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DigitalRuneUIControl Class
Represents the base class for user interface (UI) controls.
Inheritance Hierarchy
SystemObject
  DigitalRune.GameGameObject
    DigitalRune.Game.UI.ControlsUIControl
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Namespace: DigitalRune.Game.UI.Controls
Assembly: DigitalRune.Game.UI (in DigitalRune.Game.UI.dll) Version: 1.8.0.0 (1.8.0.14553)
Syntax
public class UIControl : GameObject

The UIControl type exposes the following members.

Constructors
  NameDescription
Public methodUIControl
Initializes a new instance of the UIControl class.
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Methods
  NameDescription
Public methodArrange
Positions child elements and determines a size for a control.
Public methodBringIntoView
Attempts to bring this element into view, within any scrollable regions it is contained within.
Public methodStatic memberCreateEventT
Public methodStatic memberCreatePropertyT
Public methodEquals
Determines whether the specified Object is equal to the current Object.
(Inherited from Object.)
Protected methodFinalize
Allows an object to try to free resources and perform other cleanup operations before it is reclaimed by garbage collection.
(Inherited from Object.)
Public methodFocus
Moves the input focus to this control.
Public methodGetControl
Gets a control by name from the visual subtree of this control.
Public methodGetHashCode
Serves as a hash function for a particular type.
(Inherited from Object.)
Public methodStatic memberGetPropertyOptions
Gets the UIPropertyOptions of game object property.
Public methodGetType
Gets the Type of the current instance.
(Inherited from Object.)
Public methodGetValueT(Int32)
Gets the value of the property with the given ID.
(Inherited from GameObject.)
Public methodGetValueT(String)
Gets the value of the property with the given name.
(Inherited from GameObject.)
Public methodGetValueT(GamePropertyMetadataT)
Gets the value of the property with the given metadata.
(Inherited from GameObject.)
Protected methodHitTest
Tests if a position is over a control.
Public methodInvalidateArrange
Invalidates the arrange state (layout) for the control.
Public methodInvalidateMeasure
Invalidates the measurement state (layout) for the control.
Public methodInvalidateVisual
Invalidates the cached RenderData.
Public methodLoad
Loads the content of the game object.
(Inherited from GameObject.)
Public methodMeasure
Updates the DesiredWidth and DesiredHeight of the control.
Protected methodMemberwiseClone
Creates a shallow copy of the current Object.
(Inherited from Object.)
Public methodNewFrame
Tells the game object to prepare itself for the next time step.
(Inherited from GameObject.)
Protected methodOnArrange
Called by Arrange(Vector2F, Vector2F) to arrange the visual children.
Protected methodOnHandleInput
Called when the control should handle device input.
Protected methodOnLoad
Called when the game object should load its content.
(Overrides GameObjectOnLoad.)
Protected methodOnMeasure
Called by Measure(Vector2F) to compute the control-specific desired size.
Protected methodOnPropertyChanged(PropertyChangedEventArgs)
Raises the PropertyChanged event.
(Inherited from GameObject.)
Protected methodOnPropertyChangedT(GamePropertyT, T, T)
Is called after a game object property was changed.
(Inherited from GameObject.)
Protected methodOnPropertyChangedT(GamePropertyT, T, T)
Is called after a game object property was changed.
(Overrides GameObjectOnPropertyChangedT(GamePropertyT, T, T).)
Protected methodOnRender
Called when the control and its visual children should be rendered.
Protected methodOnTemplateChanged
Raises the TemplateChanged event.
(Inherited from GameObject.)
Protected methodOnUnload
Called when the game object should unload its content.
(Overrides GameObjectOnUnload.)
Protected methodOnUpdate
Called when the game object should be updated.
(Overrides GameObjectOnUpdate(TimeSpan).)
Public methodStatic memberOverrideDefaultValueT
Overrides the default value of a game object property for a specific class.
Public methodRender
Renders the control (including visual children).
Public methodStatic memberSetPropertyOptions
Sets the UIPropertyOptions of a game object property.
Public methodSetValueT(Int32, T)
Sets the value of the property with the given ID.
(Inherited from GameObject.)
Public methodSetValueT(String, T)
Sets the value of the property with the given name.
(Inherited from GameObject.)
Public methodSetValueT(GamePropertyMetadataT, T)
Set the value of the property for the given metadata.
(Inherited from GameObject.)
Public methodToString
Returns a string that represents the current object.
(Inherited from Object.)
Public methodUnload
Unloads the content of the game object.
(Inherited from GameObject.)
Public methodUpdate
Updates this game object.
(Inherited from GameObject.)
Public methodUpdateLayout
Ensures that all visual child controls of this element are properly updated for layout.
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Extension Methods
  NameDescription
Public Extension MethodGetAncestors
Gets the ancestors of the control in the visual tree.
(Defined by UIHelper.)
Public Extension MethodGetDescendantsOverloaded.
Gets the descendants of the control in the visual tree using a depth-first search.
(Defined by UIHelper.)
Public Extension MethodGetDescendants(Boolean)Overloaded.
Gets the descendants of the control in the visual tree using either a depth-first or a breadth-first search.
(Defined by UIHelper.)
Public Extension MethodGetLeaves
Gets the leaves of the control in the visual tree.
(Defined by UIHelper.)
Public Extension MethodGetRoot
Returns the root control of the visual tree.
(Defined by UIHelper.)
Public Extension MethodGetSelfAndAncestors
Gets the control and its ancestors in the visual tree.
(Defined by UIHelper.)
Public Extension MethodGetSubtreeOverloaded.
Gets the subtree (the given control and all of its descendants in the visual tree) using a depth-first search.
(Defined by UIHelper.)
Public Extension MethodGetSubtree(Boolean)Overloaded.
Gets the subtree (the given control and all of its descendants in the visual tree) using either a depth-first or a breadth-first search.
(Defined by UIHelper.)
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Fields
  NameDescription
Public fieldStatic memberAutoUnfocusPropertyId
The ID of the AutoUnfocus game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberBackgroundPropertyId
The ID of the Background game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberFocusablePropertyId
The ID of the Focusable game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberFocusWhenMouseOverPropertyId
The ID of the FocusWhenMouseOver game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberFontPropertyId
The ID of the Font game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberForegroundPropertyId
The ID of the Foreground game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberHeightPropertyId
The ID of the Height game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberHorizontalAlignmentPropertyId
The ID of the HorizontalAlignment game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberIsEnabledPropertyId
The ID of the IsEnabled game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberIsFocusedPropertyId
The ID of the IsFocused game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberIsFocusScopePropertyId
The ID of the IsFocusScope game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberIsMouseOverPropertyId
The ID of the IsMouseOver game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberIsVisiblePropertyId
The ID of the IsVisible game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberMarginPropertyId
The ID of the Margin game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberMaxHeightPropertyId
The ID of the MaxHeight game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberMaxWidthPropertyId
The ID of the MaxWidth game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberMinHeightPropertyId
The ID of the MinHeight game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberMinWidthPropertyId
The ID of the MinWidth game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberOpacityPropertyId
The ID of the Opacity game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberPaddingPropertyId
The ID of the Padding game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberRenderRotationPropertyId
The ID of the RenderRotation game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberRenderScalePropertyId
The ID of the RenderScale game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberRenderTransformOriginPropertyId
The ID of the RenderTransformOrigin game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberRenderTranslationPropertyId
The ID of the RenderTranslation game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberToolTipPropertyId
The ID of the ToolTip game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberVerticalAlignmentPropertyId
The ID of the VerticalAlignment game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberWidthPropertyId
The ID of the Width game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberXPropertyId
The ID of the X game object property.
Public fieldStatic memberYPropertyId
The ID of the Y game object property.
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Properties
  NameDescription
Public propertyActualBounds
Gets the actual bounding rectangle of the control (defined by ActualX, ActualY, ActualWidth and ActualHeight).
Public propertyActualHeight
Gets the actual height of the control (computed in Arrange(Vector2F, Vector2F)).
Public propertyActualIsEnabled
Gets a value indicating whether this control is actually enabled, taking into account the IsEnabled flag and the state of the VisualParent.
Public propertyActualIsVisible
Gets a value indicating whether this control is actually visible, taking into account the IsVisible flag and the state of the VisualParent.
Public propertyActualWidth
Gets the actual width of the control (computed in Arrange(Vector2F, Vector2F)).
Public propertyActualX
Gets the actual X position of the top left corner of the control's bounds in screen coordinates (computed in Arrange(Vector2F, Vector2F)).
Public propertyActualY
Gets the actual Y position of the top left corner of the control's bounds in screen coordinates (computed in Arrange(Vector2F, Vector2F)).
Public propertyAllowedPlayer
Gets or sets the LogicalPlayerIndex from which input is accepted.
Public propertyAutoUnfocus
Gets or sets a value indicating whether this control clears the focus when the mouse clicks another control than the currently focused control. This is a game object property.
Public propertyBackground
Gets or sets the background color. This is a game object property.
Public propertyContextMenu
Gets or sets the context menu that should pop up when the control is right-clicked (tap-and-hold on Windows Phone 7).
Public propertyCursor
Gets or sets the mouse cursor that should be displayed when the mouse is over this control.
Public propertyDesiredHeight
Gets the desired height (including Margin) (which is computed in Measure(Vector2F)).
Public propertyDesiredWidth
Gets the desired width (including Margin) (which is computed in Measure(Vector2F)).
Public propertyEvents
Gets the game object events.
(Inherited from GameObject.)
Public propertyFocusable
Gets or sets a value indicating whether this UIControl can receive the input focus. This is a game object property.
Public propertyFocusWhenMouseOver
Gets or sets a value indicating whether the control automatically receives focus when the mouse is over the control (without being clicked). This is a game object property.
Public propertyFont
Gets or sets the font that is used if the control renders text. This is a game object property.
Public propertyForeground
Gets or sets the foreground color. This is a game object property.
Public propertyHasRenderTransform
Gets a value indicating whether this control has a render transform that is not the identity transformation.
Public propertyHeight
Gets or sets the user-defined height. This is a game object property.
Public propertyHorizontalAlignment
Gets or sets the horizontal alignment of this control. This is a game object property.
Public propertyInputService
Gets the IInputService.
Public propertyIsArrangeValid
Gets a value indicating whether the Arrange(Vector2F, Vector2F) results are up-to-date.
Public propertyIsEnabled
Gets or sets a value indicating whether this control is enabled. This is a game object property.
Public propertyIsFocused
Gets a value indicating whether this control has the input focus. This is a game object property.
Public propertyIsFocusScope
Gets or sets a value indicating whether this control is a focus scope. This is a game object property.
Public propertyIsFocusWithin
Gets (or sets) a value indicating whether the focus is on this control or on any of the visual children.
Public propertyIsLoaded
Gets a value indicating whether the content of this object was loaded.
(Inherited from GameObject.)
Public propertyIsMeasureValid
Gets a value indicating whether the Measure(Vector2F) results (DesiredWidth and DesiredHeight) are up-to-date.
Public propertyIsMouseDirectlyOver
Gets a value indicating whether the mouse is over this control and not over a visual child control.
Public propertyIsMouseOver
Gets or sets a value indicating whether the mouse is over this control or over a visual child. This is a game object property.
Public propertyIsVisible
Gets or sets a value indicating whether this control is visible. This is a game object property.
Public propertyIsVisualValid
Gets a value indicating whether the cached RenderData is up-to-date.
Public propertyMargin
Gets or sets the margin. This is a game object property.
Public propertyMaxHeight
Gets or sets the maximal height of the control. This is a game object property.
Public propertyMaxWidth
Gets or sets the maximal width of the control. This is a game object property.
Public propertyMinHeight
Gets or sets the minimal height of the control. This is a game object property.
Public propertyMinWidth
Gets or sets the minimal width of the control. This is a game object property.
Public propertyName
Gets or sets the name.
(Inherited from GameObject.)
Public propertyOpacity
Gets or sets the opacity. This is a game object property.
Public propertyPadding
Gets or sets the padding. This is a game object property.
Public propertyProperties
Gets the game object properties.
(Inherited from GameObject.)
Public propertyRenderData
Gets or sets the cached renderer data.
Public propertyRendererInfo Obsolete.
Gets or sets the cached renderer data.
Public propertyRenderRotation
Gets or sets the rotation of the RenderTransform. This is a game object property.
Public propertyRenderScale
Gets or sets the scale of the RenderTransform. This is a game object property.
Public propertyRenderTransform
Gets the render transformation.
Public propertyRenderTransformOrigin
Gets or sets the relative origin of the RenderTransform. This is a game object property.
Public propertyRenderTranslation
Gets or sets the translation of the RenderTransform. This is a game object property.
Public propertyScreen
Gets the UIScreen.
Public propertyStyle
Gets or sets the style.
Public propertyTag Obsolete.
Gets or sets a user-defined tag.
Public propertyTemplate
Gets or sets the template.
(Inherited from GameObject.)
Public propertyToolTip
Gets or sets the tool tip. This is a game object property.
Public propertyUIService
Gets the IUIService.
Public propertyUserData
Gets or sets user-defined data.
Public propertyVerticalAlignment
Gets or sets the vertical alignment of this control. This is a game object property.
Public propertyVisualChildren
Gets the visual children.
Public propertyVisualParent
Gets the visual parent.
Public propertyVisualState
Gets the visual state of the control as string.
Public propertyWidth
Gets or sets the user-defined width. This is a game object property.
Public propertyX
Gets or sets the x-position offset of the control. (Use this only for controls in a Canvas or under the UIScreen.) This is a game object property.
Public propertyY
Gets or sets the y-position offset of the control. (Use this only for controls in a Canvas or under the UIScreen.) This is a game object property.
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Events
  NameDescription
Public eventInputProcessed
Occurs after the device input was processed.
Public eventInputProcessing
Occurs before the device input is processed.
Public eventPropertyChanged
Occurs when a property value has changed.
(Inherited from GameObject.)
Public eventTemplateChanged
Occurs when the Template changed.
(Inherited from GameObject.)
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Explicit Interface Implementations
Remarks

The Visual Tree: Controls are managed in a visual tree. Each control has a VisualParent and VisualChildren. VisualChildren are managed by the control classes themselves; this collection should not be directly changed by the user. The controls will automatically put a "logical child" into the VisualChildren collection if necessary. The root of the visual tree is the UIScreen which starts all update, layout and render traversals. The VisualParent of the UIScreen is . Only objects in the visual tree handle input, take part in the layout process and are rendered.

The Logical Tree: ContentControls have a Content property. Panels and the UIScreen have a Children property. Other controls may have an Items property. Using these properties the user can create parent-child relationships which define the logical tree.

A Logical/Visual Tree Example: A Window is a ContentControl, therefore it has a Content property. The user adds a logical child to the window by setting the Content property. The window will automatically put the Content into the VisualChildren collection because the Content should be updated and rendered with the window. The window has a few more visual children: An Image control that draws the window icon, a TextBlock that draws the window title and a Button that represents the Close button of a window. These "internal" controls are also visual children.

IsLoaded: The UIControl is loaded (IsLoaded) when the control is added to the VisualChildren of a loaded control, or when the control is in the VisualChildren of an unloaded parent control and the parent control is loaded. Update(TimeSpan) is automatically called if the control is loaded.

PropertyChanged Events: PropertyChanged events are only raised for game object properties, like Background, IsEnabled, etc. The event is not raised for "normal" properties, like ActualIsEnabled, Screen, VisualState, etc.

Render Transforms: Controls have a RenderTransform that is defined using the game object properties RenderTransformOrigin, RenderTranslation, RenderRotation and RenderScale. The render transform can be used to scale, rotate and translate the control. The render transform is correctly applied when input is handled (e.g. mouse clicks). But the render transform is ignored in the layout process.

UIControl Properties: A UIControl is derived from GameObject and therefore has game object properties (see GamePropertyT) and game object events (see GameEventT). One big advantage of the game object property system is that they can be initialized in the XML file of the UI Theme. The UI control properties are extended game object properties: They must be created using CreatePropertyT(Type, String, String, String, T, UIPropertyOptions) and CreateEventT(Type, String, String, String, T). UIPropertyOptions can be assigned to UI control properties (see GetPropertyOptions(Int32) and SetPropertyOptions(Int32, UIPropertyOptions)). Depending on the UIPropertyOptions property changes automatically invoke InvalidateMeasure, InvalidateArrange, or InvalidateVisual when required. Game object properties have only one global default value. If a control class, e.g. a Button, should have class-specific default values, the method OverrideDefaultValueT(Type, Int32, T) can be used.

Styles and Templates: Each control has a Style. When the control is loaded. The control retrieves style information (e.g. default values) from the IUIRenderer and creates a template game object with property values determined by the used Style. This game object is set as the Template. To apply a new style to an already loaded control, the control must first be removed from the visual tree and afterwards added back again to the visual tree.

The Layout Process: The layout process is a simplified version of the WPF/Silverlight layout process. The layout process starts at the root of the visual tree (the UIScreen) or when UpdateLayout is called. First, Measure(Vector2F) is called for all controls in the visual tree. Measure(Vector2F) computes the DesiredWidth and DesiredHeight of a control. These values are determined either by the theme or the user (see Width, Height, MinWidth and MinHeight) or automatically computed by the control. It is also possible to call Measure(Vector2F) manually.

After that, Arrange(Vector2F, Vector2F) is called for all controls in the visual tree. Arrange(Vector2F, Vector2F) computes the ActualX, ActualY, ActualWidth and ActualHeight of a control in screen coordinates. The actual bounds are determined by the properties X, Y, Margin, HorizontalAlignment and VerticalAlignment. (X and Y are usually only used for controls in a Canvas or directly under the UIScreen.) The measure and arrange results are cached, and the layout process is only repeated when necessary. A new layout process can be issued using InvalidateMeasure or InvalidateArrange. When game object properties are changed, they automatically invalidate the layout if necessary. Derived classes can override OnMeasure(Vector2F) and OnArrange(Vector2F, Vector2F) to customize the layout results.

The Rendering Process: The rendering process starts at the root of the visual tree (the screen) when Draw(TimeSpan) is called by the user. Render(UIRenderContext) will be called for each control in the visual tree. Derived classes can override OnRender(UIRenderContext) to do custom drawing. Per default, OnRender(UIRenderContext) lets the renderer draw the control (see Render(UIControl, UIRenderContext)).

Custom Rendering: There are several ways to customize the appearance and rendering of controls:

Visual States: The VisualStates of this control are: "Disabled", "Default"

See Also
Inheritance Hierarchy