder/ResourceFile.xaml",
subfolder UriKind.Absolute);
of
referenced
assembly

Resource Uri uri = new

file in Uri("pack://application:,,,/ReferencedAssembly;v1.0.0.0;component/ResourceFile.xaml",
versioned UriKind.Absolute);
File Absolute pack URI

referenced
assembly

Content Uri uri = new Uri("pack://application:,,,/ContentFile.xaml", UriKind.Absolute);

file

Content Uri uri = new Uri("pack://application:,,,/Subfolder/ContentFile.xaml",

file in UriKind.Absolute);
subfolder

Site of Uri uri = new Uri("pack://siteoforigin:,,,/SOOFile.xaml", UriKind.Absolute);

origin file

Site of Uri uri = new Uri("pack://siteoforigin:,,,/Subfolder/SOOFile.xaml", UriKind.Absolute);

origin file
in
subfolder

Table 4 illustrates the various relative pack URIs that you can specify in code using System.Uri.

Table 4: Relative Pack URIs in Code

ﾉ Expand table

File Relative pack URI

Resource file - local Uri uri = new Uri("/ResourceFile.xaml", UriKind.Relative);

assembly

Resource file in Uri uri = new Uri("/Subfolder/ResourceFile.xaml", UriKind.Relative);

subfolder - local
assembly

Resource file - Uri uri = new Uri("/ReferencedAssembly;component/ResourceFile.xaml",

referenced assembly UriKind.Relative);

Resource file in Uri uri = new

subfolder - referenced Uri("/ReferencedAssembly;component/Subfolder/ResourceFile.xaml",
assembly UriKind.Relative);

Content file Uri uri = new Uri("/ContentFile.xaml", UriKind.Relative);

Content file in Uri uri = new Uri("/Subfolder/ContentFile.xaml", UriKind.Relative);

subfolder

Common Pack URI Scenarios

The preceding sections have discussed how to construct pack URIs to identify resource,
content, and site of origin files. In WPF, these constructions are used in a variety of ways, and
the following sections cover several common usages.

Specifying the UI to Show When an Application Starts

StartupUri specifies the first UI to show when a WPF application is launched. For standalone
applications, the UI can be a window, as shown in the following example.

XAML

Standalone applications and XAML browser applications (XBAPs) can also specify a page as the
initial UI, as shown in the following example.

XAML

If the application is a standalone application and a page is specified with StartupUri, WPF
opens a NavigationWindow to host the page. For XBAPs, the page is shown in the host
browser.

Navigating to a Page

The following example shows how to navigate to a page.

XAML

<Hyperlink NavigateUri="UriOfPageToNavigateTo.xaml">
Navigate to Another Page
</Hyperlink>

XAML

</Page>

For more information on the various ways to navigate in WPF, see Navigation Overview.

Specifying a Window Icon

The following example shows how to use a URI to specify a window's icon.

XAML

For more information, see Icon.

Loading Image, Audio, and Video Files

WPF allows applications to use a wide variety of media types, all of which can be identified and
loaded with pack URIs, as shown in the following examples.

XAML

<MediaElement Stretch="Fill" LoadedBehavior="Play"

Source="pack://siteoforigin:,,,/Media/bee.wmv" />

XAML

<MediaElement Stretch="Fill" LoadedBehavior="Play"

Source="pack://siteoforigin:,,,/Media/ringin.wav" />

XAML

<Image Source="Images/Watermark.png" />

For more information on working with media content, see Graphics and Multimedia.
Loading a Resource Dictionary from the Site of Origin
Resource dictionaries (ResourceDictionary) can be used to support application themes. One
way to create and manage themes is to create multiple themes as resource dictionaries that are
located at an application's site of origin. This allows themes to be added and updated without
recompiling and redeploying an application. These resource dictionaries can be identified and
loaded using pack URIs, which is shown in the following example.

XAML

For an overview of themes in WPF, see Styling and Templating.

See also
WPF Application Resource, Content, and Data Files
How to: Add a Splash Screen to a WPF
Application
Article • 05/07/2025

This topic shows how to add a startup window, or splash screen, to a Windows Presentation
Foundation (WPF) application.

To add an existing image as a splash screen

1. Create or find an image that you want to use for the splash screen. You can use any
image format that is supported by the Windows Imaging Component (WIC). For example,
you can use the BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, or TIFF format.

2. Add the image file to the WPF Application project.

3. In Solution Explorer, select the image.

4. In the Properties window, click the drop-down arrow for the Build Action property.

5. Select SplashScreen from the drop-down list.

6. Press F5 to build and run the application.

The splash screen image appears in the center of the screen, and then fades when the
main application window appears.

To exclude the splash screen from build

1. In Solution Explorer, select the splash screen image.

2. In the Properties window, set the Build Action to None.

To remove the splash screen from an application

In Solution Explorer, delete the splash screen image.

See also
SplashScreen
How to: Add Existing Items to a Project
How to: Use an Application-Scope
Resource Dictionary
Article • 05/07/2025

This example shows how to define and use an application-scope custom resource dictionary.

Example
Application exposes an application-scope store for shared resources: Resources. By default, the
Resources property is initialized with an instance of the ResourceDictionary type. You use this
instance when you get and set application-scope properties using Resources. For more
information, see How to: Get and Set an Application-Scope Resource.

If you have multiple resources that you set using Resources, you can instead use a custom
resource dictionary to store those resources and set Resources with it instead. The following
shows how you declare a custom resource dictionary using XAML.

XAML

Swapping entire resource dictionaries using Resources allows you to support application-scope
themes, where each theme is encapsulated by a single resource dictionary. The following
example shows how to set the ResourceDictionary.

XAML

<Application.Resources>
<ResourceDictionary Source="MyResourceDictionary.xaml" />
</Application.Resources>
The following shows how you can get application-scope resources from the resource dictionary
exposed by Resources in XAML.

XAML

The following shows how you can also get the resources in code.

//Get a resource from the ResourceDictionary in code

Brush gradientBrush =
(Brush)Application.Current.FindResource("StandardLinearGradientBrush");

There are two considerations to make when using Resources. First, the dictionary key is an
object, so you must use exactly the same object instance when both setting and getting a
property value. (Note that the key is case-sensitive when using a string.) Second, the dictionary
value is an object, so you will have to convert the value to the desired type when getting a
property value.

Some resource types may automatically use a property defined by the type as an explicit key,
such as the Style and DataTemplate types. This may override your x:Key value. To guarantee
that your x:Key key is respected, declare it before the explicit key property. For more
information, see Styles, DataTemplates, and implicit keys.

See also
ResourceDictionary
Resources
XAML Resources
Merged Resource Dictionaries
How to: Persist and Restore Application-
Scope Properties Across Application
Sessions
Article • 05/07/2025

This example shows how to persist application-scope properties when an application shuts
down, and how to restore application-scope properties when an application is next launched.

Example
The application persists application-scope properties to, and restores them from, isolated
storage. Isolated storage is a protected storage area that can safely be used by applications
without file access permission. The App.xaml file defines the App_Startup method as the
handler for the Application.Startup event, and the App_Exit method as the handler for the
Application.Exit event, as shown in the highlighted lines of the following XAML:

７ Note

The following XAML is written for CSharp. The Visual Basic version omits the class
declaration.

XAML

This next example shows the Application code-behind, which contains the event handlers for
the XAML. The App_Startup method restores application-scope properties, and the App_Exit
method saves application-scope properties.

using System.IO.IsolatedStorage;
using System.IO;
using System.Windows;

namespace SDKSamples
{
public partial class App : Application
{
string _filename = "App.data";

public App()
{
// Initialize application-scope property
Properties["NumberOfAppSessions"] = "0";
}

private void App_Startup(object sender, StartupEventArgs e)

{
// Restore application-scope property from isolated storage
IsolatedStorageFile storage =
IsolatedStorageFile.GetUserStoreForDomain();
try
{
if (storage.FileExists(_filename))
{
using (IsolatedStorageFileStream stream =
storage.OpenFile(_filename, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read))
using (StreamReader reader = new StreamReader(stream))
{
// Restore each application-scope property individually
while (!reader.EndOfStream)
{
string[] keyValue = reader.ReadLine().Split(new char[]
{ ',' });
Properties[keyValue[0]] = keyValue[1];
}
}
}
}
catch (DirectoryNotFoundException ex)
{
// Path the file didn't exist
}
catch (IsolatedStorageException ex)
{
// Storage was removed or doesn't exist
// -or-
// If using .NET 6+ the inner exception contains the real cause
}
}

private void App_Exit(object sender, ExitEventArgs e)

{
// Increase the amount of times the app was opened
Properties["NumberOfAppSessions"] =
int.Parse((string)Properties["NumberOfAppSessions"]) + 1;

// Persist application-scope property to isolated storage

IsolatedStorageFile storage =
IsolatedStorageFile.GetUserStoreForDomain();
using (IsolatedStorageFileStream stream = storage.OpenFile(_filename,
FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write))
using (StreamWriter writer = new StreamWriter(stream))
{
// Persist each application-scope property individually
foreach (string key in Properties.Keys)
writer.WriteLine("{0},{1}", key, Properties[key]);
}
}
}

}
Windows in WPF Applications
Article • 05/07/2025

Users interact with applications through windows. The fundamental purpose of a window is to
host and display content. The type of content that a window hosts depends on the type of data
that an application operates over, which can include media, Extensible Application Markup
Language (XAML) pages, Web pages, documents, database tables and records, and system
information.

In This Section
WPF Windows Overview Dialog Boxes Overview How-to Topics

Reference
Window

NavigationWindow

Related Sections
Application Management Overview Navigation Overview Hosting Build and Deploy
Overview of WPF windows
Article • 05/07/2025

Users interact with Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) applications through windows.
The primary purpose of a window is to host content that visualizes data and enables users to
interact with data. WPF applications provide their own windows by using the Window class.
This article introduces Window before covering the fundamentals of creating and managing
windows in applications.

） Important

This article uses XAML generated from a C# project. If you're using Visual Basic, the XAML
may look slightly different. These differences are typically present on x:Class attribute
values. C# includes the root namespace for the project while Visual Basic doesn't.

The project templates for C# create an App type contained in the app.xaml file. In Visual
Basic, the type is named Application and the file is named Application.xaml .

The Window class

In WPF, a window is encapsulated by the Window class that you use to do the following:

Display a window.
Configure the size, position, and appearance of a window.
Host application-specific content.
Manage the lifetime of a window.

The following figure illustrates the constituent parts of a window:

A window is divided into two areas: the non-client area and client area.

The non-client area of a window is implemented by WPF and includes the parts of a window
that are common to most windows, including the following:

A title bar (1-5).

An icon (1).
Title (2).
Minimize (3), Maximize (4), and Close (5) buttons.
System menu (6) with menu items. Appears when clicking on the icon (1).
Border (7).

The client area of a window is the area within a window's non-client area and is used by
developers to add application-specific content, such as menu bars, tool bars, and controls.

Client area (8).

Resize grip (9). This is a control added to the Client area (8).

Implementing a window
The implementation of a typical window includes both appearance and behavior, where
appearance defines how a window looks to users and behavior defines the way a window
functions as users interact with it. In WPF, you can implement the appearance and behavior of
a window using either code or XAML markup.
In general, however, the appearance of a window is implemented using XAML markup, and its
behavior is implemented using code-behind, as shown in the following example.

XAML

</Window>

The following code is the code-behind for the XAML.

using System.Windows;

namespace WindowsOverview
{
public partial class Window1 : Window
{
public Window1()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
}
}

To enable a XAML markup file and code-behind file to work together, the following are
required:

In markup, the Window element must include the x:Class attribute. When the application
is built, the existence of x:Class attribute causes Microsoft build engine (MSBuild) to
generate a partial class that derives from Window with the name that is specified by the
x:Class attribute. This requires the addition of an XML namespace declaration for the

XAML schema ( xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml" ). The generated

partial class implements the InitializeComponent method, which is called to register

the events and set the properties that are implemented in markup.

In code-behind, the class must be a partial class with the same name that is specified by
the x:Class attribute in markup, and it must derive from Window. This allows the code-
behind file to be associated with the partial class that is generated for the markup file
when the application is built, for more information, see Compile a WPF Application.

In code-behind, the Window class must implement a constructor that calls the
InitializeComponent method. InitializeComponent is implemented by the markup file's

generated partial class to register events and set properties that are defined in markup.

７ Note

When you add a new Window to your project by using Visual Studio, the Window is
implemented using both markup and code-behind, and includes the necessary
configuration to create the association between the markup and code-behind files as
described here.

With this configuration in place, you can focus on defining the appearance of the window in
XAML markup and implementing its behavior in code-behind. The following example shows a
window with a button that defines an event handler for the Click event. This is implemented in
the XAML and the handler is implemented in code-behind.

XAML

<Button Click="Button_Click">Click This Button</Button>

</Window>

The following code is the code-behind for the XAML.

using System.Windows;

namespace WindowsOverview
{
public partial class Window1 : Window
{
public Window1()
{
InitializeComponent();
}

private void Button_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

{
MessageBox.Show("Button was clicked.");
}
}
}

Configuring a window for MSBuild

How you implement your window determines how it's configured for MSBuild. For a window
that is defined using both XAML markup and code-behind:

XAML markup files are configured as MSBuild Page items.

Code-behind files are configured as MSBuild Compile items.

.NET SDK projects automatically import the correct Page and Compile items for you, and you
don't need to declare these. When the project is configured for WPF, the XAML markup files
are automatically imported as Page items, and the corresponding code-behind file is imported
as Compile .

MSBuild projects won't automatically import the types and you must declare them yourself:

XML

For information about building WPF applications, see Compile a WPF Application.

Window lifetime
As with any class, a window has a lifetime that begins when it's first instantiated, after which it's
opened, activated/deactivated, and eventually closed.

Opening a window
To open a window, you first create an instance of it, which is demonstrated in the following
example:

using System.Windows;

namespace WindowsOverview
{
public partial class App : Application
{
private void Application_Startup(object sender, StartupEventArgs e)
{
// Create the window
Window1 window = new Window1();

// Open the window

window.Show();
}
}
}

In this example Window1 is instantiated when the application starts, which occurs when the
Startup event is raised. For more information about the startup window, see How to get or set
the main application window.

When a window is instantiated, a reference to it's automatically added to a list of windows that
is managed by the Application object. The first window to be instantiated is automatically set
by Application as the main application window.

The window is finally opened by calling the Show method as shown in the following image:

A window that is opened by calling Show is a modeless window, and the application doesn't
prevent users from interacting with other windows in the application. Opening a window with
ShowDialog opens a window as modal and restricts user interaction to the specific window. For
more information, see Dialog Boxes Overview.

When Show is called, a window does initialization work before it's shown to establish
infrastructure that allows it to receive user input. When the window is initialized, the
SourceInitialized event is raised and the window is shown.
For more information, see How to open a window or dialog box.

Startup window
The previous example used the Startup event to run code that displayed the initial application
window. As a shortcut, instead use StartupUri to specify the path to a XAML file in your
application. The application automatically creates and displays the window specified by that
property.

XAML

</Application.Resources>
</Application>

Window ownership

A window that is opened by using the Show method doesn't have an implicit relationship with
the window that created it. Users can interact with either window independently of the other,
which means that either window can do the following:

Cover the other (unless one of the windows has its Topmost property set to true ).
Be minimized, maximized, and restored without affecting the other.

Some windows require a relationship with the window that opens them. For example, an
Integrated Development Environment (IDE) application may open property windows and tool
windows whose typical behavior is to cover the window that creates them. Furthermore, such
windows should always close, minimize, maximize, and restore in concert with the window that
created them. Such a relationship can be established by making one window own another, and
is achieved by setting the Owner property of the owned window with a reference to the owner
window. This is shown in the following example.

private void Button_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

{
// Create a window and make the current window its owner
var ownedWindow = new ChildWindow1();
ownedWindow.Owner = this;
ownedWindow.Show();
}

After ownership is established:

The owned window can reference its owner window by inspecting the value of its Owner
property.
The owner window can discover all the windows it owns by inspecting the value of its
OwnedWindows property.

Window activation
When a window is first opened, it becomes the active window. The active window is the window
that is currently capturing user input, such as key strokes and mouse clicks. When a window
becomes active, it raises the Activated event.

７ Note

When a window is first opened, the Loaded and ContentRendered events are raised only
after the Activated event is raised. With this in mind, a window can effectively be
considered opened when ContentRendered is raised.

After a window becomes active, a user can activate another window in the same application, or
activate another application. When that happens, the currently active window becomes
deactivated and raises the Deactivated event. Likewise, when the user selects a currently
deactivated window, the window becomes active again and Activated is raised.

One common reason to handle Activated and Deactivated is to enable and disable functionality
that can only run when a window is active. For example, some windows display interactive
content that requires constant user input or attention, including games and video players. The
following example is a simplified video player that demonstrates how to handle Activated and
Deactivated to implement this behavior.

XAML

The following code is the code-behind for the XAML.

using System;
using System.Windows;

namespace WindowsOverview
{
public partial class CustomMediaPlayerWindow : Window
{
public CustomMediaPlayerWindow() =>
InitializeComponent();

private void Window_Activated(object sender, EventArgs e)

{
// Continue playing media if window is activated
mediaElement.Play();
}

private void Window_Deactivated(object sender, EventArgs e)

{
// Pause playing if media is being played and window is deactivated
mediaElement.Pause();
}
}
}

Other types of applications may still run code in the background when a window is
deactivated. For example, a mail client may continue polling the mail server while the user is
using other applications. Applications like these often provide different or extra behavior while
the main window is deactivated. For a mail program, this may mean both adding the new mail
item to the inbox and adding a notification icon to the system tray. A notification icon need
only be displayed when the mail window isn't active, which is determined by inspecting the
IsActive property.

If a background task completes, a window may want to notify the user more urgently by calling
Activate method. If the user is interacting with another application activated when Activate is
called, the window's taskbar button flashes. However, if a user is interacting with the current
application, calling Activate will bring the window to the foreground.

７ Note
You can handle application-scope activation using the Application.Activated and
Application.Deactivated events.

Preventing window activation

There are scenarios where windows shouldn't be activated when shown, such as conversation
windows of a chat application or notification windows of an email application.

If your application has a window that shouldn't be activated when shown, you can set its
ShowActivated property to false before calling the Show method for the first time. As a
consequence:

The window isn't activated.

The window's Activated event isn't raised.
The currently activated window remains activated.

The window will become activated, however, as soon as the user activates it by clicking either
the client or non-client area. In this case:

The window is activated.

The window's Activated event is raised.
The previously activated window is deactivated.
The window's Deactivated and Activated events are then raised as expected in response
to user actions.

Closing a window
The life of a window starts coming to an end when a user closes it. Once a window is closed, it
can't be reopened. A window can be closed by using elements in the non-client area, including
the following:

The Close item of the System menu.

Pressing ALT + F4 .
Pressing the Close button.
Pressing ESC when a button has the IsCancel property set to true on a modal window.

You can provide more mechanisms to the client area to close a window, the more common of
which include the following:

An Exit item in the File menu, typically for main application windows.
A Close item in the File menu, typically on a secondary application window.
A Cancel button, typically on a modal dialog box.
A Close button, typically on a modeless dialog box.

To close a window in response to one of these custom mechanisms, you need to call the Close
method. The following example implements the ability to close a window by choosing Exit
from a File menu.

XAML

The following code is the code-behind for the XAML.

using System.Windows;

namespace WindowsOverview
{
public partial class ClosingWindow : Window
{
public ClosingWindow() =>
InitializeComponent();

private void fileExitMenuItem_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

{
// Close the current window
this.Close();
}
}
}

７ Note

An application can be configured to shut down automatically when either the main
application window closes (see MainWindow) or the last window closes. For more
information, see ShutdownMode.
While a window can be explicitly closed through mechanisms provided in the non-client and
client areas, a window can also be implicitly closed as a result of behavior in other parts of the
application or Windows, including the following:

A user logs off or shuts down Windows.

A window's Owner closes.
The main application window is closed and ShutdownMode is OnMainWindowClose.
Shutdown is called.

） Important

A window can't be reopened after it's closed.

Cancel window closure

When a window closes, it raises two events: Closing and Closed.

Closing is raised before the window closes, and it provides a mechanism by which window
closure can be prevented. One common reason to prevent window closure is if window content
contains modified data. In this situation, the Closing event can be handled to determine
whether data is dirty and, if so, to ask the user whether to either continue closing the window
without saving the data or to cancel window closure. The following example shows the key
aspects of handling Closing.

XAML

The following code is the code-behind for the XAML.

using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Controls;

namespace WindowsOverview
{
public partial class DataWindow : Window
{
private bool _isDataDirty;

public DataWindow() =>

InitializeComponent();

private void documentTextBox_TextChanged(object sender,

TextChangedEventArgs e) =>
_isDataDirty = true;

private void Window_Closing(object sender,

System.ComponentModel.CancelEventArgs e)
{
// If data is dirty, prompt user and ask for a response
if (_isDataDirty)
{
var result = MessageBox.Show("Document has changed. Close without
saving?",
"Question",
MessageBoxButton.YesNo);

// User doesn't want to close, cancel closure

if (result == MessageBoxResult.No)
e.Cancel = true;
}
}
}
}

The Closing event handler is passed a CancelEventArgs, which implements the Cancel property
that you set to true to prevent a window from closing.

If Closing isn't handled, or it's handled but not canceled, the window will close. Just before a
window actually closes, Closed is raised. At this point, a window can't be prevented from
closing.

Window lifetime events

The following illustration shows the sequence of the principal events in the lifetime of a
window:
The following illustration shows the sequence of the principal events in the lifetime of a
window that is shown without activation (ShowActivated is set to false before the window is
shown):

Window location
While a window is open, it has a location in the x and y dimensions relative to the desktop. This
location can be determined by inspecting the Left and Top properties, respectively. Set these
properties to change the location of the window.

You can also specify the initial location of a Window when it first appears by setting the
WindowStartupLocation property with one of the following WindowStartupLocation
enumeration values:

CenterOwner (default)
CenterScreen
Manual

If the startup location is specified as Manual, and the Left and Top properties have not been
set, Window will ask the operating system for a location to appear in.

Topmost windows and z-order

Besides having an x and y location, a window also has a location in the z dimension, which
determines its vertical position with respect to other windows. This is known as the window's z-
order, and there are two types: normal z-order and topmost z-order. The location of a window
in the normal z-order is determined by whether it's currently active or not. By default, a window
is located in the normal z-order. The location of a window in the topmost z-order is also
determined by whether it's currently active or not. Furthermore, windows in the topmost z-
order are always located above windows in the normal z-order. A window is located in the
topmost z-order by setting its Topmost property to true .

Within each z-order type, the currently active window appears above all other windows in the
same z-order.

Window size
Besides having a desktop location, a window has a size that is determined by several
properties, including the various width and height properties and SizeToContent.

MinWidth, Width, and MaxWidth are used to manage the range of widths that a window can
have during its lifetime.

XAML

Window height is managed by MinHeight, Height, and MaxHeight.

XAML

Because the various width values and height values each specify a range, it's possible for the
width and height of a resizable window to be anywhere within the specified range for the
respective dimension. To detect its current width and height, inspect ActualWidth and
ActualHeight, respectively.

If you'd like the width and height of your window to have a size that fits to the size of the
window's content, you can use the SizeToContent property, which has the following values:

SizeToContent.Manual
No effect (default).
SizeToContent.Width
Fit to content width, which has the same effect as setting both MinWidth and MaxWidth
to the width of the content.
SizeToContent.Height
Fit to content height, which has the same effect as setting both MinHeight and
MaxHeight to the height of the content.
SizeToContent.WidthAndHeight
Fit to content width and height, which has the same effect as setting both MinHeight and
MaxHeight to the height of the content, and setting both MinWidth and MaxWidth to the
width of the content.

The following example shows a window that automatically sizes to fit its content, both vertically
and horizontally, when first shown.

XAML

The following example shows how to set the SizeToContent property in code to specify how a
window resizes to fit its content .

// Manually alter window height and width

this.SizeToContent = SizeToContent.Manual;
// Automatically resize width relative to content
this.SizeToContent = SizeToContent.Width;

// Automatically resize height relative to content

this.SizeToContent = SizeToContent.Height;

// Automatically resize height and width relative to content

this.SizeToContent = SizeToContent.WidthAndHeight;

Order of precedence for sizing properties

Essentially, the various sizes properties of a window combine to define the range of width and
height for a resizable window. To ensure a valid range is maintained, Window evaluates the
values of the size properties using the following orders of precedence.

For Height Properties:

1. FrameworkElement.MinHeight
2. FrameworkElement.MaxHeight
3. SizeToContent.Height / SizeToContent.WidthAndHeight
4. FrameworkElement.Height

For Width Properties:

1. FrameworkElement.MinWidth
2. FrameworkElement.MaxWidth
3. SizeToContent.Width / SizeToContent.WidthAndHeight
4. FrameworkElement.Width

The order of precedence can also determine the size of a window when it's maximized, which is
managed with the WindowState property.

Window state
During the lifetime of a resizable window, it can have three states: normal, minimized, and
maximized. A window with a normal state is the default state of a window. A window with this
state allows a user to move and resize it by using a resize grip or the border, if it's resizable.

A window with a minimized state collapses to its task bar button if ShowInTaskbar is set to
true ; otherwise, it collapses to the smallest possible size it can be and moves itself to the

bottom-left corner of the desktop. Neither type of minimized window can be resized using a
border or resize grip, although a minimized window that isn't shown in the task bar can be
dragged around the desktop.
A window with a maximized state expands to the maximum size it can be, which will only be as
large as its MaxWidth, MaxHeight, and SizeToContent properties dictate. Like a minimized
window, a maximized window can't be resized by using a resize grip or by dragging the border.

７ Note

The values of the Top, Left, Width, and Height properties of a window always represent
the values for the normal state, even when the window is currently maximized or
minimized.

The state of a window can be configured by setting its WindowState property, which can have
one of the following WindowState enumeration values:

Normal (default)
Maximized
Minimized

The following example shows how to create a window that is shown as maximized when it
opens.

XAML

In general, you should set WindowState to configure the initial state of a window. Once a
resizable window is shown, users can press the minimize, maximize, and restore buttons on the
window's title bar to change the window state.

Window appearance
You change the appearance of the client area of a window by adding window-specific content
to it, such as buttons, labels, and text boxes. To configure the non-client area, Window provides
several properties, which include Icon to set a window's icon and Title to set its title.

You can also change the appearance and behavior of non-client area border by configuring a
window's resize mode, window style, and whether it appears as a button in the desktop task
bar.

Resize mode
Depending on the WindowStyle property, you can control if, and how, users resize the window.
The window style affects the following:

Allow or disallow resizing by dragging the window border with the mouse.
Whether the Minimize, Maximize, and Close buttons appear on the non-client area.
Whether the Minimize, Maximize, and Close buttons are enabled.

You can configure how a window resizes by setting its ResizeMode property, which can be one
of the following ResizeMode enumeration values:

NoResize
CanMinimize
CanResize (default)
CanResizeWithGrip

As with WindowStyle, the resize mode of a window is unlikely to change during its lifetime,
which means that you'll most likely set it from XAML markup.

XAML

Note that you can detect whether a window is maximized, minimized, or restored by inspecting
the WindowState property.

Window style
The border that is exposed from the non-client area of a window is suitable for most
applications. However, there are circumstances where different types of borders are needed, or
no borders are needed at all, depending on the type of window.

To control what type of border a window gets, you set its WindowStyle property with one of
the following values of the WindowStyle enumeration:

None
SingleBorderWindow (default)
ThreeDBorderWindow
ToolWindow

The effect of applying a window style is illustrated in the following image:

Notice that the image above doesn't show any noticeable difference between
SingleBorderWindow and ThreeDBorderWindow . Back in Windows XP, ThreeDBorderWindow did

affect how the window was drawn, adding a 3D border to the client area. Starting with
Windows 7, the differences between the two styles are minimal.

You can set WindowStyle using either XAML markup or code. Because it's unlikely to change
during the lifetime of a window, you'll most likely configure it using XAML markup.

XAML

Non-rectangular window style

There are also situations where the border styles that WindowStyle allows you to have aren't
sufficient. For example, you may want to create an application with a non-rectangular border,
like Microsoft Windows Media Player uses.
For example, consider the speech bubble window shown in the following image:

This type of window can be created by setting the WindowStyle property to None, and by
using special support that Window has for transparency.

XAML

<Rectangle Stroke="#FF000000" RadiusX="10" RadiusY="10"/>

<TextBlock HorizontalAlignment="Left" VerticalAlignment="Center"

FontSize="25" Text="Greetings!" TextWrapping="Wrap" Margin="5,5,50,5"/>
<Button HorizontalAlignment="Right" VerticalAlignment="Top"
Background="Transparent" BorderBrush="{x:Null}" Foreground="Red" Content="❌"
FontSize="15" />

<Grid.Effect>
<DropShadowEffect BlurRadius="10" ShadowDepth="3" Color="LightBlue"/>
</Grid.Effect>
</Grid>
</Window>

This combination of values instructs the window to render transparent. In this state, the
window's non-client area adornment buttons can't be used and you need to provide your own.

Task bar presence

The default appearance of a window includes a taskbar button. Some types of windows don't
have a task bar button, such as message boxes, dialog boxes, or windows with the
WindowStyle property set to ToolWindow. You can control whether the task bar button for a
window is shown by setting the ShowInTaskbar property, which is true by default.

XAML

Other types of windows

NavigationWindow is a window that is designed to host navigable content.

Dialog boxes are windows that are often used to gather information from a user to complete a
function. For example, when a user wants to open a file, the Open File dialog box is displayed
by an application to get the file name from the user. For more information, see Dialog Boxes
Overview.

See also
Dialog boxes overview
How to open a window or dialog box
How to open a common dialog box
How to open a message box
How to close a window or dialog box
System.Windows.Window
System.Windows.MessageBox
System.Windows.Navigation.NavigationWindow
System.Windows.Application
Dialog boxes overview
Article • 05/07/2025

Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) provides ways for you to design your own dialog
boxes. Dialog boxes are windows but with a specific intent and user experience. This article
discusses how a dialog box works and what types of dialog boxes you can create and use.
Dialog boxes are used to:

Display specific information to users.

Gather information from users.
Both display and gather information.
Display an operating system prompt, such as print window.
Select a file or folder.

These types of windows are known as dialog boxes. A dialog box can be displayed in two ways:
modal and modeless.

Displaying a modal dialog box to the user is a technique with which the application interrupts
what it was doing until the user closes the dialog box. This generally comes in the form of a
prompt or alert. Other windows in the application can't be interacted with until the dialog box
is closed. Once the modal dialog box is closed, the application continues. The most common
dialog boxes are used to show an open file or save file prompt, displaying the printer dialog, or
messaging the user with some status.

A modeless dialog box doesn't prevent a user from activating other windows while it's open.
For example, if a user wants to find occurrences of a particular word in a document, a main
window will often open a dialog box to ask a user what word they're looking for. Since the
application doesn't want to prevent the user from editing the document, the dialog box
doesn't need to be modal. A modeless dialog box at least provides a Close button to close the
dialog box. Other buttons may be provided to run specific functions, such as a Find Next
button to find the next word in a word search.

With WPF you can create several types of dialog boxes, such as message boxes, common
dialog boxes, and custom dialog boxes. This article discusses each, and the Dialog Box
Sample provides matching examples.

Message boxes
A message box is a dialog box that can be used to display textual information and to allow
users to make decisions with buttons. The following figure shows a message box that asks a
question and provides the user with three buttons to answer the question.
To create a message box, you use the MessageBox class. MessageBox lets you configure the
message box text, title, icon, and buttons.

For more information, see How to open a message box.

Common dialog boxes

Windows implements different kinds of reusable dialog boxes that are common to all
applications, including dialog boxes for selecting files and printing.

Since these dialog boxes are provided by the operating system, they're shared among all the
applications that run on the operating system. These dialog boxes provide a consistent user
experience, and are known as common dialog boxes. As a user uses a common dialog box in
one application, they don't need to learn how to use that dialog box in other applications.

WPF encapsulates the open file, save file, open folder, and print common dialog boxes and
exposes them as managed classes for you to use.
To learn more about common dialog boxes, see the following articles:

How to display a common dialog box

Show the Open File dialog box
Show the Save File dialog box
Open Folder dialog box
Show the Print dialog box

Custom dialog boxes

While common dialog boxes are useful, and should be used when possible, they don't support
the requirements of domain-specific dialog boxes. In these cases, you need to create your own
dialog boxes. As we'll see, a dialog box is a window with special behaviors. Window
implements those behaviors and you use the window to create custom modal and modeless
dialog boxes.

There are many design considerations to take into account when you create your own dialog
box. Although both an application window and dialog box contain similarities, such as sharing
the same base class, a dialog box is used for a specific purpose. Usually a dialog box is required
when you need to prompt a user for some sort of information or response. Typically the
application will pause while the dialog box (modal) is displayed, restricting access to the rest of
the application. Once the dialog box is closed, the application continues. Confining interactions
to the dialog box alone, though, isn't a requirement.

When a WPF window is closed, it can't be reopened. Custom dialog boxes are WPF windows
and the same rule applies. To learn how to close a window, see How to close a window or
dialog box.

Implementing a dialog box

When designing a dialog box, follow these suggestions to create a good user experience:

❌ DON'T clutter the dialog window. The dialog experience is for the user to enter some data,
or to make a choice.

✔️DO provide an OK button to close the window.

✔️DO set the OK button's IsDefault property to true to allow the user to press the ENTER key

to accept and close the window.

✔️CONSIDER adding a Cancel button so that the user can close the window and indicate that
they don't want to continue.
✔️DO set the Cancel button's IsCancel property to true to allow the user to press the ESC

key to close the window.

✔️DO set the title of the window to accurately describe what the dialog represents, or what
the user should do with the dialog.

✔️DO set minimum width and height values for the window, preventing the user from resizing
the window too small.

✔️CONSIDER disabling the ability to resize the window if ShowInTaskbar is set to false . You

can disable resizing by setting ResizeMode to NoResize

The following code demonstrates this configuration.

XAML

<Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" />
<ColumnDefinition />
</Grid.ColumnDefinitions>

<Grid.RowDefinitions>
<RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
<RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
<RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
<RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
<RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
<RowDefinition />
</Grid.RowDefinitions>

<Label Grid.Column="0" Grid.Row="0">Left Margin:</Label>
<TextBox Name="leftMarginTextBox" Grid.Column="1" Grid.Row="0" />

<Label Grid.Column="0" Grid.Row="1">Top Margin:</Label>

<Label Grid.Column="0" Grid.Row="2">Right Margin:</Label>

<Label Grid.Column="0" Grid.Row="3">Bottom Margin:</Label>

<StackPanel Grid.Column="0" Grid.ColumnSpan="2" Grid.Row="4"
Orientation="Horizontal" HorizontalAlignment="Right">
<Button Name="okButton" Click="okButton_Click"
IsDefault="True">OK</Button>
<Button Name="cancelButton" IsCancel="True">Cancel</Button>
</StackPanel>
</Grid >
</Window>

The above XAML creates a window that looks similar to the following image:

UI elements opening a dialog box

The user experience for a dialog box also extends into the menu bar or the button of the
window that opens it. When a menu item or button runs a function that requires user
interaction through a dialog box before the function can continue, the control should use an
ellipsis at the end of its header text:
XAML

<MenuItem Header="_Margins..." Click="formatMarginsMenuItem_Click" />

<Button Content="_Margins..." Click="formatMarginsButton_Click" />

When a menu item or button runs a function that displays a dialog box that doesn't require
user interaction, such as an About dialog box, an ellipsis isn't required.

Menu items
Menu items are a common way to provide users with application actions that are grouped into
related themes. You've probably seen the File menu on many different applications. In a typical
application, the File menu item provides ways to save a file, load a file, and print a file. If the
action is going to display a modal window, the header typically includes an ellipsis as shown in
the following image:

Two of the menu items have an ellipsis: ... . This helps the user identify that when they select
those menu items, a modal window is shown, pausing the application until the user closes it.

This design technique is an easy way for you to communicate to your users what they should
expect.

Buttons
You can follow the same principle described in the Menu items section. Use an ellipsis on the
button text to indicate that when the user presses the button, a modal dialog will appear. In
the following image, there are two buttons and it's easy to understand which button displays a
dialog box:
Return a result
Opening another window, especially a modal dialog box, is a great way to return status and
information to calling code.

Modal dialogs
When a dialog box is shown by calling ShowDialog(), the code that opened the dialog box
waits until the ShowDialog method returns. When the method returns, the code that called it
needs to decide whether to continue processing or stop processing. The user generally
indicates this by pressing an OK or Cancel button on the dialog box.

When the OK button is pressed, ShowDialog should be designed to return true , and the
Cancel button to return false . This is achieved by setting the DialogResult property when the
button is pressed.

private void okButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e) =>

DialogResult = true;

private void cancelButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e) =>

DialogResult = false;

The DialogResult property can only be set if the dialog box was displayed with ShowDialog().
When the DialogResult property is set, the dialog box closes.

If a button's IsCancel property is set to true , and the window is opened with ShowDialog(), the
ESC key will close the window and set DialogResult to false .

For more information about closing dialog boxes, see How to close a window or dialog box.
Processing the response
The ShowDialog() returns a boolean value to indicate whether the user accepted or canceled
the dialog box. If you're alerting the user to something, but not requiring they make a decision
or provide data, you can ignore the response. The response can also be inspected by checking
the DialogResult property. The following code shows how to process the response:

var dialog = new Margins();

// Display the dialog box and read the response

bool? result = dialog.ShowDialog();

if (result == true)
{
// User accepted the dialog box
MessageBox.Show("Your request will be processed.");
}
else
{
// User cancelled the dialog box
MessageBox.Show("Sorry it didn't work out, we'll try again later.");
}

Modeless dialog
To show a dialog box modeless, call Show(). The dialog box should at least provide a Close
button. Other buttons and interactive elements can be provided to run a specific function, such
as a Find Next button to find the next word in a word search.

Because a modeless dialog box doesn't block the calling code from continuing, you must
provide a different way of returning a result. You can do one of the following:

Expose a data object property on the window.

Handle the Window.Closed event in the calling code.
Create events on the window that are raised when the user selects an object or presses a
specific button.

The following example uses the Window.Closed event to display a message box to the user
when the dialog box closes. The message displayed references a property of the closed dialog
box. For more information about closing dialogs boxes, see How to close a window or dialog
box.

C#
var marginsWindow = new Margins();

marginsWindow.Closed += (sender, eventArgs) =>

{
MessageBox.Show($"You closed the margins window! It had the title of
{marginsWindow.Title}");
};

marginsWindow.Show();

See also
Overview of WPF windows
How to open a window or dialog box
How to open a common dialog box
How to open a message box
How to close a window or dialog box
Dialog Box Sample
System.Windows.Window
System.Windows.MessageBox
Window Management How-to Topics
Article • 05/07/2025

The following topics show how to manage Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) windows.

In This Section
Automatically Size a Window to Fit Its Content Get all Windows in an Application Get and Set
the Main Application Window Open a Dialog Box Open a Message Box Open a Window

Related Sections
Application Management Overview

Navigation Overview

Hosting

Build and Deploy

How to open a message box
Article • 05/07/2025

A message box is a dialog box that is used to quickly display information and optionally allow
users to make decisions. Access to the message box is provided by the MessageBox class. A
message box is displayed modally. And the code that displays the message box is paused until
the user closes the message box either with the close button or a response button.

The following illustration demonstrates the parts of a message box:

A title bar with a caption (1).

A close button (2).
Icon (3).
Message displayed to the user (4).
Response buttons (5).

For presenting or gathering complex data, a dialog box might be more suitable than a
message box. For more information, see Dialog boxes overview.

Display a message box

To create a message box, you use the MessageBox class. The MessageBox.Show method lets
you configure the message box text, title, icon, and buttons, shown in the following code:

string messageBoxText = "Do you want to save changes?";

string caption = "Word Processor";
MessageBoxButton button = MessageBoxButton.YesNoCancel;
MessageBoxImage icon = MessageBoxImage.Warning;
MessageBoxResult result;

result = MessageBox.Show(messageBoxText, caption, button, icon,

MessageBoxResult.Yes);

The MessageBox.Show method overloads provide ways to configure the message box. These
options include:

Title bar caption

Message icon
Message text
Response buttons

Here are some more examples of using a message box.

Display an alert.

MessageBox.Show("Unable to save file, try again.");

The previous code displays a message box like the following image:

It's a good idea to use the options provided by the message box class. Using the same
alert as before, set more options to make it more visually appealing:

MessageBox.Show("Unable to save file, try again.", "Save error",

MessageBoxButton.OK, MessageBoxImage.Error);

The previous code displays a message box like the following image:
Display a warning.

MessageBox.Show("If you close the next window without saving, your changes
will be lost.", "Configuration", MessageBoxButton.OK,
MessageBoxImage.Warning);

The previous code displays a message box like the following image:

Ask the user a question.

if (MessageBox.Show("If the file save fails, do you want to automatically try

again?",
"Save file",
MessageBoxButton.YesNo,
MessageBoxImage.Question) == MessageBoxResult.Yes)
{
// Do something here
}

The previous code displays a message box like the following image:
Handle a message box response
The MessageBox.Show method displays the message box and returns a result. The result
indicates how the user closed the message box:

result = MessageBox.Show(messageBoxText, caption, button, icon,

MessageBoxResult.Yes);

switch (result)
{
case MessageBoxResult.Cancel:
// User pressed Cancel
break;
case MessageBoxResult.Yes:
// User pressed Yes
break;
case MessageBoxResult.No:
// User pressed No
break;
}

When a user presses the buttons at the bottom of the message box, the corresponding
MessageBoxResult is returned. However, if the user presses the ESC key or presses the Close
button (#2 in the message box illustration), the result of the message box varies based on the
button options:

ﾉ Expand table

Button options ESC or Close button result

OK OK

OKCancel Cancel

YesNo ESC keyboard shortcut and Close button disabled. User must press Yes or No.

YesNoCancel Cancel
For more information on using message boxes, see MessageBox and the MessageBox
sample .

See also
Overview of WPF windows
Dialog boxes overview
How to display a common dialog box
MessageBox sample
System.Windows.MessageBox
System.Windows.MessageBox.Show
System.Windows.MessageBoxResult
How to open a window or dialog box
Article • 05/07/2025

You can create your own windows and display them in Windows Presentation Foundation
(WPF). In this article, you'll learn how to display modal and modeless windows and dialogs.

Conceptually, a window and a dialog box are the same thing: they're displayed to a user to
provide information or interaction. They're both "window" objects. The design of the window
and the way it's used, is what makes a dialog box. A dialog box is generally small in size and
requires the user to respond to it. For more information, see Overview of WPF windows and
Dialog boxes overview.

If you're interested in opening operating system dialog boxes, see How to open a common
dialog box.

Open as modal
When a modal window is opened, it generally represents a dialog box. WPF restricts interaction
to the modal window, and the code that opened the window pauses until the window closes.
This mechanism provides an easy way for you to prompt the user with data and wait for their
response.

Use the ShowDialog method to open a window. The following code instantiates the window,
and opens it modally. The code opening the window pauses, waiting for the window to be
closed:

var window = new Margins();

window.Owner = this;
window.ShowDialog();

） Important

Once a window is closed, the same object instance can't be used to reopen the window.

For more information about how to handle the user response to a dialog box, see Dialog boxes
overview: Processing the response.

Open as modeless
Opening a window modeless means displaying it as a normal window. The code that opens the
window continues to run as the window becomes visible. You can focus and interact with all
modeless windows displayed by your application, without restriction.

Use the Show method to open a window. The following code instantiates the window, and
opens it modeless. The code opening the window continues to run:

var window = new Margins();

window.Owner = this;
window.Show();

） Important

Once a window is closed, the same object instance can't be used to reopen the window.

See also
Overview of WPF windows
Dialog boxes overview
How to close a window or dialog box
How to open a common dialog box
How to open a message box
System.Windows.Window
System.Windows.Window.DialogResult
System.Windows.Window.Show()
System.Windows.Window.ShowDialog()
How to close a window or dialog box
Article • 05/07/2025

In this article, you'll learn about the different ways to close a window or dialog box. A user can
close a window by using the elements in the non-client area, including the following:

The Close item of the System menu.

Pressing ALT + F4 .
Pressing the Close button.
Pressing ESC when a button has the IsCancel property set to true on a modal window.

When designing a window, provide more mechanisms to the client area to close a window.
Some of the common design elements on a window that are used to close it include the
following:

） Important

Once a window is closed, the same object instance can't be used to reopen the window.

For more information about the life of a window, see Overview of WPF windows: Window
lifetime.

Close a modal window

When closing a window that was opened with the ShowDialog method, set the DialogResult
property to either true or false to indicate an "accepted" or "canceled" state, respectively. As
soon as the DialogResult property is set to a value, the window closes. The following code
demonstrates setting the DialogResult property:

private void okButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e) =>

DialogResult = true;

private void cancelButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e) =>

DialogResult = false;
You can also call the Close method. If the Close method is used, the DialogResult property is
set to false .

Once a window has been closed, it can't be reopened with the same object instance. If you try
to show the same window, a InvalidOperationException is thrown. Instead, create a new
instance of the window and open it.

Close a modeless window

When closing a window that was opened with the Show method, use the Close method. The
following code demonstrates closing a modeless window:

private void closeButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e) =>

Close();

Close with IsCancel

The Button.IsCancel property can be set to true to enable the ESC key to automatically close
the window. This only works when the window is opened with ShowDialog method.

XAML

<Button Name="cancelButton" IsCancel="True">Cancel</Button>

Hide a window
Instead of closing a window, a window can be hidden with the Hide method. A hidden window
can be reopened, unlike a window that has been closed. If you're going to reuse a window
object instance, hide the window instead of closing it. The following code demonstrates hiding
a window:

private void saveButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e) =>

Hide();

Cancel close and hide

If you've designed your buttons to hide a window instead of closing it, the user can still bypass
this and close the window. The Close item of the system menu and the Close button of the
non-client area of the window, will close the window instead of hiding it. Consider this scenario
when your intent is to hide a window instead of closing it.

Ｕ Caution

If a window is shown modally with ShowDialog, the DialogResult property will be set to
null when the window is hidden. You'll need to communicate state back to the calling

code by adding your own property to the window.

When a window is closed, the Closing event is raised. The handler is passed a CancelEventArgs,
which implements the Cancel property. Set that property to true to prevent a window from
closing. The following code demonstrates how to cancel the closure and instead hide the
window:

private void Window_Closing(object sender, System.ComponentModel.CancelEventArgs

e)
{
// Cancel the closure
e.Cancel = true;

// Hide the window

Hide();
}

There may be times where you don't want to hide a window, but actually prevent the user from
closing it. For more information, see Overview of WPF windows: Cancel window closure.

See also
Overview of WPF windows
Dialog boxes overview
How to open a window or dialog box
System.Windows.Window.Close()
System.Windows.Window.Closing
System.Windows.Window.DialogResult
System.Windows.Window.Hide()
System.Windows.Window.Show()
System.Windows.Window.ShowDialog()
How to open a common dialog box
Article • 05/07/2025

This article demonstrates how you can display a common system dialog box in Windows
Presentation Foundation (WPF). Windows implements different kinds of reusable dialog boxes
that are common to all applications, including dialog boxes for selecting files and printing.

A message box is another common dialog box. For more information, see How to open a
message box.

Open File dialog box

The open file dialog box is used by file opening functionality to retrieve the name of a file to
open.

The common open file dialog box is implemented as the OpenFileDialog class and is located in
the Microsoft.Win32 namespace. The following code shows how to create, configure, and show
the dialog.

C#
// Configure open file dialog box
var dialog = new Microsoft.Win32.OpenFileDialog();
dialog.FileName = "Document"; // Default file name
dialog.DefaultExt = ".txt"; // Default file extension
dialog.Filter = "Text documents (.txt)|*.txt"; // Filter files by extension

// Show open file dialog box

bool? result = dialog.ShowDialog();

// Process open file dialog box results

if (result == true)
{
// Open document
string filename = dialog.FileName;
}

For more information on the open file dialog box, see Microsoft.Win32.OpenFileDialog.

Save File dialog box

The save file dialog box is used by file saving functionality to retrieve the name of a file to save.

The common save file dialog box is implemented as the SaveFileDialog class, and is located in
the Microsoft.Win32 namespace. The following code shows how to create, configure, and show
the dialog.

C#
// Configure save file dialog box
var dialog = new Microsoft.Win32.SaveFileDialog();
dialog.FileName = "Document"; // Default file name
dialog.DefaultExt = ".txt"; // Default file extension
dialog.Filter = "Text documents (.txt)|*.txt"; // Filter files by extension

// Show save file dialog box

bool? result = dialog.ShowDialog();

// Process save file dialog box results

if (result == true)
{
// Save document
string filename = dialog.FileName;
}

For more information on the save file dialog box, see Microsoft.Win32.SaveFileDialog.

Open Folder dialog box

） Important

The Open Folder dialog box is available in .NET 8.0 and later.

The Open Folder dialog box is used by the user to select one or more folders, and return them
to the program. For example, if your program displayed information about a folder, such as the
amount of files and the file names in the folder, you can use the Open Folder dialog to let the
user choose the folder.
The common open folder dialog box is implemented as the OpenFolderDialog class, and is
located in the Microsoft.Win32 namespace. The following code shows how to create, configure,
and show the dialog.

// Configure open folder dialog box

Microsoft.Win32.OpenFolderDialog dialog = new();

dialog.Multiselect = false;
dialog.Title = "Select a folder";

// Show open folder dialog box

bool? result = dialog.ShowDialog();

// Process open folder dialog box results

if (result == true)
{
// Get the selected folder
string fullPathToFolder = dialog.FolderName;
string folderNameOnly = dialog.SafeFolderName;
}

For more information on the open folder dialog box, see Microsoft.Win32.OpenFolderDialog.

Print dialog box

The print dialog box is used by printing functionality to choose and configure the printer that a
user wants to print data to.

The common print dialog box is implemented as the PrintDialog class, and is located in the
System.Windows.Controls namespace. The following code shows how to create, configure, and
show one.

// Configure printer dialog box

var dialog = new System.Windows.Controls.PrintDialog();
dialog.PageRangeSelection = System.Windows.Controls.PageRangeSelection.AllPages;
dialog.UserPageRangeEnabled = true;

// Show save file dialog box

bool? result = dialog.ShowDialog();

// Process save file dialog box results

if (result == true)
{
// Document was printed
}

For more information on the print dialog box, see System.Windows.Controls.PrintDialog. For
detailed discussion of printing in WPF, see Printing overview.

See also
How to open a message box
Dialog boxes overview
Overview of WPF windows
Microsoft.Win32.OpenFileDialog
Microsoft.Win32.SaveFileDialog
System.Windows.Controls.PrintDialog
How to get or set the main application
window
Article • 05/07/2025

This article teaches you how to get or set the main application window for Windows
Presentation Foundation (WPF). The first Window that is instantiated within a WPF application
is automatically set by Application as the main application window. The main window is
referenced with the Application.MainWindow property.

Much of the time a project template will set the Application.StartupUri to a XAML file within
your application, such as _Window1.xaml_. This is the first window instantiated and shown by
your application, and it becomes the main window.

 Tip

The default behavior for an application is to shutdown when the last window is closed.
This behavior is controlled by the Application.ShutdownMode property. Instead, you can
configure the application to shutdown if the MainWindow is closed. Set
Application.ShutdownMode to OnMainWindowClose to enable this behavior.

Set the main window in XAML

The templates that generate your WPF application typically set the Application.StartupUri
property to a XAML file. This property is helpful because:

1. It's easily changeable to a different XAML file in your project.

2. Automatically instantiates and displays the specified window.
3. The specified window becomes the Application.MainWindow.

XAML

</Application>

Instead of using Application.StartupUri, you can set the Application.MainWindow to a XAML-

declared window. However, the window specified here won't be displayed and you must set its
visibility.
XAML

<Application.MainWindow>
<local:Window2 Visibility="Visible" />
</Application.MainWindow>
</Application>

Ｕ Caution

If you set both the Application.StartupUri and the Application.MainWindow properties,

you'll display both windows when your application starts.

Also, you can use the Application.Startup event to open a window. For more information, see
Use the Startup event to open a window.

Set the main window in code

The first window instantiated by your application automatically becomes the main window and
is set to the Application.MainWindow property. To set a different main window, change this
property to a window:

Application.Current.MainWindow = new Window2();

Application.Current.MainWindow.Show();

If your application has never created an instance of a window, the following code is functionally
equivalent to the previous code:

var appWindow = new Window2();

appWindow.Show();

As soon as the window object instance is created, it's assigned to Application.MainWindow.

Get the main window
You can access the window chosen as the main window by inspecting the
Application.MainWindow property. The following code displays a message box with the title of
the main window when a button is clicked:

private void Button_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e) =>

MessageBox.Show($"The main window's title is:
{Application.Current.MainWindow.Title}");

See also
Overview of WPF windows
Use the Startup event to open a window
How to open a window or dialog box
System.Windows.Application
System.Windows.Application.MainWindow
System.Windows.Application.StartupUri
System.Windows.Application.ShutdownMode
How to: Automatically Size a Window to Fit
Its Content
Article • 05/07/2025

This example shows how to set the SizeToContent property to specify how a window resizes to
fit its content.

Example
C#

// Manually alter window height and width

this.SizeToContent = SizeToContent.Manual;

// Automatically resize width relative to content

this.SizeToContent = SizeToContent.Width;

// Automatically resize height relative to content

this.SizeToContent = SizeToContent.Height;

// Automatically resize height and width relative to content

this.SizeToContent = SizeToContent.WidthAndHeight;
How to: Get all Windows in an Application
Article • 05/07/2025

This example shows how to get all Window objects in an application.

Example
Every instantiated Window object, whether visible or not, is automatically added to a collection
of window references that is managed by Application, and exposed from Windows.

You can enumerate Windows to get all instantiated windows using the following code:

foreach( Window window in Application.Current.Windows ) {

Console.WriteLine(window.Title);
}
Navigation Overview
Article • 05/07/2025

Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) supports browser-style navigation that can be used in
two types of applications: standalone applications and XAML browser applications (XBAPs). To
package content for navigation, WPF provides the Page class. You can navigate from one Page
to another declaratively, by using a Hyperlink, or programmatically, by using the
NavigationService. WPF uses the journal to remember pages that have been navigated from
and to navigate back to them.

Page, Hyperlink, NavigationService, and the journal form the core of the navigation support
offered by WPF. This overview explores these features in detail before covering advanced
navigation support that includes navigation to loose Extensible Application Markup Language
(XAML) files, HTML files, and objects.

７ Note

In this topic, the term "browser" refers only to browsers that can host WPF applications,
which currently includes Microsoft Internet Explorer and Firefox. Where specific WPF
features are supported only by a particular browser, the browser version is referred to.

Navigation in WPF Applications

This topic provides an overview of the key navigation capabilities in WPF. These capabilities are
available to both standalone applications and XBAPs, although this topic presents them within
the context of an XBAP.

７ Note

This topic doesn't discuss how to build and deploy XBAPs. For more information on
XBAPs, see WPF XAML Browser Applications Overview.

This section explains and demonstrates the following aspects of navigation:

Implementing a Page

Configuring a Start Page

Configuring the Host Window's Title, Width, and Height

Hyperlink Navigation
Fragment Navigation

Navigation Service

Programmatic Navigation with the Navigation Service

Navigation Lifetime

Remembering Navigation with the Journal

Page Lifetime and the Journal

Retaining Content State with Navigation History

Structured Navigation

Implementing a Page
In WPF, you can navigate to several content types that include .NET Framework objects, custom
objects, enumeration values, user controls, XAML files, and HTML files. However, you'll find that
the most common and convenient way to package content is by using Page. Furthermore, Page
implements navigation-specific features to enhance their appearance and simplify
development.

Using Page, you can declaratively implement a navigable page of XAML content by using
markup like the following.

XAML

<Page xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation" />

A Page that is implemented in XAML markup has Page as its root element and requires the
WPF XML namespace declaration. The Page element contains the content that you want to
navigate to and display. You add content by setting the Page.Content property element, as
shown in the following markup.

XAML

Page.Content can only contain one child element; in the preceding example, the content is a

single string, "Hello, Page!" In practice, you will usually use a layout control as the child element
(see Layout) to contain and compose your content.

The child elements of a Page element are considered to be the content of a Page and,
consequently, you don't need to use the explicit Page.Content declaration. The following
markup is the declarative equivalent to the preceding sample.

XAML

In this case, Page.Content is automatically set with the child elements of the Page element. For
more information, see WPF Content Model.

A markup-only Page is useful for displaying content. However, a Page can also display controls
that allow users to interact with the page, and it can respond to user interaction by handling
events and calling application logic. An interactive Page is implemented by using a
combination of markup and code-behind, as shown in the following example.

XAML

<Page
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
x:Class="SDKSample.HomePage">
Hello, from the XBAP HomePage!
</Page>

using System.Windows.Controls;

namespace SDKSample
{
public partial class HomePage : Page
{
public HomePage()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
}
}

To allow a markup file and code-behind file to work together, the following configuration is
required:

In markup, the Page element must include the x:Class attribute. When the application is
built, the existence of x:Class in the markup file causes Microsoft build engine (MSBuild)
to create a partial class that derives from Page and has the name that is specified by the
x:Class attribute. This requires the addition of an XML namespace declaration for the

XAML schema ( xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml" ). The

generated partial class implements InitializeComponent , which is called to register the
events and set the properties that are implemented in markup.

In code-behind, the class must be a partial class with the same name that is specified by
the x:Class attribute in markup, and it must derive from Page. This allows the code-
behind file to be associated with the partial class that is generated for the markup file
when the application is built (see Building a WPF Application).

In code-behind, the Page class must implement a constructor that calls the
InitializeComponent method. InitializeComponent is implemented by the markup file's

generated partial class to register events and set properties that are defined in markup.

７ Note

When you add a new Page to your project using Visual Studio, the Page is implemented
using both markup and code-behind, and it includes the necessary configuration to create
the association between the markup and code-behind files as described here.

Once you have a Page, you can navigate to it. To specify the first Page that an application
navigates to, you need to configure the start Page.

Configuring a Start Page

XBAPs require a certain amount of application infrastructure to be hosted in a browser. In WPF,
the Application class is part of an application definition that establishes the required
application infrastructure (see Application Management Overview).

An application definition is usually implemented using both markup and code-behind, with the
markup file configured as an MSBuild ApplicationDefinition item. The following is an
application definition for an XBAP.
XAML

using System.Windows;

namespace SDKSample
{
public partial class App : Application { }
}

An XBAP can use its application definition to specify a start Page, which is the Page that is
automatically loaded when the XBAP is launched. You do this by setting the StartupUri property
with the uniform resource identifier (URI) for the desired Page.

７ Note

In most cases, the Page is either compiled into or deployed with an application. In these
cases, the URI that identifies a Page is a pack URI, which is a URI that conforms to the pack
scheme. Pack URIs are discussed further in Pack URIs in WPF. You can also navigate to
content using the http scheme, which is discussed below.

You can set StartupUri declaratively in markup, as shown in the following example.

XAML

In this example, the StartupUri attribute is set with a relative pack URI that identifies
HomePage.xaml. When the XBAP is launched, HomePage.xaml is automatically navigated to
and displayed. This is demonstrated by the following figure, which shows an XBAP that was
launched from a Web server.
７ Note

For more information regarding the development and deployment of XBAPs, see WPF
XAML Browser Applications Overview and Deploying a WPF Application.

Configuring the Host Window's Title, Width, and Height

One thing you may have noticed from the previous figure is that the title of both the browser
and the tab panel is the URI for the XBAP. Besides being long, the title is neither attractive nor
informative. For this reason, Page offers a way for you to change the title by setting the
WindowTitle property. Furthermore, you can configure the width and height of the browser
window by setting WindowWidth and WindowHeight, respectively.

WindowTitle, WindowWidth, and WindowHeight can be set declaratively in markup, as shown

in the following example.

XAML

The result is shown in the following figure.

Hyperlink Navigation
A typical XBAP comprises several pages. The simplest way to navigate from one page to
another is to use a Hyperlink. You can declaratively add a Hyperlink to a Page by using the
Hyperlink element, which is shown in the following markup.

XAML

<Hyperlink NavigateUri="UriOfPageToNavigateTo.xaml">
Navigate to Another Page
</Hyperlink>

XAML

</Page>

A Hyperlink element requires the following:

The pack URI of the Page to navigate to, as specified by the NavigateUri attribute.

Content that a user can click to initiate the navigation, such as text and images (for the
content that the Hyperlink element can contain, see Hyperlink).

The following figure shows an XBAP with a Page that has a Hyperlink.
As you would expect, clicking the Hyperlink causes the XBAP to navigate to the Page that is
identified by the NavigateUri attribute. Additionally, the XBAP adds an entry for the previous
Page to the Recent Pages list in Internet Explorer. This is shown in the following figure.

As well as supporting navigation from one Page to another, Hyperlink also supports fragment
navigation.

Fragment Navigation
Fragment navigation is the navigation to a content fragment in either the current Page or
another Page. In WPF, a content fragment is the content that is contained by a named element.
A named element is an element that has its Name attribute set. The following markup shows a
named TextBlock element that contains a content fragment.

XAML

<TextBlock Name="Fragment1">
Ea vel dignissim te aliquam facilisis ...
</TextBlock>

XAML

</Page>

For a Hyperlink to navigate to a content fragment, the NavigateUri attribute must include the
following:

The URI of the Page with the content fragment to navigate to.

A "#" character.

The name of the element on the Page that contains the content fragment.

A fragment URI has the following format.

PageURI # ElementName

The following shows an example of a Hyperlink that is configured to navigate to a content

fragment.

XAML

<Hyperlink NavigateUri="PageWithFragments.xaml#Fragment1">
Navigate To pack Fragment
</Hyperlink>

XAML

</Page>

７ Note
This section describes the default fragment navigation implementation in WPF. WPF also
allows you to implement your own fragment navigation scheme which, in part, requires
handling the NavigationService.FragmentNavigation event.

） Important

You can navigate to fragments in loose XAML pages (markup-only XAML files with Page as
the root element) only if the pages can be browsed via HTTP.

However, a loose XAML page can navigate to its own fragments.

Navigation Service
While Hyperlink allows a user to initiate navigation to a particular Page, the work of locating
and downloading the page is performed by the NavigationService class. Essentially,
NavigationService provides the ability to process a navigation request on behalf of client code,
such as the Hyperlink. Additionally, NavigationService implements higher-level support for
tracking and influencing a navigation request.

When a Hyperlink is clicked, WPF calls NavigationService.Navigate to locate and download the
Page at the specified pack URI. The downloaded Page is converted to a tree of objects whose
root object is an instance of the downloaded Page. A reference to the root Page object is
stored in the NavigationService.Content property. The pack URI for the content that was
navigated to is stored in the NavigationService.Source property, while the
NavigationService.CurrentSource stores the pack URI for the last page that was navigated to.

７ Note

It is possible for a WPF application to have more than one currently active
NavigationService. For more information, see Navigation Hosts later in this topic.

Programmatic Navigation with the Navigation Service

You don't need to know about NavigationService if navigation is implemented declaratively in
markup using Hyperlink, because Hyperlink uses the NavigationService on your behalf. This
means that, as long as either the direct or indirect parent of a Hyperlink is a navigation host
(see Navigation Hosts), Hyperlink will be able to find and use the navigation host's navigation
service to process a navigation request.
However, there are situations when you need to use NavigationService directly, including the
following:

When you need to instantiate a Page using a non-parameterless constructor.

When you need to set properties on the Page before you navigate to it.

When the Page that needs to be navigated to can only be determined at run time.

In these situations, you need to write code to programmatically initiate navigation by calling
the Navigate method of the NavigationService object. That requires getting a reference to a
NavigationService.

Getting a Reference to the NavigationService

For reasons that are covered in the Navigation Hosts section, a WPF application can have more
than one NavigationService. This means that your code needs a way to find a
NavigationService, which is usually the NavigationService that navigated to the current Page.
You can get a reference to a NavigationService by calling the
static NavigationService.GetNavigationService method. To get the NavigationService that

navigated to a particular Page, you pass a reference to the Page as the argument of the
GetNavigationService method. The following code shows how to get the NavigationService for
the current Page.

using System.Windows.Navigation;

// Get a reference to the NavigationService that navigated to this Page

NavigationService ns = NavigationService.GetNavigationService(this);

As a shortcut for finding the NavigationService for a Page, Page implements the
NavigationService property. This is shown in the following example.

using System.Windows.Navigation;

// Get a reference to the NavigationService that navigated to this Page

NavigationService ns = this.NavigationService;

７ Note

A Page can only get a reference to its NavigationService when Page raises the Loaded
event.

Programmatic Navigation to a Page Object

The following example shows how to use the NavigationService to programmatically navigate
to a Page. Programmatic navigation is required because the Page that is being navigated to
can only be instantiated using a single, non-parameterless constructor. The Page with the non-
parameterless constructor is shown in the following markup and code.

XAML

</Page>

using System.Windows.Controls;

namespace SDKSample
{
public partial class PageWithNonDefaultConstructor : Page
{
public PageWithNonDefaultConstructor(string message)
{
InitializeComponent();

this.Content = message;
}
}
}

The Page that navigates to the Page with the non-parameterless constructor is shown in the
following markup and code.
XAML

<Hyperlink Click="hyperlink_Click">
Navigate to Page with Non-Default Constructor
</Hyperlink>

</Page>

using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Controls;
using System.Windows.Navigation;

namespace SDKSample
{
public partial class NSNavigationPage : Page
{
public NSNavigationPage()
{
InitializeComponent();
}

void hyperlink_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

{
// Instantiate the page to navigate to
PageWithNonDefaultConstructor page = new
PageWithNonDefaultConstructor("Hello!");

// Navigate to the page, using the NavigationService

this.NavigationService.Navigate(page);
}
}
}

When the Hyperlink on this Page is clicked, navigation is initiated by instantiating the Page to
navigate to using the non-parameterless constructor and calling the
NavigationService.Navigate method. Navigate accepts a reference to the object that the
NavigationService will navigate to, rather than a pack URI.

Programmatic Navigation with a Pack URI

If you need to construct a pack URI programmatically (when you can only determine the pack
URI at run time, for example), you can use the NavigationService.Navigate method. This is
shown in the following example.

XAML

using System;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Controls;
using System.Windows.Navigation;

namespace SDKSample
{
public partial class NSUriNavigationPage : Page
{
public NSUriNavigationPage()
{
InitializeComponent();
}

void hyperlink_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

{
// Create a pack URI
Uri uri = new Uri("AnotherPage.xaml", UriKind.Relative);

// Get the navigation service that was used to

// navigate to this page, and navigate to
// AnotherPage.xaml
this.NavigationService.Navigate(uri);
}
}
}

Refreshing the Current Page

A Page is not downloaded if it has the same pack URI as the pack URI that is stored in the
NavigationService.Source property. To force WPF to download the current page again, you can
call the NavigationService.Refresh method, as shown in the following example.

XAML
<Page
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
x:Class="SDKSample.NSRefreshNavigationPage">
<Hyperlink Click="hyperlink_Click">Refresh this page</Hyperlink>
</Page>

using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Controls;
using System.Windows.Navigation;

namespace SDKSample
{
public partial class NSRefreshNavigationPage : Page
{

void hyperlink_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

{
// Force WPF to download this page again
this.NavigationService.Refresh();
}
}
}

Navigation Lifetime
There are many ways to initiate navigation, as you've seen. When navigation is initiated, and
while navigation is in progress, you can track and influence the navigation using the following
events that are implemented by NavigationService:

Navigating. Occurs when a new navigation is requested. Can be used to cancel the
navigation.

NavigationProgress. Occurs periodically during a download to provide navigation

progress information.

Navigated. Occurs when the page has been located and downloaded.

NavigationStopped. Occurs when the navigation is stopped (by calling StopLoading), or

when a new navigation is requested while a current navigation is in progress.
NavigationFailed. Occurs when an error is raised while navigating to the requested
content.

LoadCompleted. Occurs when content that was navigated to is loaded and parsed, and
has begun rendering.

FragmentNavigation. Occurs when navigation to a content fragment begins, which

happens:

Immediately, if the desired fragment is in the current content.

After the source content has been loaded, if the desired fragment is in different
content.

The navigation events are raised in the order that is illustrated by the following figure.

In general, a Page isn't concerned about these events. It is more likely that an application is
concerned with them and, for that reason, these events are also raised by the Application class:

Application.Navigating

Application.NavigationProgress

Application.Navigated

Application.NavigationFailed

Application.NavigationStopped

Application.LoadCompleted

Application.FragmentNavigation
Every time NavigationService raises an event, the Application class raises the corresponding
event. Frame and NavigationWindow offer the same events to detect navigation within their
respective scopes.

In some cases, a Page might be interested in these events. For example, a Page might handle
the NavigationService.Navigating event to determine whether or not to cancel navigation away
from itself. This is shown in the following example.

XAML

using System;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Controls;
using System.Windows.Navigation;

namespace SDKSample
{
public partial class CancelNavigationPage : Page
{
public CancelNavigationPage()
{
InitializeComponent();

// Can only access the NavigationService when the page has been loaded
this.Loaded += new RoutedEventHandler(CancelNavigationPage_Loaded);
this.Unloaded += new
RoutedEventHandler(CancelNavigationPage_Unloaded);
}

void button_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

{
// Force WPF to download this page again
this.NavigationService.Navigate(new Uri("AnotherPage.xaml",
UriKind.Relative));
}

void CancelNavigationPage_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

{
this.NavigationService.Navigating += new
NavigatingCancelEventHandler(NavigationService_Navigating);
}
void CancelNavigationPage_Unloaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
this.NavigationService.Navigating -= new
NavigatingCancelEventHandler(NavigationService_Navigating);
}

void NavigationService_Navigating(object sender, NavigatingCancelEventArgs

e)
{
// Does the user really want to navigate to another page?
MessageBoxResult result;
result = MessageBox.Show("Do you want to leave this page?",
"Navigation Request", MessageBoxButton.YesNo);

// If the user doesn't want to navigate away, cancel the navigation

if (result == MessageBoxResult.No) e.Cancel = true;
}
}
}

If you register a handler with a navigation event from a Page, as the preceding example does,
you must also unregister the event handler. If you don't, there may be side effects with respect
to how WPF navigation remembers Page navigation using the journal.

Remembering Navigation with the Journal

WPF uses two stacks to remember the pages that you have navigated from: a back stack and a
forward stack. When you navigate from the current Page to a new Page or forward to an
existing Page, the current Page is added to the back stack. When you navigate from the current
Page back to the previous Page, the current Page is added to the forward stack. The back stack,
the forward stack, and the functionality to manage them, are collectively referred to as the
journal. Each item in the back stack and the forward stack is an instance of the JournalEntry
class, and is referred to as a journal entry.

Navigating the Journal from Internet Explorer

Conceptually, the journal operates the same way that the Back and Forward buttons in Internet
Explorer do. These are shown in the following figure.
For XBAPs that are hosted by Internet Explorer, WPF integrates the journal into the navigation
UI of Internet Explorer. This allows users to navigate pages in an XBAP by using the Back,
Forward, and Recent Pages buttons in Internet Explorer.

） Important

In Internet Explorer, when a user navigates away from and back to an XBAP, only the
journal entries for pages that were not kept alive are retained in the journal. For discussion
on keeping pages alive, see Page Lifetime and the Journal later in this topic.

By default, the text for each Page that appears in the Recent Pages list of Internet Explorer is
the URI for the Page. In many cases, this is not particularly meaningful to the user. Fortunately,
you can change the text using one the following options:

1. The attached JournalEntry.Name attribute value.

2. The Page.Title attribute value.

3. The Page.WindowTitle attribute value and the URI for the current Page.

4. The URI for the current Page. (Default)

The order in which the options are listed matches the order of precedence for finding the text.
For example, if JournalEntry.Name is set, the other values are ignored.

The following example uses the Page.Title attribute to change the text that appears for a
journal entry.

XAML

</Page>

using System.Windows.Controls;

namespace SDKSample
{
public partial class PageWithTitle : Page
{

}
}

Navigating the Journal Using WPF

Although a user can navigate the journal by using the Back, Forward, and Recent Pages in
Internet Explorer, you can also navigate the journal using both declarative and programmatic
mechanisms provided by WPF. One reason to do this is to provide custom navigation UIs in
your pages.

You can declaratively add journal navigation support by using the navigation commands
exposed by NavigationCommands. The following example demonstrates how to use the
BrowseBack navigation command.

XAML

<Hyperlink Command="NavigationCommands.BrowseBack">Back</Hyperlink>
XAML

<Hyperlink Command="NavigationCommands.BrowseForward">Forward</Hyperlink>

XAML

</Page>

You can programmatically navigate the journal by using one of the following members of the
NavigationService class:

GoBack

GoForward

CanGoBack

CanGoForward

The journal can also be manipulated programmatically, as discussed in Retaining Content State
with Navigation History later in this topic.

Page Lifetime and the Journal

Consider an XBAP with several pages that contain rich content, including graphics, animations,
and media. The memory footprint for pages like these could be quite large, particularly if video
and audio media are used. Given that the journal "remembers" pages that have been navigated
to, such an XBAP could quickly consume a large and noticeable amount of memory.

For this reason, the default behavior of the journal is to store Page metadata in each journal
entry rather than a reference to a Page object. When a journal entry is navigated to, its Page
metadata is used to create a new instance of the specified Page. As a consequence, each Page
that is navigated has the lifetime that is illustrated by the following figure.
Although using the default journaling behavior can save on memory consumption, per-page
rendering performance might be reduced; reinstantiating a Page can be time-intensive,
particularly if it has a lot of content. If you need to retain a Page instance in the journal, you can
draw on two techniques for doing so. First, you can programmatically navigate to a Page object
by calling the NavigationService.Navigate method.

Second, you can specify that WPF retain an instance of a Page in the journal by setting the
KeepAlive property to true (the default is false ). As shown in the following example, you can
set KeepAlive declaratively in markup.

XAML

An instance of this page is stored in the journal.

</Page>

The lifetime of a Page that is kept alive is subtly different from one that is not. The first time a
Page that is kept alive is navigated to, it is instantiated just like a Page that is not kept alive.
However, because an instance of the Page is retained in the journal, it is never instantiated
again for as long as it remains in the journal. Consequently, if a Page has initialization logic that
needs to be called every time the Page is navigated to, you should move it from the
constructor into a handler for the Loaded event. As shown in the following figure, the Loaded
and Unloaded events are still raised each time a Page is navigated to and from, respectively.

When a Page is not kept alive, you should not do either of the following:

Store a reference to it, or any part of it.

Register event handlers with events that are not implemented by it.
Doing either of these will create references that force the Page to be retained in memory, even
after it has been removed from the journal.

In general, you should prefer the default Page behavior of not keeping a Page alive. However,
this has state implications that are discussed in the next section.

Retaining Content State with Navigation History

If a Page is not kept alive, and it has controls that collect data from the user, what happens to
the data if a user navigates away from and back to the Page? From a user experience
perspective, the user should expect to see the data they entered previously. Unfortunately,
because a new instance of the Page is created with each navigation, the controls that collected
the data are reinstantiated and the data is lost.

Fortunately, the journal provides support for remembering data across Page navigations,
including control data. Specifically, the journal entry for each Page acts as a temporary
container for the associated Page state. The following steps outline how this support is used
when a Page is navigated from:

1. An entry for the current Page is added to the journal.

2. The state of the Page is stored with the journal entry for that page, which is added to the
back stack.

3. The new Page is navigated to.

When the page Page is navigated back to, using the journal, the following steps take place:

1. The Page (the top journal entry on the back stack) is instantiated.

2. The Page is refreshed with the state that was stored with the journal entry for the Page.

3. The Page is navigated back to.

WPF automatically uses this support when the following controls are used on a Page:

CheckBox

ComboBox

Expander

Frame

ListBox
ListBoxItem

MenuItem

ProgressBar

RadioButton

Slider

TabControl

TabItem

TextBox

If a Page uses these controls, data entered into them is remembered across Page navigations,
as demonstrated by the Favorite ColorListBox in the following figure.

When a Page has controls other than those in the preceding list, or when state is stored in
custom objects, you need to write code to cause the journal to remember state across Page
navigations.

If you need to remember small pieces of state across Page navigations, you can use
dependency properties (see DependencyProperty) that are configured with the
FrameworkPropertyMetadata.Journal metadata flag.

If the state that your Page needs to remember across navigations comprises multiple pieces of
data, you may find it less code intensive to encapsulate your state in a single class and
implement the IProvideCustomContentState interface.

If you need to navigate through various states of a single Page, without navigating from the
Page itself, you can use IProvideCustomContentState and NavigationService.AddBackEntry.

Cookies
Another way that WPF applications can store data is with cookies, which are created, updated,
and deleted by using the SetCookie and GetCookie methods. The cookies that you can create
in WPF are the same cookies that other types of Web applications use; cookies are arbitrary
pieces of data that are stored by an application on a client machine either during or across
application sessions. Cookie data typically takes the form of a name/value pair in the following
format.

Name = Value

When the data is passed to SetCookie, along with the Uri of the location for which the cookie
should be set, a cookie is created in-memory, and it is only available for the duration of the
current application session. This type of cookie is referred to as a session cookie.

To store a cookie across application sessions, an expiration date must be added to the cookie,
using the following format.

NAME = VALUE ; expires=DAY, DD-MMM-YYYY HH:MM:SS GMT

A cookie with an expiration date is stored in the current Windows installation's Temporary
Internet Files folder until the cookie expires. Such a cookie is known as a persistent cookie
because it persists across application sessions.

You retrieve both session and persistent cookies by calling the GetCookie method, passing the
Uri of the location where the cookie was set with the SetCookie method.

The following are some of the ways that cookies are supported in WPF:

WPF standalone applications and XBAPs can both create and manage cookies.

Cookies that are created by an XBAP can be accessed from the browser.

XBAPs from the same domain can create and share cookies.

XBAPs and HTML pages from the same domain can create and share cookies.
Cookies are dispatched when XBAPs and loose XAML pages make Web requests.

Both top-level XBAPs and XBAPs hosted in IFRAMES can access cookies.

Cookie support in WPF is the same for all supported browsers.

In Internet Explorer, P3P policy that pertains to cookies is honored by WPF, particularly
with respect to first-party and third-party XBAPs.

Structured Navigation
If you need to pass data from one Page to another, you can pass the data as arguments to a
non-parameterless constructor of the Page. Note that if you use this technique, you must keep
the Page alive; if not, the next time you navigate to the Page, WPF reinstantiates the Page by
using the parameterless constructor.

Alternatively, your Page can implement properties that are set with the data that needs to be
passed. Things become tricky, however, when a Page needs to pass data back to the Page that
navigated to it. The problem is that navigation doesn't natively support mechanisms for
guaranteeing that a Page will be returned to after it is navigated from. Essentially, navigation
doesn't support call/return semantics. To solve this problem, WPF provides the
PageFunction<T> class that you can use to ensure that a Page is returned to in a predictable
and structured fashion. For more information, see Structured Navigation Overview.

The NavigationWindow Class

To this point, you've seen the gamut of navigation services that you are most likely to use to
build applications with navigable content. These services were discussed in the context of
XBAPs, although they are not limited to XBAPs. Modern operating systems and Windows
applications take advantage of the browser experience of modern users to incorporate
browser-style navigation into standalone applications. Common examples include:

Word Thesaurus: Navigate word choices.

File Explorer: Navigate files and folders.

Wizards: Breaking down a complex task into multiple pages that can be navigated
between. An example is the Windows Components Wizard that handles adding and
removing Windows features.

To incorporate browser-style navigation into your standalone applications, you can use the
NavigationWindow class. NavigationWindow derives from Window and extends it with the
same support for navigation that XBAPs provide. You can use NavigationWindow as either the
main window of your standalone application or as a secondary window such as a dialog box.

To implement a NavigationWindow, as with most top-level classes in WPF (Window, Page, and
so on), you use a combination of markup and code-behind. This is shown in the following
example.

XAML

using System.Windows.Navigation;

namespace SDKSample
{
public partial class MainWindow : NavigationWindow
{
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
}
}

This code creates a NavigationWindow that automatically navigates to a Page

(HomePage.xaml) when the NavigationWindow is opened. If the NavigationWindow is the main
application window, you can use the StartupUri attribute to launch it. This is shown in the
following markup.

XAML

The following figure shows the NavigationWindow as the main window of a standalone
application.
From the figure, you can see that the NavigationWindow has a title, even though it wasn't set
in the NavigationWindow implementation code from the preceding example. Instead, the title
is set using the WindowTitle property, which is shown in the following code.

XAML

</Page>

Setting the WindowWidth and WindowHeight properties also affects the NavigationWindow.

Usually, you implement your own NavigationWindow when you need to customize either its
behavior or its appearance. If you do neither, you can use a shortcut. If you specify the pack
URI of a Page as the StartupUri in a standalone application, Application automatically creates a
NavigationWindow to host the Page. The following markup shows how to enable this.

XAML

If you want a secondary application window such as a dialog box to be a NavigationWindow,

you can use the code in the following example to open it.

// Open a navigation window as a dialog box

NavigationWindowDialogBox dlg = new NavigationWindowDialogBox();
dlg.Source = new Uri("HomePage.xaml", UriKind.Relative);
dlg.Owner = this;
dlg.ShowDialog();

The following figure shows the result.

As you can see, NavigationWindow displays Internet Explorer-style Back and Forward buttons
that allow users to navigate the journal. These buttons provide the same user experience, as
shown in the following figure.

If your pages provide their own journal navigation support and UI, you can hide the Back and
Forward buttons displayed by NavigationWindow by setting the value of the
ShowsNavigationUI property to false .

Alternatively, you can use customization support in WPF to replace the UI of the
NavigationWindow itself.

The Frame Class

Both the browser and NavigationWindow are windows that host navigable content. In some
cases, applications have content that does not need to be hosted by an entire window. Instead,
such content be hosted inside other content. You can insert navigable content into other
content by using the Frame class. Frame provides the same support as NavigationWindow and
XBAPs.

The following example shows how to add a Frame to a Page declaratively by using the Frame
element.
XAML

XAML

<Frame Source="FramePage1.xaml" />

XAML

</Page>

This markup sets the Source attribute of the Frame element with a pack URI for the Page that
the Frame should initially navigate to. The following figure shows an XBAP with a Page that has
a Frame that has navigated between several pages.

You don't only have to use Frame inside the content of a Page. It is also common to host a
Frame inside the content of a Window.

By default, Frame only uses its own journal in the absence of another journal. If a Frame is part
of content that is hosted inside either a NavigationWindow or an XBAP, Frame uses the journal
that belongs to the NavigationWindow or XBAP. Sometimes, though, a Frame might need to
be responsible for its own journal. One reason to do so is to allow journal navigation within the
pages that are hosted by a Frame. This is illustrated by the following figure.
In this case, you can configure the Frame to use its own journal by setting the
JournalOwnership property of the Frame to OwnsJournal. This is shown in the following
markup.

XAML

<Frame Source="FramePage1.xaml" JournalOwnership="OwnsJournal" />

XAML

</Page>

The following figure illustrates the effect of navigating within a Frame that uses its own journal.
Notice that the journal entries are shown by the navigation UI in the Frame, rather than by
Internet Explorer.

７ Note

If a Frame is part of content that is hosted in a Window, Frame uses its own journal and,
consequently, displays its own navigation UI.

If your user experience requires a Frame to provide its own journal without showing the
navigation UI, you can hide the navigation UI by setting the NavigationUIVisibility to Hidden.
This is shown in the following markup.

XAML

XAML

</Page>

Navigation Hosts
Frame and NavigationWindow are classes that are known as navigation hosts. A navigation
host is a class that can navigate to and display content. To accomplish this, each navigation
host uses its own NavigationService and journal. The basic construction of a navigation host is
shown in the following figure.
Essentially, this allows NavigationWindow and Frame to provide the same navigation support
that an XBAP provides when hosted in the browser.

Besides using NavigationService and a journal, navigation hosts implement the same members
that NavigationService implements. This is illustrated by the following figure.

This allows you to program navigation support directly against them. You may consider this if
you need to provide a custom navigation UI for a Frame that is hosted in a Window.
Furthermore, both types implement additional, navigation-related members, including
BackStack (NavigationWindow.BackStack, Frame.BackStack) and ForwardStack

(NavigationWindow.ForwardStack, Frame.ForwardStack), which allow you to enumerate the

journal entries in the back stack and forward stack, respectively.

As mentioned earlier, more than one journal can exist within an application. The following
figure provides an example of when this can happen.
Navigating to Content Other than XAML Pages
Throughout this topic, Page and pack XBAPs have been used to demonstrate the various
navigation capabilities of WPF. However, a Page that is compiled into an application is not the
only type of content that can be navigated to, and pack XBAPs aren't the only way to identify
content.

As this section demonstrates, you can also navigate to loose XAML files, HTML files, and
objects.

Navigating to Loose XAML Files

A loose XAML file is a file with the following characteristics:

Contains only XAML (that is, no code).

Has an appropriate namespace declaration.

Has the .xaml file name extension.

For example, consider the following content that is stored as a loose XAML file, Person.xaml.

XAML

<TextBlock xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation">
<TextBlock FontWeight="Bold">Name:</TextBlock>
<TextBlock>Nancy Davolio</TextBlock>
<LineBreak />
<TextBlock FontWeight="Bold">Favorite Color:</TextBlock>
<TextBlock>Yellow</TextBlock>
</TextBlock>

When you double-click the file, the browser opens and navigates to and displays the content.
This is shown in the following figure.

You can display a loose XAML file from the following:

A Web site on the local machine, the intranet, or the Internet.

A Universal Naming Convention (UNC) file share.

The local disk.

A loose XAML file can be added to the browser's favorites, or be the browser's home page.

７ Note

For more information about publishing and launching loose XAML pages, see Deploying a
WPF Application.

One limitation with respect to loose XAML is that you can only host content that is safe to run
in partial trust. For example, Window cannot be the root element of a loose XAML file. For more
information, see WPF Partial Trust Security.

Navigating to HTML Files by Using Frame

As you might expect, you can also navigate to HTML. You simply need to provide a URI that
uses the http scheme. For example, the following XAML shows a Frame that navigates to an
HTML page.

XAML

<Frame Source="http://www.microsoft.com/default.aspx" />

Navigating to HTML requires special permissions. For example, you can't navigate from an
XBAP that is running in the Internet zone partial trust security sandbox. For more information,
see WPF Partial Trust Security.

Navigating to HTML Files by Using the WebBrowser Control

The WebBrowser control supports HTML document hosting, navigation and script/managed
code interoperability. For detailed information regarding the WebBrowser control, see
WebBrowser.

Like Frame, navigating to HTML using WebBrowser requires special permissions. For example,
from a partial-trust application, you can navigate only to HTML located at the site of origin. For
more information, see WPF Partial Trust Security.

Navigating to Custom Objects

If you have data that is stored as custom objects, one way to display that data is to create a
Page with content that is bound to those objects (see Data Binding Overview). If you don't
need the overhead of creating an entire page just to display the objects, you can navigate
directly to them instead.

Consider the Person class that is implemented in the following code.

using System.Windows.Media;

namespace SDKSample
{
public class Person
{
string name;
Color favoriteColor;

public Person() { }
public Person(string name, Color favoriteColor)
{
this.name = name;
this.favoriteColor = favoriteColor;
}

public string Name

{
get { return this.name; }
set { this.name = value; }
}
public Color FavoriteColor
{
get { return this.favoriteColor; }
set { this.favoriteColor = value; }
}
}
}

To navigate to it, you call the NavigationWindow.Navigate method, as demonstrated by the

following code.

XAML

<Hyperlink Name="hyperlink" Click="hyperlink_Click">

Navigate to Nancy Davolio
</Hyperlink>

XAML

</Page>

using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Controls;
using System.Windows.Media;

namespace SDKSample
{
public partial class HomePage : Page
{
public HomePage()
{
InitializeComponent();
}

void hyperlink_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

{
Person person = new Person("Nancy Davolio", Colors.Yellow);
this.NavigationService.Navigate(person);
}
}
}

The following figure shows the result.

From this figure, you can see that nothing useful is displayed. In fact, the value that is displayed
is the return value of the ToString method for the Person object; by default, this is the only
value that WPF can use to represent your object. You could override the ToString method to
return more meaningful information, although it will still only be a string value. One technique
you can use that takes advantage of the presentation capabilities of WPF is to use a data
template. You can implement a data template that WPF can associate with an object of a
particular type. The following code shows a data template for the Person object.

XAML

<Application.Resources>

<DataTemplate DataType="{x:Type local:Person}">
<TextBlock
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation">
<TextBlock FontWeight="Bold">Name:</TextBlock>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Path=Name}" />
<LineBreak />
<TextBlock FontWeight="Bold">Favorite Color:</TextBlock>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Path=FavoriteColor}" />
</TextBlock>
</DataTemplate>

</Application.Resources>

</Application>
Here, the data template is associated with the Person type by using the x:Type markup
extension in the DataType attribute. The data template then binds TextBlock elements (see
TextBlock) to the properties of the Person class. The following figure shows the updated
appearance of the Person object.

An advantage of this technique is the consistency you gain by being able to reuse the data
template to display your objects consistently anywhere in your application.

For more information on data templates, see Data Templating Overview.

Security
WPF navigation support allows XBAPs to be navigated to across the Internet, and it allows
applications to host third-party content. To protect both applications and users from harmful
behavior, WPF provides a variety of security features that are discussed in Security and WPF
Partial Trust Security.

See also
SetCookie
GetCookie
Application Management Overview
Pack URIs in WPF
Structured Navigation Overview
Navigation Topologies Overview
How-to Topics
Deploying a WPF Application
Structured Navigation Overview
Article • 05/07/2025

Content that can be hosted by an XAML browser application (XBAP), a Frame, or a

NavigationWindow is composed of pages that can be identified by pack uniform resource
identifiers (URIs) and navigated to by hyperlinks. The structure of pages and the ways in which
they can be navigated, as defined by hyperlinks, is known as a navigation topology. Such a
topology suits a variety of application types, particularly those that navigate through
documents. For such applications, the user can navigate from one page to another page
without either page needing to know anything about the other.

However, other types of applications have pages that do need to know when they have been
navigated between. For example, consider a human resources application that has one page to
list all the employees in an organization—the "List Employees" page. This page could also allow
users to add a new employee by clicking a hyperlink. When clicked, the page navigates to an
"Add an Employee" page to gather the new employee's details and return them to the "List
Employees" page to create the new employee and update the list. This style of navigation is
similar to calling a method to perform some processing and return a value, which is known as
structured programming. As such, this style of navigation is known as structured navigation.

The Page class doesn't implement support for structured navigation. Instead, the
PageFunction<T> class derives from Page and extends it with the basic constructs required for
structured navigation. This topic shows how to establish structured navigation using
PageFunction<T>.

Structured Navigation
When one page calls another page in a structured navigation, some or all of the following
behaviors are required:

The calling page navigates to the called page, optionally passing parameters required by
the called page.

The called page, when a user has completed using the calling page, returns specifically to
the calling page, optionally:

Returning state information that describes how the calling page was completed (for
example, whether a user pressed an OK button or a Cancel button).

Returning that data that was collected from the user (for example, new employee
details).
When the calling page returns to the called page, the called page is removed from
navigation history to isolate one instance of a called page from another.

These behaviors are illustrated by the following figure:

You can implement these behaviors by using a PageFunction<T> as the called page.

Structured Navigation with PageFunction

This topic shows how to implement the basic mechanics of structured navigation involving a
single PageFunction<T>. In this sample, a Page calls a PageFunction<T> to get a String value
from the user and return it.

Creating a Calling Page

The page that calls a PageFunction<T> can be either a Page or a PageFunction<T>. In this
example, it is a Page, as shown in the following code.

XAML

XAML

</Page>

using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Controls;
using System.Windows.Navigation;

namespace StructuredNavigationSample
{
public partial class CallingPage : Page
{
public CallingPage()
{
InitializeComponent();

}
}

Creating a Page Function to Call

Because the calling page can use the called page to collect and return data from the user,
PageFunction<T> is implemented as a generic class whose type argument specifies the type of
the value that the called page will return. The following code shows the initial implementation
of the called page, using a PageFunction<T>, which returns a String.

XAML

<Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" />
<ColumnDefinition />
</Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<Grid.RowDefinitions>
<RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
<RowDefinition />
</Grid.RowDefinitions>

<Label Grid.Column="0" Grid.Row="0">DataItem1:</Label>
<TextBox Grid.Column="1" Grid.Row="0" Name="dataItem1TextBox"></TextBox>

<TextBlock Grid.Column="1" Grid.Row="1" HorizontalAlignment="Right">
<Button Name="okButton" IsDefault="True" MinWidth="50">OK</Button>
<Button Name="cancelButton" IsCancel="True" MinWidth="50">Cancel</Button>
</TextBlock>

</Grid>

</PageFunction>

using System;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Navigation;

namespace StructuredNavigationSample
{
public partial class CalledPageFunction : PageFunction<String>
{
public CalledPageFunction()
{
InitializeComponent();
}

}
}

The declaration of a PageFunction<T> is similar to the declaration of a Page with the addition
of the type arguments. As you can see from the code example, the type arguments are
specified in both XAML markup, using the x:TypeArguments attribute, and code-behind, using
standard generic type argument syntax.

You don't have to use only .NET Framework classes as type arguments. A PageFunction<T>
could be called to gather domain-specific data that is abstracted as a custom type. The
following code shows how to use a custom type as a type argument for a PageFunction<T>.

namespace SDKSample
{
public class CustomType
{

C#
}
}

XAML

XAML

</PageFunction>

using System.Windows.Navigation;

namespace SDKSample
{
public partial class CustomTypePageFunction : PageFunction<CustomType>
{

}
}

The type arguments for the PageFunction<T> provide the foundation for the communication
between a calling page and the called page, which are discussed in the following sections.

As you'll see, the type that is identified with the declaration of a PageFunction<T> plays an
important role in returning data from a PageFunction<T> to the calling page.

Calling a PageFunction and Passing Parameters

To call a page, the calling page must instantiate the called page and navigate to it using the
Navigate method. This allows the calling page to pass initial data to the called page, such as
default values for the data being gathered by the called page.

The following code shows the called page with a non-parameterless constructor to accept
parameters from the calling page.
C#

using System;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Navigation;

namespace StructuredNavigationSample
{
public partial class CalledPageFunction : PageFunction<String>
{

public CalledPageFunction(string initialDataItem1Value)

{
InitializeComponent();

// Set initial value

this.dataItem1TextBox.Text = initialDataItem1Value;
}

}
}

The following code shows the calling page handling the Click event of the Hyperlink to
instantiate the called page and pass it an initial string value.

XAML

<Hyperlink Name="pageFunctionHyperlink">Call Page Function</Hyperlink>

using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Controls;
using System.Windows.Navigation;

namespace StructuredNavigationSample
{
public partial class CallingPage : Page
{
public CallingPage()
{
InitializeComponent();
this.pageFunctionHyperlink.Click += new
RoutedEventHandler(pageFunctionHyperlink_Click);
}
void pageFunctionHyperlink_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{

// Instantiate and navigate to page function

CalledPageFunction CalledPageFunction = new
CalledPageFunction("Initial Data Item Value");

}
}

You are not required to pass parameters to the called page. Instead, you could do the
following:

From the calling page:

1. Instantiate the called PageFunction<T> using the parameterless constructor.

2. Store the parameters in Properties.

3. Navigate to the called PageFunction<T>.

From the called PageFunction<T>:

Retrieve and use the parameters stored in Properties.

But, as you'll see shortly, you'll still need use code to instantiate and navigate to the called
page to collect the data returned by the called page. For this reason, the PageFunction<T>
needs to be kept alive; otherwise, the next time you navigate to the PageFunction<T>, WPF
instantiates the PageFunction<T> using the parameterless constructor.

Before the called page can return, however, it needs to return data that can be retrieved by the
calling page.

Returning Task Result and Task Data from a Task to a Calling

Page
Once the user has finished using the called page, signified in this example by pressing either
the OK or Cancel buttons, the called page needs to return. Since the calling page used the
called page to collect data from the user, the calling page requires two types of information:

1. Whether the user canceled the called page (by pressing either the OK button or the
Cancel button in this example). This allows the calling page to determine whether to
process the data that the calling page gathered from the user.

2. The data that was provided by the user.

To return information, PageFunction<T> implements the OnReturn method. The following

code shows how to call it.

using System;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Navigation;

namespace StructuredNavigationSample
{
public partial class CalledPageFunction : PageFunction<String>
{

void okButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

{
// Accept when Ok button is clicked
OnReturn(new ReturnEventArgs<string>(this.dataItem1TextBox.Text));
}

void cancelButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

{
// Cancel
OnReturn(null);
}
}
}

In this example, if a user presses the Cancel button, a value of null is returned to the calling
page. If the OK button is pressed instead, the string value provided by the user is returned.
OnReturn is a protected virtual method that you call to return your data to the calling page.
Your data needs to be packaged in an instance of the generic ReturnEventArgs<T> type, whose
type argument specifies the type of value that Result returns. In this way, when you declare a
PageFunction<T> with a particular type argument, you are stating that a PageFunction<T> will
return an instance of the type that is specified by the type argument. In this example, the type
argument and, consequently, the return value is of type String.

When OnReturn is called, the calling page needs some way of receiving the return value of the
PageFunction<T>. For this reason, PageFunction<T> implements the Return event for calling
pages to handle. When OnReturn is called, Return is raised, so the calling page can register
with Return to receive the notification.

using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Controls;
using System.Windows.Navigation;

namespace StructuredNavigationSample
{
public partial class CallingPage : Page
{

void pageFunctionHyperlink_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

{

// Instantiate and navigate to page function

CalledPageFunction CalledPageFunction = new
CalledPageFunction("Initial Data Item Value");
CalledPageFunction.Return += pageFunction_Return;
this.NavigationService.Navigate(CalledPageFunction);
}
void pageFunction_Return(object sender, ReturnEventArgs<string> e)
{
this.pageFunctionResultsTextBlock.Visibility = Visibility.Visible;

// Display result
this.pageFunctionResultsTextBlock.Text = (e != null ? "Accepted" :
"Canceled");

// If page function returned, display result and data

if (e != null)
{
this.pageFunctionResultsTextBlock.Text += "\n" + e.Result;
}
}
}
}

Removing Task Pages When a Task Completes

When a called page returns, and the user didn't cancel the called page, the calling page will
process the data that was provided by the user and also returned from the called page. Data
acquisition in this way is usually an isolated activity; when the called page returns, the calling
page needs to create and navigate to a new calling page to capture more data.

However, unless a called page is removed from the journal, a user will be able to navigate back
to a previous instance of the calling page. Whether a PageFunction<T> is retained in the
journal is determined by the RemoveFromJournal property. By default, a page function is
automatically removed when OnReturn is called because RemoveFromJournal is set to true . To
keep a page function in navigation history after OnReturn is called, set RemoveFromJournal to
false .

Other Types of Structured Navigation

This topic illustrates the most basic use of a PageFunction<T> to support call/return structured
navigation. This foundation provides you with the ability to create more complex types of
structured navigation.

For example, sometimes multiple pages are required by a calling page to gather enough data
from a user or to perform a task. The use of multiple pages is referred to as a "wizard".

In other cases, applications may have complex navigation topologies that depend on
structured navigation to operate effectively. For more information, see Navigation Topologies
Overview.

See also
PageFunction<T>
NavigationService
Navigation Topologies Overview
Navigation Topologies Overview
Article • 05/07/2025

This overview provides an introduction to navigation topologies in WPF. Three common

navigation topologies, with samples, are subsequently discussed.

７ Note

Before reading this topic, you should be familiar with the concept of structured navigation
in WPF using page functions. For more information on both of these topics, see
Structured Navigation Overview.

This topic contains the following sections:

Navigation Topologies

Structured Navigation Topologies

Navigation over a Fixed Linear Topology

Dynamic Navigation over a Fixed Hierarchical Topology

Navigation over a Dynamically Generated Topology

Navigation Topologies
In WPF, navigation typically consists of pages (Page) with hyperlinks (Hyperlink) that navigate
to other pages when clicked. Pages that are navigated to are identified by uniform resource
identifiers (URIs) (see Pack URIs in WPF). Consider the following simple example that shows
pages, hyperlinks, and uniform resource identifiers (URIs):

XAML

<Page xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
WindowTitle="Page1">
<Hyperlink NavigateUri="Page2.xaml">Navigate to Page2</Hyperlink>
</Page>

XAML

<Page xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
WindowTitle="Page2">
<Hyperlink NavigateUri="Page1.xaml">Navigate to Page1</Hyperlink>
</Page>

These pages are arranged in a navigation topology whose structure is determined by how you
can navigate between the pages. This particular navigation topology is suitable in simple
scenarios, although navigation can require more complex topologies, some of which can only
be defined when an application is running.

This topic covers three common navigation topologies: fixed linear, fixed hierarchical, and
dynamically generated. Each navigation topology is demonstrated with a sample that has a UI
like the one that is shown in the following figure:

Structured Navigation Topologies

There are two broad types of navigation topologies:

Fixed Topology: defined at compile time and does not change at run time. Fixed
topologies are useful for navigation through a fixed sequence of pages in either a linear
or hierarchical order.

Dynamic Topology: defined at run time based on input that is collected from the user,
the application, or the system. Dynamic topologies are useful when pages can be
navigated in different sequences.

Although it is possible to create navigation topologies using pages, the samples use page
functions because they provide additional support that simplifies support for passing and
returning data through the pages of a topology.
Navigation over a Fixed Linear Topology
A fixed linear topology is analogous to the structure of a wizard that has one or more wizard
pages that are navigated in a fixed sequence. The following figure shows the high-level
structure and flow of a wizard with a fixed linear topology:

The typical behaviors for navigating over a fixed linear topology include the following:

Navigating from the calling page to a launcher page that initializes the wizard and
navigates to the first wizard page. A launcher page (a UI-less PageFunction<T>) is not
required, since a calling page can call the first wizard page directly. Using a launcher
page, however, can simplify wizard initialization, particularly if initialization is complex.

Users can navigate between pages by using Back and Forward buttons (or hyperlinks).

Users can navigate between pages using the journal.

Users can cancel the wizard from any wizard page by pressing a Cancel button.

Users can accept the wizard on the last wizard page by pressing a Finish button.

If a wizard is canceled, the wizard returns an appropriate result, and does not return any
data.

If a user accepts a wizard, the wizard returns an appropriate result, and returns the data it
collected.

When the wizard is complete (accepted or canceled), the pages that the wizard comprises
are removed from the journal. This keeps each instance of the wizard isolated, thereby
avoiding potential data or state anomalies.

Dynamic Navigation over a Fixed Hierarchical

Topology
In some applications, pages allow navigation to two or more other pages, as shown in the
following figure:

This structure is known as a fixed hierarchical topology, and the sequence in which the
hierarchy is traversed is often determined at run time by either the application or the user. At
run time, each page in the hierarchy that allows navigation to two or more other pages gathers
the data required to determine which page to navigate to. The following figure illustrates one
of several possible navigation sequences based on the previous figure:

Even though the sequence in which pages in a fixed hierarchical structure are navigated is
determined at run time, the user experience is the same as the user experience for a fixed
linear topology:
Navigating from the calling page to a launcher page that initializes the wizard and
navigates to the first wizard page. A launcher page (a UI-less PageFunction<T>) is not
required, since a calling page can call the first wizard page directly. Using a launcher
page, however, can simplify wizard initialization, particularly if initialization is complex.

Users can navigate between pages by using Back and Forward buttons (or hyperlinks).

Users can navigate between pages using the journal.

Users can change the navigation sequence if they navigate back through the journal.

Users can cancel the wizard from any wizard page by pressing a Cancel button.

Users can accept the wizard on the last wizard page by pressing a Finish button.

If a wizard is canceled, the wizard returns an appropriate result, and does not return any
data.

If a user accepts a wizard, the wizard returns an appropriate result, and returns the data it
collected.

Navigation over a Dynamically Generated

Topology
In some applications, the sequence in which two or more pages are navigated can only be
determined at run time, whether by the user, the application, or external data. The following
figure illustrates a set of pages with an undetermined navigation sequence:

The next figure illustrates a navigation sequence that was chosen by the user at run time:
The navigation sequence is known as a dynamically generated topology. For the user, as with
the other navigation topologies, the user experience is the same as it is for the previous
topologies:

Users can navigate between pages by using Back and Forward buttons (or hyperlinks).

Users can navigate between pages using the journal.

Users can cancel the wizard from any wizard page by pressing a Cancel button.

Users can accept the wizard on the last wizard page by pressing a Finish button.

If a wizard is canceled, the wizard returns an appropriate result, and does not return any
data.

If a user accepts a wizard, the wizard returns an appropriate result, and returns the data it
collected.

See also
Page
PageFunction<T>
NavigationService
Structured Navigation Overview
Navigation How-to Topics
Article • 05/07/2025

The following topics show how to use Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) navigation.

In This Section
Call a Page Function Get the Return Value of a Page Function Navigate Forward or Back
Through Navigation History Return from a Page Function

Related Sections
Navigation Overview

Structured Navigation Overview

How to: Call a Page Function
Article • 05/07/2025

This example shows how to call a page function from a Extensible Application Markup
Language (XAML) page.

Example
You can navigate to a page function using a uniform resource identifier (URI), just as you can
when you navigate to a page. This is shown in the following example.

// Navigate to a page function like a page

Uri pageFunctionUri = new Uri("GetStringPageFunction.xaml", UriKind.Relative);
this.NavigationService.Navigate(pageFunctionUri);

If you need to pass data to the page function, you can create an instance of it and pass the
data by setting a property. Or, as the following example shows, you can pass the data using a
non-parameterless constructor.

XAML

<Page x:Class="UsingPageFunctionsSample.CallingPage"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
Title="CallingPage"
>
<Hyperlink Name="callPageFunctionHyperlink"
Click="callPageFunctionHyperlink_Click">Call Page Function</Hyperlink>
</Page>

void callPageFunctionHyperlink_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

{
// Call a page function
GetStringPageFunction pageFunction = new
GetStringPageFunction("initialValue");
this.NavigationService.Navigate(pageFunction);
}

See also
PageFunction<T>
How to: Navigate to a Page
Article • 05/07/2025

This example illustrates several ways in which a page can be navigated to from a
NavigationWindow.

Example
It is possible for a NavigationWindow to navigate to a page using one of the following:

The Source property.

The Navigate method.

// Navigate to URI using the Source property

this.Source = new Uri("HomePage.xaml", UriKind.Relative);

// Navigate to URI using the Navigate method

this.Navigate(new Uri("HomePage.xaml", UriKind.Relative));

// Navigate to object using the Navigate method

this.Navigate(new HomePage());

７ Note

Uniform resource identifiers (URIs) can be either relative or absolute. For more
information, see Pack URIs in WPF.

See also
Frame
Page
NavigationService
How to: Refresh a Page
Article • 05/07/2025

This example shows how to call the Refresh method to refresh the current content in a
NavigationWindow.

Example
Refresh refreshes the current content in a NavigationWindow to be reloaded from its source.

void navigateRefreshButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

{
this.Refresh();
}
How to: Stop a Page from Loading
Article • 05/07/2025

This example shows how to call the StopLoading method to stop navigation to content before
it has finished being downloaded.

Example
StopLoading stops the download of the requested content, and causes the NavigationStopped
event to be raised.

void navigateStopButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

{
this.StopLoading();
}
How to: Navigate Back Through Navigation
History
Article • 05/07/2025

This example illustrates how to navigate to entries in back navigation history.

Example
Code that is running from content that is hosted in a NavigationWindow, Frame using
NavigationService, or Internet Explorer can navigate back through navigation history, one entry
at a time.

Navigating back one entry requires first checking that there are entries in back navigation
history, by inspecting the CanGoBack property, before navigating back one entry, by calling
the GoBack method. This is illustrated in the following example:

void navigateBackButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

{
// Navigate back one page from this page, if there is an entry
// in back navigation history
if (this.NavigationService.CanGoBack)
{
this.NavigationService.GoBack();
}
else
{
MessageBox.Show("No entries in back navigation history.");
}
}

CanGoBack and GoBack are implemented by NavigationWindow, Frame, and

NavigationService.

７ Note

If you call GoBack, and there are no entries in back navigation history, an
InvalidOperationException is raised.
How to: Return from a Page Function
Article • 05/07/2025

This example shows how to return a result from a page function.

Example
To return from a page function, you need to call OnReturn and pass an instance of
ReturnEventArgs<T>.

XAML

XAML

</PageFunction>

public partial class GetStringPageFunction : PageFunction<String>

{
public GetStringPageFunction()
{
InitializeComponent();
}

public GetStringPageFunction(string initialValue) : this()

{
this.stringTextBox.Text = initialValue;
}

void okButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

{
// Page function is accepted, so return a result
OnReturn(new ReturnEventArgs<string>(this.stringTextBox.Text));
}

void cancelButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

{
// Page function is cancelled, so don't return a result
OnReturn(new ReturnEventArgs<string>(null));
}
}

See also
PageFunction<T>
How to: Get the Return Value of a Page
Function
Article • 05/07/2025

This example shows how to get the result that is returned by a page function.

Example
To get the result that is returned from a page function, you need to handle Return of the page
function you are calling.

XAML

void callPageFunctionAndReturnHyperlink_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

{
// Call a page function and hook up page function's return event to get result
GetStringPageFunction pageFunction = new GetStringPageFunction();
pageFunction.Return += new ReturnEventHandler<String>
(GetStringPageFunction_Returned);
this.NavigationService.Navigate(pageFunction);
}
void GetStringPageFunction_Returned(object sender, ReturnEventArgs<String> e)
{
// Get the result, if a result was passed.
if (e.Result != null)
{
Console.WriteLine(e.Result);
}
}

See also
PageFunction<T>
How to: Navigate Forward or Back Through
Navigation History
Article • 05/07/2025

This example illustrates how to navigate forward or back to entries in navigation history.

Example
Code that runs from content in the following hosts can navigate forward or back through
navigation history, one entry at a time.

NavigationWindow using NavigationService

Frame using NavigationService

Internet Explorer

Before you can navigate forward one entry, you must first check that there are entries in
forward navigation history by inspecting the CanGoForward property. To navigate forward one
entry, you call the GoForward method. This is illustrated in the following example:

void navigateForwardButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

{
// Navigate forward one page from this page, if there is an entry
// in forward navigation history
if (this.NavigationService.CanGoForward)
{
this.NavigationService.GoForward();
}
else
{
MessageBox.Show("No entries in forward navigation history.");
}
}

Before you can navigate back one entry, you must first check that there are entries in back
navigation history by inspecting the CanGoBack property. To navigate back one entry, you call
the GoBack method. This is illustrated in the following example:

void navigateBackButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

CanGoForward, GoForward, CanGoBack, and GoBack are implemented by NavigationWindow,

Frame, and NavigationService.

７ Note

If you call GoForward, and there are no entries in forward navigation history, or if you call
GoBack, and there are no entries in back navigation history, an
InvalidOperationException is thrown.
How to: Determine If a Page is Browser
Hosted
Article • 05/07/2025

This example demonstrates how to determine if a Page is hosted in a browser.

２ Warning

XBAPs require legacy browsers to operate, such as Internet Explorer and old versions of
Firefox. These older browsers are usually unsupported on Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Modern browsers no longer support the technology required for XBAP apps due to
security risks. Plugins that enable XBAPs are no longer supported. For more information,
see Frequently asked questions about WPF browser-hosted applications (XBAP).

Example
A Page can be host agnostic and, consequently, can be loaded into several different types of
hosts, including a Frame, a NavigationWindow, or a browser. This can happen when you have a
library assembly that contains one or more pages, and which is referenced by multiple
standalone and browsable (XAML browser application (XBAP)) host applications.

The following example demonstrates how to use BrowserInteropHelper.IsBrowserHosted to

determine if a Page is hosted in a browser.

// Detect if browser hosted

if (BrowserInteropHelper.IsBrowserHosted)
{
// Note: can only inspect BrowserInteropHelper.Source property if page is
browser-hosted.
this.dataTextBlock.Text = "Is Browser Hosted: " +
BrowserInteropHelper.Source.ToString();
}
else
{
this.dataTextBlock.Text = "Is not browser hosted";
}

See also
Frame
Page
How to: Use mailto: to Send Mail From a
Page
Article • 05/07/2025

This example shows how to use Hyperlink in conjunction with a mailto: uniform resource
identifier (URI).

Example
The following code shows how to use a mailto: uniform resource identifier (URI) to open a new
mail window that contains an email address, and email address and a subject, and an email
address, subject, and body.

XAML

<Hyperlink NavigateUri="mailto:username@domainname">mailto: With Email

Address</Hyperlink>
<Hyperlink NavigateUri="mailto:username@domainname?subject=SubjectText">mailto:
With Email Address and Subject</Hyperlink>
<Hyperlink NavigateUri="mailto:username@domainname?
subject=SubjectText&body=BodyText">mailto: With Email Address, Subject, and
Body</Hyperlink>

See also
Pack URIs in WPF
How to: Set the Title of a Window from a
Page
Article • 05/07/2025

This example shows how to set the title of the window in which a Page is hosted.

Example
A page can change the title of the window that is hosting it by setting the WindowTitle
property, like so:

XAML

７ Note

Setting the Title property of a page does not change the value of the window title.
Instead, Title specifies the name of a page entry in navigation history.
How to: Set the Width of a Window from a
Page
Article • 05/07/2025

This example illustrates how to set the width of the window from a Page.

Example
A Page can set the width of its host window by setting WindowWidth. This property allows the
Page to not have explicit knowledge of the type of window that hosts it.

７ Note

To set the width of a window using WindowWidth, a Page must be the child of a window.

XAML

<Page
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
Title="SetWindowWidthPage"
WindowWidth="500"
>
</Page>
How to: Set the Height of a Window from a
Page
Article • 05/07/2025

This example illustrates how to set the height of the window from a Page.

Example
A Page can set the height of its host window by setting WindowHeight. This property allows
the Page to not have explicit knowledge of the type of window that hosts it.

７ Note

To set the height of a window using WindowHeight, a Page must be the child of a
window.

XAML

<Page
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
Title="SetWindowHeightPage"
WindowHeight="500"
>
</Page>
WPF Add-Ins Overview
Article • 05/07/2025

The .NET Framework includes an add-in model that developers can use to create applications
that support add-in extensibility. This add-in model allows the creation of add-ins that
integrate with and extend application functionality. In some scenarios, applications also need
to display user interfaces that are provided by add-ins. This topic shows how WPF augments
the .NET Framework add-in model to enable these scenarios, the architecture behind it, its
benefits, and its limitations.

Prerequisites
Familiarity with the .NET Framework add-in model is required. For more information, see Add-
ins and Extensibility.

Add-Ins Overview
In order to avoid the complexities of application recompilation and redeployment to
incorporate new functionality, applications implement extensibility mechanisms that allow
developers (both first-party and third-party) to create other applications that integrate with
them. The most common way to support this type of extensibility is through the use of add-ins
(also known as "add-ons" and "plug-ins"). Examples of real-world applications that expose
extensibility with add-ins include:

Internet Explorer add-ons.

Windows Media Player plug-ins.

Visual Studio add-ins.

For example, the Windows Media Player add-in model allows third-party developers to
implement "plug-ins" that extend Windows Media Player in a variety of ways, including
creating decoders and encoders for media formats that are not supported natively by Windows
Media Player (for example, DVD, MP3), audio effects, and skins. Each add-in model is built to
expose the functionality that is unique to an application, although there are several entities and
behaviors that are common to all add-in models.

The three main entities of typical add-in extensibility solutions are contracts, add-ins, and host
applications. Contracts define how add-ins integrate with host applications in two ways:

Add-ins integrate with functionality that is implemented by host applications.

Host applications expose functionality for add-ins to integrate with.

In order for add-ins to be used, host applications need to find them and load them at run time.
Consequently, applications that support add-ins have the following additional responsibilities:

Discovery: Finding add-ins that adhere to contracts supported by host applications.

Activation: Loading, running, and establishing communication with add-ins.

Isolation: Using either application domains or processes to establish isolation boundaries

that protect applications from potential security and execution problems with add-ins.

Communication: Allowing add-ins and host applications to communicate with each other
across isolation boundaries by calling methods and passing data.

Lifetime Management: Loading and unloading application domains and processes in a

clean, predictable manner (see Application Domains).

Versioning: Ensuring that host applications and add-ins can still communicate when new
versions of either are created.

Ultimately, developing a robust add-in model is a non-trivial undertaking. For this reason, the
.NET Framework provides an infrastructure for building add-in models.

７ Note

For more detailed information on add-ins, see Add-ins and Extensibility.

.NET Framework Add-In Model Overview

The .NET Framework add-in model, found in the System.AddIn namespace, contains a set of
types that are designed to simplify the development of add-in extensibility. The fundamental
unit of the .NET Framework add-in model is the contract, which defines how a host application
and an add-in communicate with each other. A contract is exposed to a host application using
a host-application-specific view of the contract. Likewise, an add-in-specific view of the
contract is exposed to the add-in. An adapter is used to allow a host application and an add-in
to communicate between their respective views of the contract. Contracts, views, and adapters
are referred to as segments, and a set of related segments constitutes a pipeline. Pipelines are
the foundation upon which the .NET Framework add-in model supports discovery, activation,
security isolation, execution isolation (using both application domains and processes),
communication, lifetime management, and versioning.
The sum of this support allows developers to build add-ins that integrate with the functionality
of a host application. However, some scenarios require host applications to display user
interfaces provided by add-ins. Because each presentation technology in the .NET Framework
has its own model for implementing user interfaces, the .NET Framework add-in model does
not support any particular presentation technology. Instead, WPF extends the .NET Framework
add-in model with UI support for add-ins.

WPF Add-Ins
WPF, in conjunction with the .NET Framework add-in model, allows you to address a wide
variety of scenarios that require host applications to display user interfaces from add-ins. In
particular, these scenarios are addressed by WPF with the following two programming models:

1. The add-in returns a UI. An add-in returns a UI to the host application via a method call,
as defined by the contract. This scenario is used in the following cases:

The appearance of a UI that is returned by an add-in is dependent on either data or

conditions that exist only at run time, such as dynamically generated reports.

The UI for services provided by an add-in differs from the UI of the host applications
that can use the add-in.

The add-in primarily performs a service for the host application, and reports status
to the host application with a UI.

2. The add-in is a UI. An add-in is a UI, as defined by the contract. This scenario is used in
the following cases:

An add-in doesn't provide services other than being displayed, such as an

advertisement.

The UI for services provided by an add-in is common to all host applications that
can use that add-in, such as a calculator or color picker.

These scenarios require that UI objects can be passed between host application and add-in
application domains. Since the .NET Framework add-in model relies on remoting to
communicate between application domains, the objects that are passed between them must
be remotable.

A remotable object is an instance of a class that does one or more of the following:

Derives from the MarshalByRefObject class.

Implements the ISerializable interface.

Has the SerializableAttribute attribute applied.

７ Note

For more information regarding the creation of remotable .NET Framework objects, see
Making Objects Remotable.

The WPF UI types are not remotable. To solve the problem, WPF extends the .NET Framework
add-in model to enable WPF UI created by add-ins to be displayed from host applications. This
support is provided by WPF by two types: the INativeHandleContract interface and two static
methods implemented by the FrameworkElementAdapters class: ContractToViewAdapter and
ViewToContractAdapter. At a high level, these types and methods are used in the following
manner:

1. WPF requires that user interfaces provided by add-ins are classes that derive directly or
indirectly from FrameworkElement, such as shapes, controls, user controls, layout panels,
and pages.

2. Wherever the contract declares that a UI will be passed between the add-in and the host
application, it must be declared as an INativeHandleContract (not a FrameworkElement);
INativeHandleContract is a remotable representation of the add-in UI that can be passed
across isolation boundaries.

3. Before being passed from the add-in's application domain, a FrameworkElement is

packaged as an INativeHandleContract by calling ViewToContractAdapter.

4. After being passed to the host application's application domain, the

INativeHandleContract must be repackaged as a FrameworkElement by calling
ContractToViewAdapter.

How INativeHandleContract, ContractToViewAdapter, and ViewToContractAdapter are used

depends on the specific scenario. The following sections provide details for each programming
model.

Add-In Returns a User Interface

For an add-in to return a UI to a host application, the following are required:

1. The host application, add-in, and pipeline must be created, as described by the .NET
Framework Add-ins and Extensibility documentation.

2. The contract must implement IContract and, to return a UI, the contract must declare a
method with a return value of type INativeHandleContract.
3. The UI that is passed between the add-in and the host application must directly or
indirectly derive from FrameworkElement.

4. The UI that is returned by the add-in must be converted from a FrameworkElement to an

INativeHandleContract before crossing the isolation boundary.

5. The UI that is returned must be converted from an INativeHandleContract to a

FrameworkElement after crossing the isolation boundary.

6. The host application displays the returned FrameworkElement.

For an example that demonstrates how to implement an add-in that returns a UI, see Create an
Add-In That Returns a UI.

Add-In Is a User Interface

When an add-in is a UI, the following are required:

1. The host application, add-in, and pipeline must be created, as described by the .NET
Framework Add-ins and Extensibility documentation.

2. The contract interface for the add-in must implement INativeHandleContract.

3. The add-in that is passed to the host application must directly or indirectly derive from
FrameworkElement.

4. The add-in must be converted from a FrameworkElement to an INativeHandleContract

before crossing the isolation boundary.

5. The add-in must be converted from an INativeHandleContract to a FrameworkElement

after crossing the isolation boundary.

6. The host application displays the returned FrameworkElement.

For an example that demonstrates how to implement an add-in that is a UI, see Create an Add-
In That Is a UI.

Returning Multiple UIs from an Add-In

Add-ins often provide multiple user interfaces for host applications to display. For example,
consider an add-in that is a UI that also provides status information to the host application,
also as a UI. An add-in like this can be implemented by using a combination of techniques
from both the Add-In Returns a User Interface and Add-In Is a User Interface models.
Add-Ins and XAML Browser Applications
In the examples so far, the host application has been an installed standalone application. But
XAML browser applications (XBAPs) can also host add-ins, albeit with the following additional
build and implementation requirements:

The XBAP application manifest must be configured specially to download the pipeline
(folders and assemblies) and add-in assembly to the ClickOnce application cache on the
client machine, in the same folder as the XBAP.

The XBAP code to discover and load add-ins must use the ClickOnce application cache for
the XBAP as the pipeline and add-in location.

The XBAP must load the add-in into a special security context if the add-in references
loose files that are located at the site of origin; when hosted by XBAPs, add-ins can only
reference loose files that are located at the host application's site of origin.

These tasks are described in detail in the following subsections.

Configuring the Pipeline and Add-In for ClickOnce

Deployment
XBAPs are downloaded to and run from a safe folder in the ClickOnce deployment cache. In
order for an XBAP to host an add-in, the pipeline and add-in assembly must also be
downloaded to the safe folder. To achieve this, you need to configure the application manifest
to include both the pipeline and add-in assembly for download. This is most easily done in
Visual Studio, although the pipeline and add-in assembly needs to be in the host XBAP
project's root folder in order for Visual Studio to detect the pipeline assemblies.

Consequently, the first step is to build the pipeline and add-in assembly to the XBAP project's
root by setting the build output of each pipeline assembly and add-in assembly projects. The
following table shows the build output paths for pipeline assembly projects and add-in
assembly project that are in the same solution and root folder as the host XBAP project.

Table 1: Build Output Paths for the Pipeline Assemblies That Are Hosted by an XBAP

ﾉ Expand table

Pipeline assembly project Build output path

Contract ..\HostXBAP\Contracts\

Add-In View ..\HostXBAP\AddInViews\

Pipeline assembly project Build output path

Add-In-Side Adapter ..\HostXBAP\AddInSideAdapters\

Host-Side Adapter ..\HostXBAP\HostSideAdapters\

Add-In ..\HostXBAP\AddIns\WPFAddIn1

The next step is to specify the pipeline assemblies and add-in assembly as the XBAPs content
files in Visual Studio by doing the following:

1. Including the pipeline and add-in assembly in the project by right-clicking each pipeline
folder in Solution Explorer and choosing Include In Project.

2. Setting the Build Action of each pipeline assembly and add-in assembly to Content from
the Properties window.

The final step is to configure the application manifest to include the pipeline assembly files and
add-in assembly file for download. The files should be located in folders at the root of the
folder in the ClickOnce cache that the XBAP application occupies. The configuration can be
achieved in Visual Studio by doing the following:

1. Right-click the XBAP project, click Properties, click Publish, and then click the Application
Files button.

2. In the Application Files dialog, set the Publish Status of each pipeline and add-in DLL to
Include (Auto), and set the Download Group for each pipeline and add-in DLL to
(Required).

Using the Pipeline and Add-In from the Application Base

When the pipeline and add-in are configured for ClickOnce deployment, they are downloaded
to the same ClickOnce cache folder as the XBAP. To use the pipeline and add-in from the XBAP,
the XBAP code must get them from the application base. The various types and members of
the .NET Framework add-in model for using pipelines and add-ins provide special support for
this scenario. Firstly, the path is identified by the ApplicationBase enumeration value. You use
this value with overloads of the pertinent add-in members for using pipelines that include the
following:

AddInStore.FindAddIns(Type, PipelineStoreLocation)

AddInStore.FindAddIns(Type, PipelineStoreLocation, String[])

AddInStore.Rebuild(PipelineStoreLocation)
AddInStore.Update(PipelineStoreLocation)

Accessing the Host's Site of Origin

To ensure that an add-in can reference files from the site of origin, the add-in must be loaded
with security isolation that is equivalent to the host application. This security level is identified
by the AddInSecurityLevel.Host enumeration value, and passed to the Activate method when
an add-in is activated.

WPF Add-In Architecture

At the highest level, as we've seen, WPF enables .NET Framework add-ins to implement user
interfaces (that derive directly or indirectly from FrameworkElement) using
INativeHandleContract, ViewToContractAdapter and ContractToViewAdapter. The result is that
the host application is returned a FrameworkElement that is displayed from UI in the host
application.

For simple UI add-in scenarios, this is as much detail as a developer needs. For more complex
scenarios, particularly those that try to utilize additional WPF services such as layout, resources,
and data binding, more detailed knowledge of how WPF extends the .NET Framework add-in
model with UI support is required to understand its benefits and limitations.

Fundamentally, WPF doesn't pass a UI from an add-in to a host application; instead, WPF
passes the Win32 window handle for the UI by using WPF interoperability. As such, when a UI
from an add-in is passed to a host application, the following occurs:

On the add-in side, WPF acquires a window handle for the UI that will be displayed by the
host application. The window handle is encapsulated by an internal WPF class that derives
from HwndSource and implements INativeHandleContract. An instance of this class is
returned by ViewToContractAdapter and is marshaled from the add-in's application
domain to the host application's application domain.

On the host application side, WPF repackages the HwndSource as an internal WPF class
that derives from HwndHost and consumes INativeHandleContract. An instance of this
class is returned by ContractToViewAdapter to the host application.

HwndHost exists to display user interfaces, identified by window handles, from WPF user
interfaces. For more information, see WPF and Win32 Interoperation.

In summary, INativeHandleContract, ViewToContractAdapter, and ContractToViewAdapter exist

to allow the window handle for a WPF UI to be passed from an add-in to a host application,
where it is encapsulated by a HwndHost and displayed the host application's UI.
７ Note

Because the host application gets an HwndHost, the host application cannot convert the
object that is returned by ContractToViewAdapter to the type it is implemented as by the
add-in (for example, a UserControl).

By its nature, HwndHost has certain limitations that affect how host applications can use them.
However, WPF extends HwndHost with several capabilities for add-in scenarios. These benefits
and limitations are described below.

WPF Add-In Benefits

Because WPF add-in user interfaces are displayed from host applications using an internal class
that derives from HwndHost, those user interfaces are constrained by the capabilities of
HwndHost with respect to WPF UI services such as layout, rendering, data binding, styles,
templates, and resources. However, WPF augments its internal HwndHost subclass with
additional capabilities that include the following:

Tabbing between a host application's UI and an add-in's UI. Note that the "add-in is a UI"
programming model requires the add-in-side adapter to override QueryContract to
enable tabbing, whether the add-in is fully trusted or partially trusted.

Honoring accessibility requirements for add-in user interfaces that are displayed from
host application user interfaces.

Enabling WPF applications to run safely in multiple application domain scenarios.

Preventing illegal access to add-in UI window handles when add-ins run with security
isolation (that is, a partial-trust security sandbox). Calling ViewToContractAdapter ensures
this security:

For the "add-in returns a UI" programming model, the only way to pass the window
handle for an add-in UI across the isolation boundary is to call ViewToContractAdapter.

For the "add-in is a UI" programming model, overriding QueryContract on the add-in-
side adapter and calling ViewToContractAdapter (as shown in the preceding examples)
is required, as is calling the add-in-side adapter's QueryContract implementation from
the host-side adapter.

Providing multiple application domain execution protection. Due to limitations with

application domains, unhandled exceptions that are thrown in add-in application
domains cause the entire application to crash, even though the isolation boundary exists.
However, WPF and the .NET Framework add-in model provide a simple way to work
around this problem and improve application stability. A WPF add-in that displays a UI
creates a Dispatcher for the thread that the application domain runs on, if the host
application is a WPF application. You can detect all unhandled exceptions that occur in
the application domain by handling the UnhandledException event of the WPF add-in's
Dispatcher. You can get the Dispatcher from the CurrentDispatcher property.

WPF Add-In Limitations

Beyond the benefits that WPF adds to the default behaviors supplied by HwndSource,
HwndHost, and window handles, there are also limitations for add-in user interfaces that are
displayed from host applications:

Add-in user interfaces displayed from a host application do not respect the host
application's clipping behavior.

The concept of airspace in interoperability scenarios also applies to add-ins (see

Technology Regions Overview).

A host application's UI services, such as resource inheritance, data binding, and

commanding, are not automatically available to add-in user interfaces. To provide these
services to the add-in, you need to update the pipeline.

An add-in UI cannot be rotated, scaled, skewed, or otherwise affected by a transformation

(see Transforms Overview).

Content inside add-in user interfaces that is rendered by drawing operations from the
System.Drawing namespace can include alpha blending. However, both an add-in UI and
the host application UI that contains it must be 100% opaque; in other words, the
Opacity property on both must be set to 1.

If the AllowsTransparency property of a window in the host application that contains an

add-in UI is set to true , the add-in is invisible. This is true even if the add-in UI is 100%
opaque (that is, the Opacity property has a value of 1).

An add-in UI must appear on top of other WPF elements in the same top-level window.

No portion of an add-in's UI can be rendered using a VisualBrush. Instead, the add-in

may take a snapshot of the generated UI to create a bitmap that can be passed to the
host application using methods defined by the contract.

Media files cannot be played from a MediaElement in an add-in UI.

Mouse events generated for the add-in UI are neither received nor raised by the host
application, and the IsMouseOver property for host application UI has a value of false .

When focus shifts between controls in an add-in UI, the GotFocus and LostFocus events
are neither received nor raised by the host application.

The portion of a host application that contains an add-in UI appears white when printed.

All dispatchers (see Dispatcher) created by the add-in UI must be shut down manually
before the owner add-in is unloaded if the host application continues execution. The
contract can implement methods that allow the host application to signal the add-in
before the add-in is unloaded, thereby allowing the add-in UI to shut down its
dispatchers.

If an add-in UI is an InkCanvas or contains an InkCanvas, you cannot unload the add-in.

Performance Optimization
By default, when multiple application domains are used, the various .NET Framework
assemblies required by each application are all loaded into that application's domain. As a
result, the time required for creating new application domains and starting applications in
them might affect performance. However, the .NET Framework provides a way for you to
reduce start times by instructing applications to share assemblies across application domains if
they are already loaded. You do this by using the LoaderOptimizationAttribute attribute, which
must be applied to the entry point method ( Main ). In this case, you must use only code to
implement your application definition (see Application Management Overview).

See also
LoaderOptimizationAttribute
Add-ins and Extensibility
Application Domains
.NET Framework Remoting Overview
Making Objects Remotable
How-to Topics
How-to Topics
Article • 05/07/2025

The following topics show how to create Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) add-ins.

In This Section
Create an Add-In That Returns a UI Create an Add-In That Is a UI

Related Sections
WPF Add-Ins Overview
How to: Create an Add-In That Returns a UI
Article • 05/07/2025

This example shows how to create an add-in that returns a Windows Presentation Foundation
(WPF) to a host WPF standalone application.

The add-in returns a UI that is a WPF user control. The content of the user control is a single
button that, when clicked, displays a message box. The WPF standalone application hosts the
add-in and displays the user control (returned by the add-in) as the content of the main
application window.

Prerequisites

This example highlights the WPF extensions to the .NET Framework add-in model that enable
this scenario, and assumes the following:

Knowledge of the .NET Framework add-in model, including pipeline, add-in, and host
development. If you are unfamiliar with these concepts, see Add-ins and Extensibility. For
a tutorial that demonstrates the implementation of a pipeline, an add-in, and a host
application, see Walkthrough: Creating an Extensible Application.

Knowledge of the WPF extensions to the .NET Framework add-in model, which can be
found here: WPF Add-Ins Overview.

Example
To create an add-in that returns a WPF UI requires specific code for each pipeline segment, the
add-in, and the host application.

Implementing the Contract Pipeline Segment

A method must be defined by the contract for returning a UI, and its return value must be of
type INativeHandleContract. This is demonstrated by the GetAddInUI method of the
IWPFAddInContract contract in the following code.

using System.AddIn.Contract;
using System.AddIn.Pipeline;

namespace Contracts
{
/// <summary>
/// Defines the services that an add-in will provide to a host application
/// </summary>
[AddInContract]
public interface IWPFAddInContract : IContract
{
// Return a UI to the host application
INativeHandleContract GetAddInUI();
}
}

Implementing the Add-In View Pipeline Segment

Because the add-in implements the UIs it provides as subclasses of FrameworkElement, the
method on the add-in view that correlates to IWPFAddInView.GetAddInUI must return a value of
type FrameworkElement. The following code shows the add-in view of the contract,
implemented as an interface.

using System.AddIn.Pipeline;
using System.Windows;

namespace AddInViews
{
/// <summary>
/// Defines the add-in's view of the contract
/// </summary>
[AddInBase]
public interface IWPFAddInView
{
// The add-in's implementation of this method will return
// a UI type that directly or indirectly derives from
// FrameworkElement.
FrameworkElement GetAddInUI();
}
}

Implementing the Add-In-Side Adapter Pipeline

Segment
The contract method returns an INativeHandleContract, but the add-in returns a
FrameworkElement (as specified by the add-in view). Consequently, the FrameworkElement
must be converted to an INativeHandleContract before crossing the isolation boundary. This
work is performed by the add-in-side adapter by calling ViewToContractAdapter, as shown in
the following code.
C#

using System.AddIn.Contract;
using System.AddIn.Pipeline;
using System.Windows;

using AddInViews;
using Contracts;

namespace AddInSideAdapters
{
/// <summary>
/// Adapts the add-in's view of the contract to the add-in contract
/// </summary>
[AddInAdapter]
public class WPFAddIn_ViewToContractAddInSideAdapter : ContractBase,
IWPFAddInContract
{
IWPFAddInView wpfAddInView;

public WPFAddIn_ViewToContractAddInSideAdapter(IWPFAddInView wpfAddInView)

{
// Adapt the add-in view of the contract (IWPFAddInView)
// to the contract (IWPFAddInContract)
this.wpfAddInView = wpfAddInView;
}

public INativeHandleContract GetAddInUI()

{
// Convert the FrameworkElement from the add-in to an
INativeHandleContract
// that will be passed across the isolation boundary to the host
application.
FrameworkElement fe = this.wpfAddInView.GetAddInUI();
INativeHandleContract inhc =
FrameworkElementAdapters.ViewToContractAdapter(fe);
return inhc;
}
}
}

Implementing the Host View Pipeline Segment

Because the host application will display a FrameworkElement, the method on the host view
that correlates to IWPFAddInHostView.GetAddInUI must return a value of type
FrameworkElement. The following code shows the host view of the contract, implemented as
an interface.

C#
using System.Windows;

namespace HostViews
{
/// <summary>
/// Defines the host's view of the add-in
/// </summary>
public interface IWPFAddInHostView
{
// The view returns as a class that directly or indirectly derives from
// FrameworkElement and can subsequently be displayed by the host
// application by embedding it as content or sub-content of a UI that is
// implemented by the host application.
FrameworkElement GetAddInUI();
}
}

Implementing the Host-Side Adapter Pipeline

Segment
The contract method returns an INativeHandleContract, but the host application expects a
FrameworkElement (as specified by the host view). Consequently, the INativeHandleContract
must be converted to a FrameworkElement after crossing the isolation boundary. This work is
performed by the host-side adapter by calling ContractToViewAdapter, as shown in the
following code.

using System.AddIn.Contract;
using System.AddIn.Pipeline;
using System.Windows;

using Contracts;
using HostViews;

namespace HostSideAdapters
{
/// <summary>
/// Adapts the add-in contract to the host's view of the add-in
/// </summary>
[HostAdapter]
public class WPFAddIn_ContractToViewHostSideAdapter : IWPFAddInHostView
{
IWPFAddInContract wpfAddInContract;
ContractHandle wpfAddInContractHandle;

public WPFAddIn_ContractToViewHostSideAdapter(IWPFAddInContract
wpfAddInContract)
{
// Adapt the contract (IWPFAddInContract) to the host application's
// view of the contract (IWPFAddInHostView)
this.wpfAddInContract = wpfAddInContract;

// Prevent the reference to the contract from being released while the
// host application uses the add-in
this.wpfAddInContractHandle = new ContractHandle(wpfAddInContract);
}

public FrameworkElement GetAddInUI()

{
// Convert the INativeHandleContract that was passed from the add-in
side
// of the isolation boundary to a FrameworkElement
INativeHandleContract inhc = this.wpfAddInContract.GetAddInUI();
FrameworkElement fe =
FrameworkElementAdapters.ContractToViewAdapter(inhc);
return fe;
}
}
}

Implementing the Add-In

With the add-in-side adapter and add-in view created, the add-in ( WPFAddIn1.AddIn ) must
implement the IWPFAddInView.GetAddInUI method to return a FrameworkElement object (a
UserControl in this example). The implementation of the UserControl, AddInUI , is shown by the
following code.

XAML

</UserControl>

using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Controls;

namespace WPFAddIn1
{
public partial class AddInUI : UserControl
{
public AddInUI()
{
InitializeComponent();
}

void clickMeButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

{
MessageBox.Show("Hello from WPFAddIn1");
}
}
}

The implementation of the IWPFAddInView.GetAddInUI by the add-in simply needs to return a

new instance of AddInUI , as shown by the following code.

using System.AddIn;
using System.Windows;

using AddInViews;

namespace WPFAddIn1
{
/// <summary>
/// Add-In implementation
/// </summary>
[AddIn("WPF Add-In 1")]
public class WPFAddIn : IWPFAddInView
{
public FrameworkElement GetAddInUI()
{
// Return add-in UI
return new AddInUI();
}
}
}

Implementing the Host Application

With the host-side adapter and host view created, the host application can use the .NET
Framework add-in model to open the pipeline, acquire a host view of the add-in, and call the
IWPFAddInHostView.GetAddInUI method. These steps are shown in the following code.

C#
// Get add-in pipeline folder (the folder in which this application was launched
from)
string appPath = Environment.CurrentDirectory;

// Rebuild visual add-in pipeline

string[] warnings = AddInStore.Rebuild(appPath);
if (warnings.Length > 0)
{
string msg = "Could not rebuild pipeline:";
foreach (string warning in warnings) msg += "\n" + warning;
MessageBox.Show(msg);
return;
}

// Activate add-in with Internet zone security isolation

Collection<AddInToken> addInTokens =
AddInStore.FindAddIns(typeof(IWPFAddInHostView), appPath);
AddInToken wpfAddInToken = addInTokens[0];
this.wpfAddInHostView = wpfAddInToken.Activate<IWPFAddInHostView>
(AddInSecurityLevel.Internet);

// Get and display add-in UI

FrameworkElement addInUI = this.wpfAddInHostView.GetAddInUI();
this.addInUIHostGrid.Children.Add(addInUI);

See also
Add-ins and Extensibility
WPF Add-Ins Overview
How to: Create an Add-In That Is a UI
Article • 05/07/2025

This example shows how to create an add-in that is a Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)
which is hosted by a WPF standalone application.

The add-in is a UI that is a WPF user control. The content of the user control is a single button
that, when clicked, displays a message box. The WPF standalone application hosts the add-in
UI as the content of the main application window.

Prerequisites

This example highlights the WPF extensions to the .NET Framework add-in model that enable
this scenario, and assumes the following:

Knowledge of the WPF extensions to the .NET Framework add-in model. See WPF Add-Ins
Overview.

Example
To create an add-in that is a WPF UI requires specific code for each pipeline segment, the add-
in, and the host application.

Implementing the Contract Pipeline Segment

When an add-in is a UI, the contract for the add-in must implement INativeHandleContract. In
the example, IWPFAddInContract implements INativeHandleContract, as shown in the following
code.

using System.AddIn.Contract;
using System.AddIn.Pipeline;

namespace Contracts
{
/// <summary>
/// Defines the services that an add-in will provide to a host application.
/// In this case, the add-in is a UI.
/// </summary>
[AddInContract]
public interface IWPFAddInContract : INativeHandleContract {}
}

Implementing the Add-In View Pipeline Segment

Because the add-in is implemented as a subclass of the FrameworkElement type, the add-in
view must also subclass FrameworkElement. The following code shows the add-in view of the
contract, implemented as the WPFAddInView class.

using System.AddIn.Pipeline;
using System.Windows.Controls;

namespace AddInViews
{
/// <summary>
/// Defines the add-in's view of the contract.
/// </summary>
[AddInBase]
public class WPFAddInView : UserControl { }
}

Here, the add-in view is derived from UserControl. Consequently, the add-in UI should also
derive from UserControl.

Implementing the Add-In-Side Adapter Pipeline

Segment
While the contract is an INativeHandleContract, the add-in is a FrameworkElement (as specified
by the add-in view pipeline segment). Therefore, the FrameworkElement must be converted to
an INativeHandleContract before crossing the isolation boundary. This work is performed by
the add-in-side adapter by calling ViewToContractAdapter, as shown in the following code.

using System;
using System.AddIn.Contract;
using System.AddIn.Pipeline;
using System.Security.Permissions;

using AddInViews;
using Contracts;
namespace AddInSideAdapters
{
/// <summary>
/// Adapts the add-in's view of the contract to the add-in contract
/// </summary>
[AddInAdapter]
public class WPFAddIn_ViewToContractAddInSideAdapter : ContractBase,
IWPFAddInContract
{
WPFAddInView wpfAddInView;

public WPFAddIn_ViewToContractAddInSideAdapter(WPFAddInView wpfAddInView)

{
// Adapt the add-in view of the contract (WPFAddInView)
// to the contract (IWPFAddInContract)
this.wpfAddInView = wpfAddInView;
}

/// <summary>
/// ContractBase.QueryContract must be overridden to:
/// * Safely return a window handle for an add-in UI to the host
/// application's application.
/// * Enable tabbing between host application UI and add-in UI, in the
/// "add-in is a UI" scenario.
/// </summary>
public override IContract QueryContract(string contractIdentifier)
{
if
(contractIdentifier.Equals(typeof(INativeHandleContract).AssemblyQualifiedName))
{
return
FrameworkElementAdapters.ViewToContractAdapter(this.wpfAddInView);
}

return base.QueryContract(contractIdentifier);
}

/// <summary>
/// GetHandle is called by the WPF add-in model from the host
application's
/// application domain to get the window handle for an add-in UI from the
/// add-in's application domain. GetHandle is called if a window handle
isn't
/// returned by other means, that is, overriding
ContractBase.QueryContract,
/// as shown above.
/// NOTE: This method requires UnmanagedCodePermission to be called
/// (full-trust by default), to prevent illegal window handle
/// access in partially trusted scenarios. If the add-in could
/// run in a partially trusted application domain
/// (eg AddInSecurityLevel.Internet), you can safely return a window
/// handle by overriding ContractBase.QueryContract, as shown above.
/// </summary>
public IntPtr GetHandle()
{
return
FrameworkElementAdapters.ViewToContractAdapter(this.wpfAddInView).GetHandle();
}
}
}

In the add-in model where an add-in returns a UI (see Create an Add-In That Returns a UI), the
add-in adapter converted the FrameworkElement to an INativeHandleContract by calling
ViewToContractAdapter. ViewToContractAdapter must also be called in this model, although
you need to implement a method from which to write the code to call it. You do this by
overriding QueryContract and implementing the code that calls ViewToContractAdapter if the
code that is calling QueryContract is expecting an INativeHandleContract. In this case, the caller
will be the host-side adapter, which is covered in a subsequent subsection.

７ Note

You also need to override QueryContract in this model to enable tabbing between host
application UI and add-in UI. For more information, see "WPF Add-In Limitations" in WPF
Add-Ins Overview.

Because the add-in-side adapter implements an interface that derives from

INativeHandleContract, you also need to implement GetHandle, although this is ignored when
QueryContract is overridden.

Implementing the Host View Pipeline Segment

In this model, the host application typically expects the host view to be a FrameworkElement
subclass. The host-side adapter must convert the INativeHandleContract to a
FrameworkElement after the INativeHandleContract crosses the isolation boundary. Because a
method isn't being called by the host application to get the FrameworkElement, the host view
must "return" the FrameworkElement by containing it. Consequently, the host view must derive
from a subclass of FrameworkElement that can contain other UIs, such as UserControl. The
following code shows the host view of the contract, implemented as the WPFAddInHostView
class.

using System.Windows.Controls;

namespace HostViews
{
/// <summary>
/// Defines the host's view of the add-in
/// </summary>
public class WPFAddInHostView : UserControl { }
}

Implementing the Host-Side Adapter Pipeline

Segment
While the contract is an INativeHandleContract, the host application expects a UserControl (as
specified by the host view). Consequently, the INativeHandleContract must be converted to a
FrameworkElement after crossing the isolation boundary, before being set as content of the
host view (which derives from UserControl).

This work is performed by the host-side adapter, as shown in the following code.

using System.AddIn.Contract;
using System.AddIn.Pipeline;
using System.Windows;

using Contracts;
using HostViews;

namespace HostSideAdapters
{
/// <summary>
/// Adapts the add-in contract to the host's view of the add-in
/// </summary>
[HostAdapter]
public class WPFAddIn_ContractToViewHostSideAdapter : WPFAddInHostView
{
IWPFAddInContract wpfAddInContract;
ContractHandle wpfAddInContractHandle;

public WPFAddIn_ContractToViewHostSideAdapter(IWPFAddInContract
wpfAddInContract)
{
// Adapt the contract (IWPFAddInContract) to the host application's
// view of the contract (WPFAddInHostView)
this.wpfAddInContract = wpfAddInContract;

// Prevent the reference to the contract from being released while the
// host application uses the add-in
this.wpfAddInContractHandle = new ContractHandle(wpfAddInContract);

// Convert the INativeHandleContract for the add-in UI that was passed

// from the add-in side of the isolation boundary to a
FrameworkElement
string aqn = typeof(INativeHandleContract).AssemblyQualifiedName;
INativeHandleContract inhc =
(INativeHandleContract)wpfAddInContract.QueryContract(aqn);
FrameworkElement fe =
(FrameworkElement)FrameworkElementAdapters.ContractToViewAdapter(inhc);

// Add FrameworkElement (which displays the UI provided by the add-in)

as
// content of the view (a UserControl)
this.Content = fe;
}
}
}

As you can see, the host-side adapter acquires the INativeHandleContract by calling the add-
in-side adapter's QueryContract method (this is the point where the INativeHandleContract
crosses the isolation boundary).

The host-side adapter then converts the INativeHandleContract to a FrameworkElement by

calling ContractToViewAdapter. Finally, the FrameworkElement is set as the content of the host
view.

Implementing the Add-In

With the add-in-side adapter and add-in view in place, the add-in can be implemented by
deriving from the add-in view, as shown in the following code.

using System.AddIn;
using System.Windows;

using AddInViews;

namespace WPFAddIn1
{
/// <summary>
/// Implements the add-in by deriving from WPFAddInView
/// </summary>
[AddIn("WPF Add-In 1")]
public partial class AddInUI : WPFAddInView
{
public AddInUI()
{
InitializeComponent();
}

void clickMeButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

{
MessageBox.Show("Hello from WPFAddIn1");
}
}
}

From this example, you can see one interesting benefit of this model: add-in developers only
need to implement the add-in (since it is the UI as well), rather than both an add-in class and
an add-in UI.

Implementing the Host Application

With the host-side adapter and host view created, the host application can use the .NET
Framework add-in model to open the pipeline and acquire a host view of the add-in. These
steps are shown in the following code.

// Get add-in pipeline folder (the folder in which this application was launched
from)
string appPath = Environment.CurrentDirectory;

// Rebuild visual add-in pipeline

// Activate add-in with Internet zone security isolation

Collection<AddInToken> addInTokens =
AddInStore.FindAddIns(typeof(WPFAddInHostView), appPath);
AddInToken wpfAddInToken = addInTokens[0];
this.wpfAddInHostView = wpfAddInToken.Activate<WPFAddInHostView>
(AddInSecurityLevel.Internet);

// Display add-in UI
this.addInUIHostGrid.Children.Add(this.wpfAddInHostView);

The host application uses typical .NET Framework add-in model code to activate the add-in,
which implicitly returns the host view to the host application. The host application
subsequently displays the host view (which is a UserControl) from a Grid.

The code for processing interactions with the add-in UI runs in the add-in's application
domain. These interactions include the following:
Handling the ButtonClick event.

Showing the MessageBox.

This activity is completely isolated from the host application.

See also
Add-ins and Extensibility
WPF Add-Ins Overview
Hosting WPF Applications
Article • 05/07/2025

WPF XAML Browser Applications (XBAPs) are rich-client applications that can be deployed to a
Web server and started in a browser. The WPF Host (PresentationHost.exe) is registered as the
shell and MIME handler for XBAP and XAML files. Therefore, Internet Explorer knows to start
the WPF Host when an XBAP is launched. Firefox users can install Firefox add-ons that enable
Firefox to host XBAPs as well. An XBAP can be hosted in other browsers or stand-alone
applications by using the native browser hosting APIs provided by WPF.

２ Warning

XBAPs require legacy browsers to operate, such as Internet Explorer and old versions of
Firefox. These older browsers are usually unsupported on Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Modern browsers no longer support the technology required for XBAP apps due to
security risks. Plugins that enable XBAPs are no longer supported. For more information,
see Frequently asked questions about WPF browser-hosted applications (XBAP).

In This Section
WPF XAML Browser Applications Overview WPF Host (PresentationHost.exe) Firefox Add-ons to
Support .NET Application Deployment Native WPF Browser Hosting Support APIs

Related Sections
Application Management Overview Windows in WPF Navigation Overview Build and Deploy
WPF XAML Browser Applications Overview
Article • 05/07/2025

XAML browser applications (XBAPs) combines features of both Web applications and rich-client
applications. Like Web applications, XBAPs can be deployed to a Web server and started from
Internet Explorer or Firefox on Windows. Like rich-client applications, XBAPs can take
advantage of the capabilities of WPF. Developing XBAPs is also similar to rich-client
development. This topic provides a simple, high-level introduction to XBAP development and
describes where XBAP development differs from standard rich-client development.

２ Warning

XBAPs require legacy browsers to operate, such as Internet Explorer and old versions of
Firefox. These older browsers are usually unsupported on Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Modern browsers no longer support the technology required for XBAP apps due to
security risks. Plugins that enable XBAPs are no longer supported. For more information,
see Frequently asked questions about WPF browser-hosted applications (XBAP).

This topic contains the following sections:

Creating a New XAML Browser Application (XBAP)

Deploying an XBAP

Communicating with the Host Web Page

XBAP Security Considerations

XBAP Start Time Performance Considerations

Creating a New XAML Browser Application (XBAP)

The simplest way to create a new XBAP project is with Visual Studio. When creating a new
project, select WPF Browser Application from the list of templates. For more information, see
How to: Create a New WPF Browser Application Project.

When you run the XBAP project, it opens in a browser window instead of a stand-alone
window. When you debug the XBAP from Visual Studio, the application runs with Internet zone
permission and will therefore throw security exceptions if those permissions are exceeded. For
more information, see Security and WPF Partial Trust Security.

７ Note
If you are not developing with Visual Studio or want to learn more about the project files,
see Building a WPF Application.

Deploying an XBAP
When you build an XBAP, the output includes the following three files:

ﾉ Expand table

File Description

Executable (.exe) This contains the compiled code and has an .exe extension.

Application manifest This contains metadata associated with the application and has a .manifest
(.manifest) extension.

Deployment manifest This file contains the information that ClickOnce uses to deploy the
(.xbap) application and has the .xbap extension.

You deploy XBAPs to a Web server, for example Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 5.0
or later versions. You do not have to install the .NET Framework on the Web server, but you do
have to register the WPF Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) types and file name
extensions. For more information, see Configure IIS 5.0 and IIS 6.0 to Deploy WPF Applications.

To prepare your XBAP for deployment, copy the .exe and the associated manifests to the Web
server. Create an HTML page that contains a hyperlink to open the deployment manifest, which
is the file that has the .xbap extension. When the user clicks the link to the .xbap file, ClickOnce
automatically handles the mechanics of downloading and starting the application. The
following example code shows an HTML page that contains a hyperlink that points to an XBAP.

HTML

<html>
<head></head>
<body>
<a href="XbapEx.xbap">Click this link to launch the application</a>
</body>
</html>

You can also host an XBAP in the frame of a Web page. Create a Web page with one or more
frames. Set the source property of a frame to the deployment manifest file. If you want to use
the built-in mechanism to communicate between the hosting Web page and the XBAP, you
must host the application in a frame. The following example code shows an HTML page with
two frames, the source for the second frame is set to an XBAP.
HTML

<html>
<head>
<title>A page with frames</title>
</head>
<frameset cols="50%,50%">
<frame src="introduction.htm">
<frame src="XbapEx.xbap">
</frameset>
</html>

Clearing Cached XBAPs

In some situations after rebuilding and starting your XBAP, you may find that an earlier version
of the XBAP is opened. For example, this behavior may occur when your XBAP assembly
version number is static and you start the XBAP from the command line. In this case, because
the version number between the cached version (the version that was previously started) and
the new version remains the same, the new version of the XBAP is not downloaded. Instead,
the cached version is loaded.

In these situations, you can remove the cached version by using the Mage command (installed
with Visual Studio or the Windows SDK) at the command prompt. The following command
clears the application cache.

Console

Mage.exe -cc

This command guarantees that the latest version of your XBAP is started. When you debug
your application in Visual Studio, the latest version of your XBAP should be started. In general,
you should update your deployment version number with each build. For more information
about Mage, see Mage.exe (Manifest Generation and Editing Tool).

Communicating with the Host Web Page

When the application is hosted in an HTML frame, you can communicate with the Web page
that contains the XBAP. You do this by retrieving the HostScript property of
BrowserInteropHelper. This property returns a script object that represents the HTML window.
You can then access the properties, methods, and events on the window object by using
regular dot syntax. You can also access script methods and global variables. The following
example shows how to retrieve the script object and close the browser.
C#

private void Button_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)

{
// Retrieve the script object. The XBAP must be hosted in a frame or
// the HostScript object will be null.
var scriptObject = BrowserInteropHelper.HostScript;

// Call close to close the browser window.

scriptObject.Close();
}

Debugging XBAPs that Use HostScript

If your XBAP uses the HostScript object to communicate with the HTML window, there are two
settings that you must specify to run and debug the application in Visual Studio. The
application must have access to its site of origin and you must start the application with the
HTML page that contains the XBAP. The following steps describe how to check these two
settings:

1. In Visual Studio, open the project properties.

2. On the Security tab, click Advanced.

The Advanced Security Settings dialog box appears.

3. Make sure that the Grant the application access to its site of origin check box is checked
and then click OK.

4. On the Debug tab, select the Start browser with URL option and specify the URL for the
HTML page that contains the XBAP.

5. In Internet Explorer, click the Tools button and then select Internet Options.

The Internet Options dialog box appears.

6. Click the Advanced tab.

7. In the Settings list under Security, check the Allow active content to run in files on My
Computer check box.

8. Click OK.

The changes will take effect after you restart Internet Explorer.

Ｕ Caution
Enabling active content in Internet Explorer may put your computer at risk. If you do not
want to change your Internet Explorer security settings, you can launch the HTML page
from a server and attach the Visual Studio debugger to the process.

XBAP Security Considerations

XBAPs typically execute in a partial-trust security sandbox that is restricted to the Internet zone
permission set. Consequently, your implementation must support the subset of WPF elements
that are supported in the Internet zone or you must elevate the permissions of your
application. For more information, see Security.

When you use a WebBrowser control in your application, WPF internally instantiates the native
WebBrowser ActiveX control. When your application is a partial-trust XBAP running in Internet
Explorer, the ActiveX control runs in a dedicated thread of the Internet Explorer process.
Therefore, the following limitations apply:

The WebBrowser control should provide behavior similar to the host browser, including
security restrictions. Some of these security restrictions can be controlled through the
Internet Explorer security settings. For more information, see Security.

An exception is thrown when an XBAP is loaded cross-domain in an HTML page.

Input is on a separate thread from the WPF WebBrowser, so keyboard input cannot be
intercepted and the IME state is not shared.

The timing or order of navigation may be different due to the ActiveX control running on
another thread. For example, navigating to a page is not always cancelled by starting
another navigation request.

A custom ActiveX control may have trouble with communication since the WPF
application is running in a separate thread.

MessageHook does not get raised because HwndHost cannot subclass a window running
in another thread or process.

Creating a Full-Trust XBAP

If your XBAP requires full trust, you can change your project to enable this permission. The
following steps describe how to enable full trust:

1. In Visual Studio, open the project properties.

2. On the Security tab, select the This is a full trust application option.
This setting makes the following changes:

In the project file, the <TargetZone> element value is changed to Custom .

In the application manifest (app.manifest), an Unrestricted="true" attribute is added to

the `PermissionSet element.

XML

Deploying a Full-Trust XBAP

When you deploy a full-trust XBAP that does not follow the ClickOnce Trusted Deployment
model, the behavior when the user runs the application will depend on the security zone. In
some cases, the user will receive a warning when they attempt to install it. The user can choose
to continue or cancel the installation. The following table describes the behavior of the
application for each security zone and what you have to do for the application to receive full
trust.

ﾉ Expand table

Security Zone Behavior Getting Full Trust

Local computer Automatic full trust No action is needed.

Intranet and trusted Prompt for full trust Sign the XBAP with a certificate so that the user sees the
sites source in the prompt.

Internet Fails with "Trust Not Sign the XBAP with a certificate.
Granted"

７ Note

The behavior described in the previous table is for full-trust XBAPs that do not follow the
ClickOnce Trusted Deployment model.

It is recommended that you use the ClickOnce Trusted Deployment model for deploying a full-
trust XBAP. This model allows your XBAP to be granted full trust automatically, regardless of
the security zone, so that the user is not prompted. As part of this model, you must sign your
application with a certificate from a trusted publisher. For more information, see Trusted
Application Deployment Overview and Introduction to Code Signing.

XBAP Start Time Performance Considerations

An important aspect of XBAP performance is its start time. If an XBAP is the first WPF
application to load, the cold start time can be ten seconds or more. This is because the
progress page is rendered by WPF, and both the CLR and WPF must be cold-started to display
the application.

Starting in .NET Framework 3.5 SP1, XBAP cold-start time is mitigated by displaying an
unmanaged progress page early in the deployment cycle. The progress page appears almost
immediately after the application is started, because it is displayed by native hosting code and
rendered in HTML.

In addition, improved concurrency of the ClickOnce download sequence improves start time by
up to ten percent. After ClickOnce downloads and validates manifests, the application
download starts, and the progress bar starts to update.

See also
Configure Visual Studio to Debug a XAML Browser Application to Call a Web Service
Deploying a WPF Application
WPF Host (PresentationHost.exe)
Article • 05/07/2025

２ Warning

XBAPs require legacy browsers to operate, such as Internet Explorer and old versions of
Firefox. These older browsers are usually unsupported on Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Modern browsers no longer support the technology required for XBAP apps due to
security risks. Plugins that enable XBAPs are no longer supported. For more information,
see Frequently asked questions about WPF browser-hosted applications (XBAP).

Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) Host (PresentationHost.exe) is the application that

enables WPF applications to be hosted in compatible browsers (including Microsoft Internet
Explorer 6 and later). By default, Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) Host is registered as
the shell and MIME handler for browser-hosted WPF content, which includes:

Loose (uncompiled) XAML files (.xaml).

XAML browser application (XBAP) (.xbap).

For files of these types, Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) Host:

Launches the registered HTML handler to host the Windows Presentation Foundation
(WPF) content.

Loads the right versions of the required common language runtime (CLR) and Windows
Presentation Foundation (WPF) assemblies.

Ensures the appropriate permission levels for the zone of deployment are in place.

This topic describes the command line parameters that can be used with PresentationHost.exe.

Usage
PresentationHost.exe [parameters] uri|filename

Parameters
ﾉ Expand table
Parameter Description

filename The path of the file to be activated. Can also be a URI.

-debug When activating an application, does not commit it to or run it from the store.
This only works when a local file is activated.

-debugSecurityZoneURL Used with a URL value to indicate to PresentationHost.exe that an application

<url> should be debugged as if it were deployed from the specified URL. This
determines both the deployment zone and the site of origin.

-embedding Required by OLE. If the -event or -debug parameter are specified, it is not
necessary to specify the -embedding parameter, since that parameter is set
internally.

-event <eventname> Open the event with this name and signal it when PresentationHost.exe is
initialized and ready to host WPF content. PresentationHost.exe will terminate
if there was an error opening the event, such as if it has not already been
created.

-launchApplication <url> Launches a standalone ClickOnce application from the specified URL. Internet
Explorer and WinINet security policy concerning .NET applications are
applied.

Scenarios

Shell Handler
PresentationHost.exe example.xbap

MIME Handler
PresentationHost.exe -embedding example.xbap

Visual Studio Debugging

PresentationHost.exe -debug example.xbap

Visual Studio Debugging In Zone

PresentationHost.exe -debug -debugSecurityZoneURL http://www.example.com

c:\folderpath\example.xbap
See also
Security
Firefox Add-ons to Support .NET
Application Deployment
Article • 05/07/2025

The Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) plug-in for Firefox and the .NET Framework
Assistant for Firefox enable XAML browser applications (XBAPs), loose XAML, and ClickOnce
applications to work with the Mozilla Firefox browser.

２ Warning

XBAPs require legacy browsers to operate, such as Internet Explorer and old versions of
Firefox. These older browsers are usually unsupported on Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Modern browsers no longer support the technology required for XBAP apps due to
security risks. Plugins that enable XBAPs are no longer supported. For more information,
see Frequently asked questions about WPF browser-hosted applications (XBAP).

WPF Plug-in for Firefox

The WPF plug-in for Firefox enables XBAPs and loose XAML files to be navigated to and run at
the top-level or in an HTML IFRAME in the Firefox browser. An XBAP is a WPF application that
can be published to a Web server and launched within supported browsers. Loose XAML is a
XAML-only file that can be navigated to and displayed in supported browsers, much like an
XML file.

The WPF plug-in for Firefox is installed with the .NET Framework 3.5. Window 7 includes the
.NET Framework 3.5, but does not include the WPF plug-in for Firefox. You cannot install the
WPF plug-in for Firefox on Windows 7.

The .NET Framework 4 does not include the WPF plug-in for Firefox. However, if both the .NET
Framework 3.5 and .NET Framework 4 are installed, the WPF plug-in for Firefox is installed with
the .NET Framework 3.5. Therefore .NET Framework 4 applications will still run because the
WPF Host will load the correct version of the framework. For more information, see WPF Host
(PresentationHost.exe).

.NET Framework Assistant for Firefox

The .NET Framework Assistant for Firefox enables stand-alone ClickOnce applications to run
from the Firefox browser. The .NET Framework Assistant for Firefox functions identically when it
is installed before and after the Firefox browser. When the Firefox browser is launched and the
.NET Framework 3.5 SP1 is installed, Firefox finds and installs the .NET Framework Assistant for
Firefox. Users can configure the .NET Framework Assistant for Firefox to do the following:

Prompt before running the ClickOnce application.

Report all installed versions of the .NET Framework or just the latest version.

The .NET Framework Assistant for Firefox is included with the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1. For
information about removing the .NET Framework Assistant for Firefox, see How to remove the
.NET Framework Assistant for Firefox .

See also
Deploying a WPF Application
WPF XAML Browser Applications Overview
Detect Whether the WPF Plug-In for Firefox Is Installed
Frequently asked questions about WPF
browser-hosted applications (XBAP)
FAQ

Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) was released as a part of .NET Framework 3.0 in 2006.
The XAML Browser Application (XBAP) feature, which allows WPF apps to be hosted and run in
a web browser, was also introduced at the same time as a part of WPF. At the time of WPF and
XBAP's release in 2006, the most popular web browsers available were Internet Explorer 7,
Mozilla Firefox 2, and Safari 2. Google Chrome wasn't yet available, as it was released two years
later in 2008.

XBAP uses the ClickOnce deployment technology in browsers, which is a Microsoft technology
that allows the user to install and run an app by clicking a link in a web page. However, this
technology relied heavily on the support of NPAPI (Netscape Plugin Application Programming
Interface) in browsers. NPAPI has been phased out in recent years due to security and stability
issues. Major browsers like Edge, Chrome, Firefox, and Safari removed support for NPAPI
plugins, which effectively means that XBAP apps can no longer be run in these browsers.

Support for XBAPs

What is the current level of support Microsoft
provides for XBAPs?
XBAPs are supported with .NET Framework. WPF for .NET doesn't include XBAP support.

Are there any supported browsers that natively

support XBAP?
Not exactly, there are no longer any supported browsers that were designed for XBAP. Support
for Internet Explorer 11 ended on June 15, 2022. Some browsers, such as Microsoft Edge and
Google Chrome, have an Internet Explorer Mode (IE Mode) feature that adds legacy Internet
Explorer support. These modes weren't designed for XBAPs, so some XBAP features might not
work. For more information, see What is Internet Explorer (IE) mode.

How do I run my XBAP?

XBAPs must be deployed to a web server and you must use a browser with Internet Explorer
Mode (IE Mode) compatibility. You might be required to configure local policy to enable your
app in the appropriate IE security zone. For more information, see What is Internet Explorer (IE)
mode and Set up Legacy Browser Support for Microsoft Edge in IE mode .

Migration options
Can I convert my XBAP to a WPF application?
Yes. You can migrate your app to a standard WPF application and deploy it through an installer.
You can still publish a WPF app with ClickOnce, but ClickOnce requires a browser with IE Mode
enabled or a plugin that enables ClickOnce.

I need to run in a browser, what are my options?

ASP.NET Core using Blazor and WebAssembly

Blazor is a full stack web app that uses C#. Depending how well organized and
compartmentalized your code is, you might have to rewrite the front-end of your app in
Blazor. Blazor apps can be deployed using WebAssembly, which lets the app run fully
client-side in the browser.

For more information, see What is Blazor .

.NET MAUI

If you created your app as an XBAP so that it could run on non-Windows operating
systems, try converting your app to .NET MAUI, which also uses XAML for its UI. .NET
MAUI is different from WPF, although they share many similar concepts. For more
information, see What is .NET MAUI.

OpenSilver

The OpenSilver project was created as an alternative to Silverlight. Silverlight was a subset
of WPF that was discontinued long ago. Your XBAP project might convert well to
OpenSilver. For more information, see the OpenSilver website and the GitHub
repository .
Native WPF Browser Hosting Support APIs
Article • 05/07/2025

Hosting of WPF applications in Web browsers is facilitated by an Active Document server (also
known as a DocObject) registered out of the WPF Host. Internet Explorer can directly activate
and integrate with an Active Document. For hosting of XBAPs and loose XAML documents in
Mozilla browsers, WPF provides an NPAPI plugin, which provides a similar hosting environment
to the WPF Active Document server as Internet Explorer does. However, the easiest practical
way to host XBAPs and XAML documents in other browsers and standalone applications is via
the Internet Explorer Web Browser control. The Web Browser control provides the complex
Active Document server hosting environment, yet it enables its own host to customize and
extend that environment and communicate directly with the current Active Document object.

２ Warning

XBAPs require legacy browsers to operate, such as Internet Explorer and old versions of
Firefox. These older browsers are usually unsupported on Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Modern browsers no longer support the technology required for XBAP apps due to
security risks. Plugins that enable XBAPs are no longer supported. For more information,
see Frequently asked questions about WPF browser-hosted applications (XBAP).

The WPF Active Document server implements several common hosting interfaces, including
IOleObject, IOleDocument, IOleInPlaceActiveObject, IPersistMoniker, IOleCommandTarget.
When hosted in the Web Browser control, these interfaces can be queries from the object
returned by the IWebBrowser2::Document property.

IOleCommandTarget
WPF Active Document server's implementation of IOleCommandTarget supports numerous
navigation-related and browser-specific commands of the standard OLE command group (with
a null command group GUID). In addition, it recognizes a custom command group called
CGID_PresentationHost. Currently, there is only one command defined within this group.

C++

DEFINE_GUID(CGID_PresentationHost, 0xd0288c55, 0xd6, 0x4f5e, 0xa8, 0x51, 0x79,

0xde, 0xc5, 0x1b, 0x10, 0xec);
enum PresentationHostCommands {
PHCMDID_TABINTO = 1
};
PHCMDID_TABINTO instructs PresentationHost to switch focus to the first or last focusable
element in its content, depending on the state of the Shift key.

In This Section
IEnumRAWINPUTDEVICE IWpfHostSupport
IEnumRAWINPUTDEVICE
Article • 05/07/2025

This interface enumerates the raw input devices, and is only used by PresentationHost.exe.

７ Note

This API is only intended and supported for use on the local client machine

Members
ﾉ Expand table

Member Description

IEnumRAWINPUTDEVIC:Next Enumerates the next celt elements (that is, RAWINPUTDEVICE

structures) in the enumerator's list, returning them in rgelt along with
the actual number of enumerated elements in pceltFetched .

IEnumRAWINPUTDEVIC:Skip Instructs the enumerator to skip the next celt elements in the
enumeration so that the next call to IEnumRAWINPUTDEVIC:Next will not
return those elements.

IEnumRAWINPUTDEVIC:Reset Resets the enumeration sequence to the beginning.

IEnumRAWINPUTDEVIC:Clone Creates another raw input device enumerator with the same state as the
current enumerator to iterate over the same list.

See also
About Raw Input
IEnumRAWINPUTDEVIC:Next
Article • 05/07/2025

Enumerates the next celt RAWINPUTDEVICE structures in the enumerator's list, returning
them in rgelt along with the actual number of enumerated elements in pceltFetched .

Syntax
C++

HRESULT Next(
[in] ULONG celt,
[out, size_is(celt), length_is(*pceltFetched)] RAWINPUTDEVICE *rgelt,
[out] ULONG *pceltFetched);

Parameters
celt

[in] Number of RAWINPUTDEVICE structures returned in rgelt .

rgelt

[out] Array of size celt (or larger) to receive enumerated RAWINPUTDEVICE structures.

pceltFetched

[out] Pointer to the number of elements actually supplied in rgelt . Caller can pass in NULL if
rgelt is one.

Property Value/Return Value

HRESULT: S_OK if the number of elements supplied is celt ; S_FALSE otherwise.
IEnumRAWINPUTDEVIC:Skip
Article • 05/07/2025

Instructs the enumerator to skip the next celt elements in the enumeration so that the next
call to IEnumRAWINPUTDEVIC:Next will not return those elements.

Syntax
C++

HRESULT Skip( [in] ULONG celt);

Parameters
celt

[in] Number of elements to be skipped.

Property Value/Return Value

HRESULT: S_OK if the number of elements supplied is celt ; S_FALSE otherwise.
IEnumRAWINPUTDEVIC:Reset
Article • 05/07/2025

Resets the enumeration sequence to the beginning.

Syntax
C++

HRESULT Reset();

Property Value/Return Value

HRESULT: S_OK.
IEnumRAWINPUTDEVIC:Clone
Article • 05/07/2025

Creates another raw input device enumerator with the same state as the current enumerator to
iterate over the same list.

Syntax
C++

HRESULT Clone( [out] IEnumRAWINPUTDEVICE **ppenum);

Parameters
ppenum

[out] Address of output variable that receives the IEnumRAWINPUTDEVICE interface pointer. If
the method is unsuccessful, the value of this output variable is undefined.

Property Value/Return Value

HRESULT: This method supports the standard return values E_INVALIDARG, E_OUTOFMEMORY,
and E_UNEXPECTED.

Remarks
This method makes it possible to record a point in the enumeration sequence in order to
return to that point at a later time. The caller must release this new enumerator separately from
the first enumerator.
IWpfHostSupport
Article • 05/07/2025

Applications that host Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) content via

PresentationHost.exe implement this interface to provide a point of integration between the
host and PresentationHost.exe.

２ Warning

XBAPs require legacy browsers to operate, such as Internet Explorer and old versions of
Firefox. These older browsers are usually unsupported on Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Modern browsers no longer support the technology required for XBAP apps due to
security risks. Plugins that enable XBAPs are no longer supported. For more information,
see Frequently asked questions about WPF browser-hosted applications (XBAP).

Remarks
Win32 applications such as Web browsers can host WPF content, including XAML browser
applications (XBAPs) and loose XAML. To host WPF content, Win32 applications create an
instance of the WebBrowser control. To be hosted, WPF creates an instance of
PresentationHost.exe, which provides the hosted WPF content to the host for display in the
WebBrowser control.

The integration enabled by IWpfHostSupport allows PresentationHost.exe to:

Discover and register with the raw input devices (Human Interface Devices) that the host
application is interested in.

Receive input messages from the registered raw input devices and forward appropriate
messages to the host application.

Query the host application for custom progress and error user interfaces.

７ Note

This API is only intended and supported for use on the local client machine

Members
ﾉ Expand table

Member Description

GetRawInputDevices Allows PresentationHost.exe to discover the raw input devices (Human Interface
Devices) that the host application is interested in.

FilterInputMessage Called by PresentationHost.exe whenever a message is received unless E_NOTIMPL

is returned.

GetCustomUI By default, PresentationHost.exe provides its own deployment progress and

deployment error user interfaces that are displayed when WPF content is
deployed.
GetRawInputDevices
Article • 05/07/2025

Allows PresentationHost.exe to discover the raw input devices (Human Interface Devices) that
the host application is interested in.

Syntax
C++

HRESULT GetRawInputDevices( [out] IEnumRAWINPUTDEVICE **ppEnum );

Parameters
ppEnum

[out] A pointer to an IEnumRAWINPUTDEVICE for enumerating the raw input devices.

Property Value/Return Value

HRESULT:

S_OK - IEnumRAWINPUTDEVICE will only be used by PresentationHost.exe if S_OK is returned.

E_NOTIMPL

Remarks
Raw input devices are the set of input devices that includes keyboards, mice, and less
traditional devices like remote controls.

Once the list of raw input devices has been retrieved, PresentationHost.exe registers with the
devices to receive WM_INPUT notification messages.

See also
GetRawInputDeviceList
FilterInputMessage
FilterInputMessage
Article • 05/07/2025

Called by PresentationHost.exe whenever a message is received unless E_NOTIMPL is returned.

Syntax
C++

HRESULT FilterInputMessage( [in] MSG* pMsg ) ;

Parameters
pMsg

[in] The WM_INPUT message sent to the window that is getting raw input.

Property Value/Return Value

HRESULT:

S_OK - The filter did not process the message and further processing may occur.

S_FALSE - The filter processed this message and no further processing should occur.

E_NOTIMPL – If this value is returned, FilterInputMessage is not called again. This might be
returned from a host application that is only interested in providing custom progress and error
user interfaces to PresentationHost.exe is not interested in being forwarded raw input
messages from PresentationHost.exe.

Remarks
PresentationHost.exe is the target of various raw input devices, including keyboard, mice, and
remote controls. Sometimes, behavior in the host application is dependent on input that would
otherwise be consumed by PresentationHost.exe. For example, a host application may depend
on receiving certain input messages to determine whether or not to display specific user
interface elements.

To allow the host application to receive the necessary input messages to provide these
behaviors, PresentationHost.exe forwards appropriate raw input messages to the hosted
application by calling FilterInputMessage.
The hosted application receives raw input messages by registering with the set of raw input
devices (Human Interface Devices) returned by GetRawInputDevices.

See also
WM_INPUT message
GetCustomUI
Article • 05/07/2025

Called by PresentationHost.exe to get custom progress and error messages from the host, if
implemented.

Syntax
C++

HRESULT GetCustomUI( [out] BSTR* pwzProgressAssemblyName, [out] BSTR*

pwzProgressClassName, [out] BSTR* pwzErrorAssemblyName, [out] BSTR*
pwzErrorClassName );

Parameters
pwzProgressAssemblyName

[out] A pointer to the assembly that contains the host-supplied progress user interface.

pwzProgressClassName

[out] The name of the class that is the host-supplied progress user interface, preferably a XAML
file with Page is its top-level element. This class resides in the assembly that is specified by
pwzProgressAssemblyName .

pwzErrorAssemblyName

[out] A pointer to the assembly that contains the host-supplied error user interface.

pwzErrorClassName

[out] The name of the class that is the host-supplied error user interface, preferably a XAML file
with Page is its top-level element. This class resides in the assembly that is specified by
pwzErrorAssemblyName .

Property Value/Return Value

HRESULT: Ignored.

Remarks
A host application may have a specific theme that PresentationHost.exe’s default user
interfaces may not conform to. If this is the case, the host application can implement
GetCustomUI to return progress and error user interfaces to PresentationHost.exe.
PresentationHost.exe will always call GetCustomUI before using its default user interfaces.

This function is called once during PresentationHost’s initialization.

See also
IWpfHostSupport
Building and Deploying WPF Applications
Article • 05/07/2025

The build and deployment model provides the capability to build and deploy applications
locally and remotely, including the following:

MSBuild: the .NET build system located in the Microsoft.Build.Tasks.Windows namespace.

Resources: working with UI resources.

ClickOnce Deployment: the .NET publishing and deployment system.

In This Section
Building a WPF Application Deploying a WPF Application How-to Topics

Reference
MSBuild

Related Sections
Application Management Overview Windows in WPF Navigation Overview WPF XAML Browser
Applications Overview Hosting
Compile a WPF Application
Article • 05/07/2025

Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) applications can be built as .NET Framework

executables (.exe), libraries (.dll), or a combination of both types of assemblies. This topic
introduces how to build WPF applications and describes the key steps in the build process.

Building a WPF Application

A WPF application can be compiled in the following ways:

Command-line. The application must contain only code (no XAML) and an application
definition file. For more information, see Command-line Building With csc.exe or Building
from the Command Line (Visual Basic).

Microsoft Build Engine (MSBuild). In addition to the code and XAML files, the application
must contain an MSBuild project file. For more information, see "MSBuild".

Visual Studio. Visual Studio is an integrated development environment that compiles WPF
applications with MSBuild and includes a visual designer for creating UI. For more
information, see Write and manage code using Visual Studio and Design XAML in Visual
Studio.

WPF Build Pipeline

When a WPF project is built, the combination of language-specific and WPF-specific targets are
invoked. The process of executing these targets is called the build pipeline, and the key steps
are illustrated by the following figure.
Pre-Build Initializations
Before building, MSBuild determines the location of important tools and libraries, including the
following:

The .NET Framework.

The Windows SDK directories.

The location of WPF reference assemblies.

The property for the assembly search paths.

The first location where MSBuild searches for assemblies is the reference assembly directory
(%ProgramFiles%\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\v3.0\). During this step, the
build process also initializes the various properties and item groups and performs any required
cleanup work.

Resolving References
The build process locates and binds the assemblies required to build the application project.
This logic is contained in the ResolveAssemblyReference task. All assemblies declared as
Reference in the project file are provided to the task along with information on the search

paths and metadata on assemblies already installed on the system. The task looks up
assemblies and uses the installed assembly's metadata to filter out those core WPF assemblies
that need not show up in the output manifests. This is done to avoid redundant information in
the ClickOnce manifests. For example, since PresentationFramework.dll can be considered
representative of an application built on and for WPF, and since all WPF assemblies exist at the
same location on every machine that has the .NET Framework installed, there's no need to
include all information on all .NET Framework reference assemblies in the manifests.

Markup Compilation—Pass 1
In this step, XAML files are parsed and compiled so that the runtime does not spend time
parsing XML and validating property values. The compiled XAML file is pre-tokenized so that,
at run time, loading it should be much faster than loading a XAML file.

During this step, the following activities take place for every XAML file that is a Page build item:

1. The XAML file is parsed by the markup compiler.

2. A compiled representation is created for that XAML and copied to the obj\Release folder.
3. A CodeDOM representation of a new partial class is created and copied to the
obj\Release folder.

In addition, a language-specific code file is generated for every XAML file. For example, for a
Page1.xaml page in a Visual Basic project, a Page1.g.vb is generated; for a Page1.xaml page in a
C# project, a Page1.g.cs is generated. The ".g" in the file name indicates the file is generated
code that has a partial class declaration for the top-level element of the markup file (such as
Page or Window ). The class is declared with the partial modifier in C# ( Extends in Visual Basic)

to indicate there is another declaration for the class elsewhere, usually in the code-behind file
Page1.xaml.cs.

The partial class extends from the appropriate base class (such as Page for a page) and
implements the System.Windows.Markup.IComponentConnector interface. The
IComponentConnector interface has methods to initialize a component and connect names
and events on elements in its content. Consequently, the generated code file has a method
implementation like the following:

public void InitializeComponent() {

if (_contentLoaded) {
return;
}
_contentLoaded = true;
System.Uri resourceLocater =
new System.Uri(
"window1.xaml",
System.UriKind.RelativeOrAbsolute);
System.Windows.Application.LoadComponent(this, resourceLocater);
}

By default, markup compilation runs in the same AppDomain as the MSBuild engine. This
provides significant performance gains. This behavior can be toggled with the
AlwaysCompileMarkupFilesInSeparateDomain property. This has the advantage of unloading all

reference assemblies by unloading the separate AppDomain.

Markup Compilation—Pass 2
Not all XAML pages are compiled at during pass 1 of markup compilation. XAML files that have
locally defined type references (references to types defined in code elsewhere in the same
project) are exempt from compilation at this time. This is because those locally defined types
exist only in source and have not yet been compiled. In order to determine this, the parser uses
heuristics that involve looking for items such as x:Name in the markup file. When such an
instance is found, that markup file’s compilation is postponed until the code files have been
compiled, after which, the second markup compilation pass processes these files.

File Classification
The build process puts output files into different resource groups based on which application
assembly they will be placed in. In a typical nonlocalized application, all data files marked as
Resource are placed in the main assembly (executable or library). When UICulture is set in the

project, all compiled XAML files and those resources specifically marked as language-specific
are placed in the satellite resource assembly. Furthermore, all language-neutral resources are
placed in the main assembly. In this step of the build process, that determination is made.

The ApplicationDefinition , Page , and Resource build actions in the project file can be
augmented with the Localizable metadata (acceptable values are true and false ), which
dictates whether the file is language-specific or language-neutral.

Core Compilation
The core compile step involves compilation of code files. This is orchestrated by logic in the
language-specific targets files Microsoft.CSharp.targets and Microsoft.VisualBasic.targets. If
heuristics have determined that a single pass of the markup compiler is sufficient, then the
main assembly is generated. However, if one or more XAML files in the project have references
to locally defined types, then a temporary .dll file is generated so the final application
assemblies may be created after the second pass of markup compilation is complete.

Manifest Generation
At the end of the build process, after all the application assemblies and content files are ready,
the ClickOnce manifests for the application are generated.

The deployment manifest file describes the deployment model: the current version, update
behavior, and publisher identity along with digital signature. This manifest is intended to be
authored by administrators who handle deployment. The file extension is .xbap (for XAML
browser applications (XBAPs)) and .application for installed applications. The former is dictated
by the HostInBrowser project property and as a result the manifest identifies the application as
browser-hosted.

The application manifest (an .exe.manifest file) describes the application assemblies and
dependent libraries and lists permissions required by the application. This file is intended to be
authored by the application developer. In order to launch a ClickOnce application, a user opens
the application's deployment manifest file.
These manifest files are always created for XBAPs. For installed applications, they are not
created unless the GenerateManifests property is specified in the project file with value true .

XBAPs get two additional permissions over and above those permissions assigned to typical
Internet zone applications: WebBrowserPermission and MediaPermission. The WPF build
system declares those permissions in the application manifest.

Incremental Build Support

The WPF build system provides support for incremental builds. It is fairly intelligent about
detecting changes made to markup or code, and it compiles only those artifacts affected by
the change. The incremental build mechanism uses the following files:

An $(AssemblyName)_MarkupCompiler.Cache file to maintain current compiler state.

An $(AssemblyName)_MarkupCompiler.lref file to cache the XAML files with references to

locally defined types.

The following is a set of rules governing incremental build:

The file is the smallest unit at which the build system detects change. So, for a code file,
the build system cannot tell if a type was changed or if code was added. The same holds
for project files.

The incremental build mechanism must be cognizant that a XAML page either defines a
class or uses other classes.

If Reference entries change, then recompile all pages.

If a code file changes, recompile all pages with locally defined type references.

If a XAML file changes:

If XAML is declared as Page in the project: if the XAML does not have locally defined
type references, recompile that XAML plus all XAML pages with local references; if the
XAML has local references, recompile all XAML pages with local references.

If XAML is declared as ApplicationDefinition in the project: recompile all XAML pages

(reason: each XAML has reference to an Application type that may have changed).

If the project file declares a code file as application definition instead of a XAML file:

Check if the ApplicationClassName value in the project file has changed (is there a new
application type?). If so, recompile the entire application.
Otherwise, recompile all XAML pages with local references.

If a project file changes: apply all preceding rules and see what needs to be recompiled.
Changes to the following properties trigger a complete recompile: AssemblyName ,
IntermediateOutputPath , RootNamespace , and HostInBrowser .

The following recompile scenarios are possible:

The entire application is recompiled.

Only those XAML files that have locally defined type references are recompiled.

Nothing is recompiled (if nothing in the project has changed).

See also
Deploying a WPF Application
WPF MSBuild Reference
Pack URIs in WPF
WPF Application Resource, Content, and Data Files
Deploy a WPF Application
Article • 05/07/2025

After Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) applications are built, they need to be
deployed. Windows and the .NET Framework include several deployment technologies. The
deployment technology that is used to deploy a WPF application depends on the application
type. This topic provides a brief overview of each deployment technology, and how they are
used in conjunction with the deployment requirements of each WPF application type.

Deployment Technologies
Windows and the .NET Framework include several deployment technologies, including:

XCopy deployment.

Windows Installer deployment.

ClickOnce deployment.

XCopy Deployment
XCopy deployment refers to the use of the XCopy command-line program to copy files from
one location to another. XCopy deployment is suitable under the following circumstances:

The application is self-contained. It does not need to update the client to run.

Application files must be moved from one location to another, such as from a build
location (local disk, UNC file share, and so on) to a publish location (Web site, UNC file
share, and so on).

The application does not require shell integration (Start menu shortcut, desktop icon, and
so on).

Although XCopy is suitable for simple deployment scenarios, it is limited when more complex
deployment capabilities are required. In particular, using XCopy often incurs the overhead for
creating, executing, and maintaining scripts for managing deployment in a robust way.
Furthermore, XCopy does not support versioning, uninstallation, or rollback.

Windows Installer
Windows Installer allows applications to be packaged as self-contained executables that can be
easily distributed to clients and run. Furthermore, Windows Installer is installed with Windows
and enables integration with the desktop, the Start menu, and the Programs control panel.
Windows Installer simplifies the installation and uninstallation of applications, but it does not
provide facilities for ensuring that installed applications are kept up-to-date from a versioning
standpoint.

For more information about Windows Installer, see Windows Installer Deployment.

ClickOnce Deployment
ClickOnce enables Web-style application deployment for non-Web applications. Applications
are published to and deployed from Web or file servers. Although ClickOnce does not support
the full range of client features that Windows Installer-installed applications do, it does support
a subset that includes the following:

Integration with the Start menu and Programs control panel.

Versioning, rollback, and uninstallation.

Online install mode, which always launches an application from the deployment location.

Automatic updating when new versions are released.

Registration of file extensions.

For more information about ClickOnce, see ClickOnce Security and Deployment.

Deploying WPF Applications

The deployment options for a WPF application depend on the type of application. From a
deployment perspective, WPF has three significant application types:

Standalone applications.

Markup-only XAML applications.

XAML browser applications (XBAPs).

Deploying Standalone Applications

Standalone applications are deployed using either ClickOnce or Windows Installer. Either way,
standalone applications require full trust to run. Full trust is automatically granted to
standalone applications that are deployed using Windows Installer. Standalone applications
that are deployed using ClickOnce are not automatically granted full trust. Instead, ClickOnce
displays a security warning dialog that users must accept before a standalone application is
installed. If accepted, the standalone application is installed and granted full trust. If not, the
standalone application is not installed.

Deploying Markup-Only XAML Applications

Markup-only XAML pages are usually published to Web servers, like HTML pages, and can be
viewed using Internet Explorer. Markup-only XAML pages run within a partial-trust security
sandbox with restrictions that are defined by the Internet zone permission set. This provides an
equivalent security sandbox to HTML-based Web applications.

For more information about security for WPF applications, see Security.

Markup-only XAML pages can be installed to the local file system by using either XCopy or
Windows Installer. These pages can be viewed using Internet Explorer or Windows Explorer.

For more information about XAML, see XAML in WPF.

Deploying XAML Browser Applications

２ Warning

XBAPs require legacy browsers to operate, such as Internet Explorer and old versions of
Firefox. These older browsers are usually unsupported on Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Modern browsers no longer support the technology required for XBAP apps due to
security risks. Plugins that enable XBAPs are no longer supported. For more information,
see Frequently asked questions about WPF browser-hosted applications (XBAP).

XBAPs are compiled applications that require the following three files to be deployed:

ApplicationName.exe: The executable assembly application file.

ApplicationName.xbap: The deployment manifest.

ApplicationName.exe.manifest: The application manifest.

７ Note

For more information about deployment and application manifests, see Building a WPF
Application.

These files are produced when an XBAP is built. For more information, see How to: Create a
New WPF Browser Application Project. Like markup-only XAML pages, XBAPs are typically
published to a Web server and viewed using Internet Explorer.

XBAPs can be deployed to clients using any of the deployment techniques. However, ClickOnce
is recommended since it provides the following capabilities:

1. Automatic updates when a new version is published.

2. Elevation privileges for the XBAP running with full trust.

By default, ClickOnce publishes application files with the .deploy extension. This can be
problematic, but can be disabled. For more information, see Server and Client Configuration
Issues in ClickOnce Deployments.

For more information about deploying XAML browser applications (XBAPs), see WPF XAML
Browser Applications Overview.

Installing the .NET Framework

To run a WPF application, the Microsoft .NET Framework must be installed on the client.
Internet Explorer automatically detects whether clients are installed with .NET Framework when
WPF browser-hosted applications are viewed. If the .NET Framework is not installed, Internet
Explorer prompts users to install it.

To detect whether the .NET Framework is installed, Internet Explorer includes a bootstrapper
application that is registered as the fallback Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME)
handler for content files with the following extensions: .xaml, .xps, .xbap, and .application. If you
navigate to these file types and the .NET Framework is not installed on the client, the
bootstrapper application requests permission to install it. If permission is not provided, neither
the .NET Framework nor the application is installed.

If permission is granted, Internet Explorer downloads and installs the .NET Framework using the
Microsoft Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS). After successful installation of the .NET
Framework, the originally requested file is opened in a new browser window.

For more information, see Deploying the .NET Framework and Applications.

See also
Building a WPF Application
Security
Build and deploy how-to topics
Article • 05/07/2025

The following topics show how to create project files for the various WPF application types.

In this section
Configure IIS 5.0 and IIS 6.0 to Deploy WPF Applications
Configure Visual Studio to Debug a XAML Browser Application to Call a Web Service
Detect Whether the .NET Framework 3.0 Is Installed
Detect Whether the .NET Framework 3.5 Is Installed
Detect Whether the WPF Plug-In for Firefox Is Installed

Related sections
Building a WPF Application
Deploying a WPF Application
Walkthrough: My first WPF desktop application
How to: Create a New WPF Browser Application Project
Determine the Installed Version of WPF (.NET Framework 3.5)
How to: Configure IIS 5.0 and IIS 6.0 to
Deploy WPF Applications
Article • 05/07/2025

You can deploy a Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) application from most Web servers,
as long as they are configured with the appropriate Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions
(MIME) types. By default, Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.0 is configured with
these MIME types, but Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 5.0 and Microsoft Internet
Information Services (IIS) 6.0 are not.

This topic describes how to configure Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 5.0 and
Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 to deploy WPF applications.

７ Note

You can check the UserAgent string in the registry to determine whether a system has .NET
Framework installed. For details and a script that examines the UserAgent string to
determine whether .NET Framework is installed on a system, see Detect Whether the .NET
Framework 3.0 Is Installed.

Adjust the Content Expiration Setting

You should adjust the content expiration setting to 1 minute. The following procedure outlines
how to do this with IIS.

1. Click the Start menu, point to Administrative Tools, and click Internet Information
Services (IIS) Manager. You can also launch this application from the command line with
"%SystemRoot%\system32\inetsrv\iis.msc".

2. Expand the IIS tree until you find the Default Web site node.

3. Right-click Default Web site and select Properties from the context menu.

4. Select the HTTP Headers tab and click "Enable Content Expiration".

5. Set the content to expire after 1 minute.

Register MIME Types and File Extensions

You must register several MIME types and file extensions so that the browser on the client's
system can load the correct handler. You need to add the following types:
ﾉ Expand table

Extension MIME Type

.manifest application/manifest

.xaml application/xaml+xml

.application application/x-ms-application

.xbap application/x-ms-xbap

.deploy application/octet-stream

.xps application/vnd.ms-xpsdocument

７ Note

You do not need to register MIME types or file extensions on client systems. They are
registered automatically when you install Microsoft .NET Framework.

The following Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript) sample automatically adds the
necessary MIME types to IIS. To use the script, copy the code to a .vbs file on your server. Then,
run the script by running the file from the command line or double-clicking the file in Microsoft
Windows Explorer.

' This script adds the necessary Windows Presentation Foundation MIME types
' to an IIS Server.
' To use this script, just double-click or execute it from a command line.
' Running this script multiple times results in multiple entries in the IIS
MimeMap.

Dim MimeMapObj, MimeMapArray, MimeTypesToAddArray, WshShell, oExec

Const ADS_PROPERTY_UPDATE = 2

' Set the MIME types to be added

MimeTypesToAddArray = Array(".manifest", "application/manifest", ".xaml", _
"application/xaml+xml", ".application", "application/x-ms-application", _
".deploy", "application/octet-stream", ".xbap", "application/x-ms-xbap", _
".xps", "application/vnd.ms-xpsdocument")

' Get the MimeMap object

Set MimeMapObj = GetObject("IIS://LocalHost/MimeMap")

' Call AddMimeType for every pair of extension/MIME type

For counter = 0 to UBound(MimeTypesToAddArray) Step 2
AddMimeType MimeTypesToAddArray(counter), MimeTypesToAddArray(counter+1)
Next

' Create a Shell object

Set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")

' Stop and Start the IIS Service

Set oExec = WshShell.Exec("net stop w3svc")
Do While oExec.Status = 0
WScript.Sleep 100
Loop

Set oExec = WshShell.Exec("net start w3svc")

Do While oExec.Status = 0
WScript.Sleep 100
Loop

Set oExec = Nothing

' Report status to user

WScript.Echo "Windows Presentation Foundation MIME types have been registered."

' AddMimeType Sub

Sub AddMimeType (Ext, MType)

' Get the mappings from the MimeMap property.

MimeMapArray = MimeMapObj.GetEx("MimeMap")

' Add a new mapping.

i = UBound(MimeMapArray) + 1
ReDim Preserve MimeMapArray(i)
Set MimeMapArray(i) = CreateObject("MimeMap")
MimeMapArray(i).Extension = Ext
MimeMapArray(i).MimeType = MType
MimeMapObj.PutEx ADS_PROPERTY_UPDATE, "MimeMap", MimeMapArray
MimeMapObj.SetInfo

End Sub

７ Note

Running this script multiple times creates multiple MIME map entries in the Microsoft
Internet Information Services (IIS) 5.0 or Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0
metabase.

After you have run this script, you may not see additional MIME types from the Microsoft
Internet Information Services (IIS) 5.0 or Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0
Microsoft Management Console (MMC). However, these MIME types have been added to the
Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 5.0 or Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS)
6.0 metabase. The following script will display all the MIME types in the Microsoft Internet
Information Services (IIS) 5.0 or Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 metabase.

' This script lists the MIME types for an IIS Server.
' To use this script, just double-click or execute it from a command line
' by calling cscript.exe

dim mimeMapEntry, allMimeMaps

' Get the MimeMap object.

Set mimeMapEntry = GetObject("IIS://localhost/MimeMap")
allMimeMaps = mimeMapEntry.GetEx("MimeMap")

' Display the mappings in the table.

For Each mimeMap In allMimeMaps
WScript.Echo(mimeMap.MimeType & " (" & mimeMap.Extension + ")")
Next

Save the script as a .vbs file (for example, DiscoverIISMimeTypes.vbs ) and run it from the
command prompt using the following command:

Console

cscript DiscoverIISMimeTypes.vbs
How to: Configure Visual Studio to Debug
a XAML Browser Application to Call a Web
Service
Article • 05/07/2025

XAML browser applications (XBAPs) run within a partial-trust security sandbox that is restricted
to the Internet zone set of permissions. This permission set restricts Web service calls to only
Web services that are located at the XBAP application's site of origin. When an XBAP is
debugged from Visual Studio 2005, though, it is not considered to have the same site of origin
as the Web service it references. This causes security exceptions to be raised when the XBAP
attempts to call the Web service. However, a Visual Studio 2005 XAML Browser Application
(WPF) project can be configured to simulate having the same site of origin as the Web service
it calls while debugging. This allows the XBAP to safely call the Web service without causing
security exceptions.

２ Warning

XBAPs require legacy browsers to operate, such as Internet Explorer and old versions of
Firefox. These older browsers are usually unsupported on Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Modern browsers no longer support the technology required for XBAP apps due to
security risks. Plugins that enable XBAPs are no longer supported. For more information,
see Frequently asked questions about WPF browser-hosted applications (XBAP).

Configuring Visual Studio

To configure Visual Studio 2005 to debug an XBAP that calls a Web service:

1. With a project selected in Solution Explorer, on the Project menu, click Properties.

2. In the Project Designer, click the Debug tab.

3. In the Start Action section, select Start external program and enter the following:

C:\WINDOWS\System32\PresentationHost.exe

4. In the Start Options section, enter the following into the Command line arguments text
box:

-debug filename

The filename value for the -debug parameter is the .xbap filename; for example:
-debug c:\example.xbap

７ Note

This is the default configuration for solutions that are created with the Visual Studio 2005
XAML Browser Application (WPF) project template.

1. With a project selected in Solution Explorer, on the Project menu, click Properties.

2. In the Project Designer, click the Debug tab.

3. In the Start Options section, add the following command-line parameter to the
Command line arguments text box:

-debugSecurityZoneURL URL

The URL value for the -debugSecurityZoneURL parameter is the URL for the location that
you want to simulate as being the site of origin of your application.

As an example, consider a XAML browser application (XBAP) that uses a Web service with the
following URL:

http://services.msdn.microsoft.com/ContentServices/ContentService.asmx

The site of origin URL for this Web service is:

http://services.msdn.microsoft.com

Consequently, the complete -debugSecurityZoneURL command-line parameter and value is:

-debugSecurityZoneURL http://services.msdn.microsoft.com

See also
WPF Host (PresentationHost.exe)
How to: Detect Whether the .NET
Framework 3.0 Is Installed
Article • 05/07/2025

Before administrators can deploy Microsoft .NET Framework applications on a system, they
must first confirm that the .NET Framework runtime is present. This topic provides a script
written in HTML/JavaScript that administrators can use to determine whether the .NET
Framework is present on a system.

７ Note

For more detailed information on installing, deploying, and detecting the Microsoft .NET
Framework, see the discussion in Deploying Microsoft .NET Framework Version 3.0.

Detect the ".NET CLR" User-Agent String

When .NET Framework is installed, the MSI adds ".NET CLR" and the version number to the
UserAgent string. The following example shows a script embedded in a simple HTML page. The
script searches the UserAgent string to determine whether .NET Framework is installed, and
displays a status message on the results of the search.

HTML

<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Test for the .NET Framework 3.0</TITLE>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
<!--
var dotNETRuntimeVersion = "3.0.04425.00";

function window::onload()
{
if (HasRuntimeVersion(dotNETRuntimeVersion))
{
result.innerText =
"This machine has the correct version of the .NET Framework 3.0: "
+ dotNETRuntimeVersion
}
else
{
result.innerText =
"This machine does not have the correct version of the .NET Framework
3.0."
}
result.innerText += "\n\nThis machine's userAgent string is: " +
navigator.userAgent + ".";
}

//
// Retrieve the version from the user agent string and
// compare with the specified version.
//
function HasRuntimeVersion(versionToCheck)
{
var userAgentString =
navigator.userAgent.match(/.NET CLR [0-9.]+/g);

if (userAgentString != null)
{
var i;

for (i = 0; i < userAgentString.length; ++i)

{
if (CompareVersions(GetVersion(versionToCheck),
GetVersion(userAgentString[i])) <= 0)
return true;
}
}

return false;
}

//
// Extract the numeric part of the version string.
//
function GetVersion(versionString)
{
var numericString =
versionString.match(/([0-9]+)\.([0-9]+)\.([0-9]+)/i);
return numericString.slice(1);
}

//
// Compare the 2 version strings by converting them to numeric format.
//
function CompareVersions(version1, version2)
{
for (i = 0; i < version1.length; ++i)
{
var number1 = new Number(version1[i]);
var number2 = new Number(version2[i]);

if (number1 < number2)

return -1;

if (number1 > number2)

return 1;
}
return 0;
}

-->
</SCRIPT>
</HEAD>

If the search for the ".NET CLR " version is successful, the following type of status message
appears:

This machine has the correct version of the .NET Framework 3.0: 3.0.04425.00

This machine's userAgent string is: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1;

.NET CLR 1.1.4322; InfoPath.1; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.0.04425.00).

Otherwise, the following type of status message appears:

This machine does not have correct version of the .NET Framework 3.0.

This machine's userAgent string is: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1;
.NET CLR 1.1.4322; InfoPath.1; .NET CLR 2.0.50727).
How to: Detect Whether the .NET
Framework 3.5 Is Installed
Article • 05/07/2025

Before administrators can deploy Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) applications on a

system that targets the .NET Framework 3.5, they must first confirm that the .NET Framework
3.5 runtime is present. This topic provides a script written in HTML/JavaScript that
administrators can use to determine whether the .NET Framework 3.5 is present on a system.

７ Note

For more detailed information on installing, deploying, and detecting the .NET Framework,
see Install the .NET Framework for developers.

Example
When the .NET Framework 3.5 is installed, the MSI adds ".NET CLR" and the version number to
the UserAgent string. The following example shows a script embedded in a simple HTML page.
The script searches the UserAgent string to determine whether the .NET Framework 3.5 is
installed, and displays a status message on the results of the search.

７ Note

This script is designed for Internet Explorer. Other browsers may not include .NET CLR
information in the UserAgent string.

HTML

<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Test for the .NET Framework 3.5</TITLE>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
<!--
var dotNETRuntimeVersion = "3.5.0.0";

function window::onload()
{
if (HasRuntimeVersion(dotNETRuntimeVersion))
{
result.innerText =
"This machine has the correct version of the .NET Framework 3.5."
}
else
{
result.innerText =
"This machine does not have the correct version of the .NET Framework
3.5." +
" The required version is v" + dotNETRuntimeVersion + ".";
}
result.innerText += "\n\nThis machine's userAgent string is: " +
navigator.userAgent + ".";
}

if (userAgentString != null)
{
var i;

for (i = 0; i < userAgentString.length; ++i)

{
if (CompareVersions(GetVersion(versionToCheck),
GetVersion(userAgentString[i])) <= 0)
return true;
}
}

return false;
}

if (number1 > number2)

return 1;
}

return 0;
}

-->
</SCRIPT>
</HEAD>

If the search for the ".NET CLR " version is successful, the following type of status message
appears:

This machine has the correct version of the .NET Framework 3.5.

This machine's userAgent string is: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0;

SLCC1; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 1.1.4322; InfoPath.2; .NET CLR 3.0.590; .NET CLR
3.5.20726; MS-RTC LM 8).

Otherwise, the following type of status message appears:

This machine does not have the correct version of the .NET Framework 3.5. The required
version is v3.5.0.0.

This machine's userAgent string is: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0;
SLCC1; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 1.1.4322; InfoPath.2; .NET CLR 3.0.590; MS-RTC LM 8).

See also
Detect Whether the .NET Framework 3.0 Is Installed
How to: Detect Whether the WPF Plug-In
for Firefox Is Installed
Article • 05/07/2025

The Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) plug-in for Firefox enables XAML browser
applications (XBAPs) and loose XAML files to run in the Mozilla Firefox browser. This topic
provides a script written in HTML and JavaScript that administrators can use to determine
whether the WPF plug-in for Firefox is installed.

２ Warning

XBAPs require legacy browsers to operate, such as Internet Explorer and old versions of
Firefox. These older browsers are usually unsupported on Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Modern browsers no longer support the technology required for XBAP apps due to
security risks. Plugins that enable XBAPs are no longer supported. For more information,
see Frequently asked questions about WPF browser-hosted applications (XBAP).

７ Note

For more information about installing, deploying, and detecting the .NET Framework, see
Install the .NET Framework for developers.

Example
When the .NET Framework 3.5 is installed, the client computer is configured with a WPF plug-in
for Firefox. The following example script checks for the WPF plug-in for Firefox and then
displays an appropriate status message.

HTML

<HTML>

<HEAD>
<TITLE>Test for the WPF plug-in for Firefox</TITLE>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<SCRIPT type="text/javascript">
<!--
function OnLoad()
{

// Check for the WPF plug-in for Firefox and report

var msg = "The WPF plug-in for Firefox is ";
var wpfPlugin = navigator.plugins["Windows Presentation Foundation"];
if( wpfPlugin != null ) {
document.writeln(msg + " installed.");
}
else {
document.writeln(msg + " not installed. Please install or reinstall the
.NET Framework 3.5.");
}
}
-->
</SCRIPT>
</HEAD>

<BODY onload="OnLoad()" />

</HTML>

If the check for the WPF plug-in for Firefox is successful, the following status message is
displayed:

The WPF plug-in for Firefox is installed.

Otherwise, the following status message is displayed:

The WPF plug-in for Firefox is not installed. Please install or reinstall the .NET
Framework 3.5.

See also
Detect Whether the .NET Framework 3.0 Is Installed
Detect Whether the .NET Framework 3.5 Is Installed
WPF XAML Browser Applications Overview

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