Instead of specifying separately for each and every element how exactly it should look we can define a style and then apply it on various elements. Using styles promotes code reuse, makes our code shorter and assists with the code maintenance in the long run. Defining a style is about defining a collection of property values we can then apply to any element we select. Using styles is very similar to using CSS. In both cases we reuse a style definition.
The style is a resource. We define it as any other resource. Each style includes a collection of Setter elements .Each Setter element sets a specific property. The property must be a dependency one.
Unlike WPF we cannot apply the same style on different types of elements and we cannot use triggers in order to change the style of a given control when a specific property changes its value.
The following code sample includes the definition of a simple style that targets buttons.
<UserControl x:Class="SilverlightApplication30.MainPage"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
mc:Ignorable="d"
d:DesignHeight="300" d:DesignWidth="400">
<UserControl.Resources>
<Style x:Key="CuteButton" TargetType="Button">
<Setter Property="FontFamily" Value="Arial" />
<Setter Property="FontSize" Value="18" />
<Setter Property="Foreground" Value="Blue" />
<Setter Property="Padding" Value="10" />
</Style>
</UserControl.Resources>
<Canvas x:Name="LayoutRoot" Background="White">
<Button Name="MyBt" Content="Click Here" Style="{StaticResource CuteButton}" />
</Canvas>
</UserControl>
The following video clip overviews this code sample and explains it.
