XAML user and custom controls sample


XAML, Windows Runtime, Windows 8.1, Windows Phone 8.1
User Interface, universal app
Windows RT
en-US
4/2/2014

This sample demonstrates how to create and use XAML UserControl elements and create custom controls for your projects.

Note  This sample was created using one of the universal app templates available in Visual Studio. It shows how its solution is structured so it can run on both Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1. For more info about how to build apps that target Windows and Windows Phone with Visual Studio, see Build apps that target Windows and Windows Phone 8.1 by using Visual Studio.

Specifically, this sample covers:

  • Creating an easily reusable composite control with the UserControl class.
  • Creating a reusable, custom Control with a default style and template that can be restyled and retemplated as needed.
  • Creating custom control properties that depend on other sources for their values. DependencyProperty is useful, for example, to create targets for data binding and animation. For more info, see Dependency properties overview.
  • Distributing your control using the Visual Studio Extension SDK.

To obtain an evaluation copy of Windows 8.1, go to Windows 8.1.

To obtain an evaluation copy of Microsoft Visual Studio 2013, go to Visual Studio 2013.

Note  For Windows 8 app samples, download the Windows 8 app samples pack. The samples in the Windows 8 app samples pack will build and run only on Microsoft Visual Studio 2012.

Related topics

Roadmaps
Roadmap for C# and Visual Basic
Samples
Windows 8 app samples
Reference
Control
UserControl
DependencyProperty
Concepts
Adding and styling controls
Creating Windows Runtime Components
Dependency properties overview
How to: Create a software development kit
Quickstart: Using global-ready formats
UX guidelines for apps

Operating system requirements

Client
Windows 8.1
Server
Windows Server 2012 R2
Phone
Windows Phone 8.1

Build the sample

  1. Start Visual Studio and select File > Open > Project/Solution.

  2. Go to the directory in which you unzipped the sample. Go to the directory named for the sample, and double-click the Microsoft Visual Studio Solution (.sln) file.

  3. Press Ctrl+Shift+B or use Build > Build Solution to build the sample.

Run the sample

To debug the app and then run it, press F5 or use Debug > Start Debugging. To run the app without debugging, press Ctrl+F5 or use Debug > Start Without Debugging.