Xceed DataGrid for WPF v7.2 Documentation
Customizing Multi-surface Themes
Welcome to Xceed DataGrid, Editors, and 3D Views for WPF v7.2 > Xceed DataGrid for WPF > Code Snippets > Customizing Multi-surface Themes

The following page provides a list of examples that demonstrate how to customize multi-surface themes. For more multi-surface theme-related information, refer to the Multi-surface Themes topic. 

All examples in this topic assume that the grid is bound to the Employees table of the Northwind database, unless stated otherwise.

Providing surface configurations

The following example demonstrates how to provide an image and title surface configuration that will be applied to the center surface and a title surface configuration that will be applied to the left and right side cards.

XAML
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<Grid xmlns:xcdg="http://schemas.xceed.com/wpf/xaml/datagrid">
  <Grid.Resources>
     <xcdg:DataGridCollectionViewSource x:Key="cvs_employees"
                              Source="{Binding Source={x:Static Application.Current}, Path=EmployeesTable}"/>
 
  </Grid.Resources>
 
  <xcdg:DataGridControl x:Name="EmployeesGrid"
                        ItemsSource="{Binding Source={StaticResource cvs_employees}}">
     <xcdg:DataGridControl.Columns>
        <xcdg:Column FieldName="LastName"
                     IsMainColumn="True"/>
     </xcdg:DataGridControl.Columns>
    <xcdg:DataGridControl.View>
       <xcdg:CardflowView3D>
          <xcdg:CardflowView3D.Theme>
             <xcdg:ElementalBlackTheme>
                <xcdg:ElementalBlackTheme.SurfaceConfigurations>
                   <!-- Because an attempt is made to automatically detect an image in the data
                        item, there is no need to specify the name of the field that contains
                        the image in the surface configuration's ImageRegionConfiguration.
                      
                        If a data item contains more than one image you can set the FieldNames
                        property of the ImageRegionConfiguration to the name of the field that
                        contains the desired image. -->
                   <xcdg:ImageAndTitleSurfaceConfiguration xcdg:CardflowView3D.Surfaces="Center"/>
                 
                   <!-- By default, the value of the main column will be displayed in the title regions. -->
                   <xcdg:TitleSurfaceConfiguration xcdg:CardflowView3D.Surfaces="Left, Right"/>
                </xcdg:ElementalBlackTheme.SurfaceConfigurations>
             </xcdg:ElementalBlackTheme>
          </xcdg:CardflowView3D.Theme>
       </xcdg:CardflowView3D>
    </xcdg:DataGridControl.View>
  </xcdg:DataGridControl>
</Grid>
VB.NET
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dataGridControl.Columns( "LastName" ).IsMainColumn = True
Dim view As New CardflowView3D()
Dim theme As New ElementalBlackTheme()
' Because an attempt is made to automatically detect an image in the data
' item, there is no need to specify the name of the field that contains
' the image in the surface configuration's ImageRegionConfiguration.

' If a data item contains more than one image you can set the FieldNames
' property of the ImageRegionConfiguration to the name of the field that
' contains the desired image.
Dim imageAndTitleSurfaceConfiguration As new ImageAndTitleSurfaceConfiguration()
imageAndTitleSurfaceConfiguration.SetValue( CardflowView3D.SurfacesProperty, CardflowView3DSurfaces.Center )
' By default, the value of the main column will be displayed in the title regions.
Dim titleSurfaceConfiguration As New TitleSurfaceConfiguration()
titleSurfaceConfiguration.SetValue( CardflowView3D.SurfacesProperty, CardflowView3DSurfaces.Left And CardflowView3DSurfaces.Right )
theme.SurfaceConfigurations.Add( imageAndTitleSurfaceConfiguration )
theme.SurfaceConfigurations.Add( titleSurfaceConfiguration )
view.Theme = theme
dataGridControl.View = view
C#
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dataGridControl.Columns[ "LastName" ].IsMainColumn = true;
CardflowView3D view = new CardflowView3D();
ElementalBlackTheme theme = new ElementalBlackTheme();
// Because an attempt is made to automatically detect an image in the data
// item, there is no need to specify the name of the field that contains
// the image in the surface configuration's ImageRegionConfiguration.
                      
// If a data item contains more than one image you can set the FieldNames
// property of the ImageRegionConfiguration to the name of the field that
// contains the desired image.
ImageAndTitleSurfaceConfiguration imageAndTitleSurfaceConfiguration = new ImageAndTitleSurfaceConfiguration();
imageAndTitleSurfaceConfiguration.SetValue( CardflowView3D.SurfacesProperty, CardflowView3DSurfaces.Center );
// By default, the value of the main column will be displayed in the title regions.
TitleSurfaceConfiguration titleSurfaceConfiguration = new TitleSurfaceConfiguration();
titleSurfaceConfiguration.SetValue( CardflowView3D.SurfacesProperty, CardflowView3DSurfaces.Left | CardflowView3DSurfaces.Right );
theme.SurfaceConfigurations.Add( imageAndTitleSurfaceConfiguration );
theme.SurfaceConfigurations.Add( titleSurfaceConfiguration );
view.Theme = theme;
dataGridControl.View = view;

Providing a default region configuration

The following example demonstrates how to provide a default title-region configuration that will be used by all surfaces that display a title.

XAML
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<Grid xmlns:xcdg="http://schemas.xceed.com/wpf/xaml/datagrid">
  <Grid.Resources>
   <xcdg:DataGridCollectionViewSource x:Key="cvs_employees"
                                   Source="{Binding Source={x:Static Application.Current}, Path=EmployeesTable}"/>
 
  </Grid.Resources>
 
  <xcdg:DataGridControl x:Name="EmployeesGrid"
                      ItemsSource="{Binding Source={StaticResource cvs_employees}}">
 
   <xcdg:DataGridControl.View>
      <xcdg:CardflowView3D>
         <xcdg:CardflowView3D.Theme>
            <xcdg:ElementalBlackTheme>
              <!-- The DefaultTitleRegionConfiguration will be applied to all title regions in all surfaces
                   for which a RegionConfiguration has not been explicitly provided. -->
              <xcdg:ElementalBlackTheme.DefaultTitleRegionConfiguration>
                 <xcdg:RegionConfiguration FieldNames="TitleOfCourtesy, FirstName, LastName, Title"
                                           ReadOnly="True">
                    <xcdg:RegionConfiguration.Template>
                       <DataTemplate>
                          <Viewbox>
                             <StackPanel>
                                <StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal"
                                            HorizontalAlignment="Center">
                                   <StackPanel.Resources>
                                      <Style TargetType="{x:Type xcdg:DataCell}">
                                         <Setter Property="Margin"
                                                 Value="0, 0, 3, 0"/>
                                      </Style>
                                   </StackPanel.Resources>
                                   <xcdg:DataCell FieldName="TitleOfCourtesy"/>
                                   <xcdg:DataCell FieldName="FirstName"/>
                                   <xcdg:DataCell FieldName="LastName"/>
                                </StackPanel>
                                <xcdg:DataCell FieldName="Title"
                                               TextElement.FontSize="10"
                                               HorizontalContentAlignment="Center"/>
                             </StackPanel>
                          </Viewbox>
                       </DataTemplate>
                    </xcdg:RegionConfiguration.Template>
                 </xcdg:RegionConfiguration>
              </xcdg:ElementalBlackTheme.DefaultTitleRegionConfiguration>
            </xcdg:ElementalBlackTheme>
         </xcdg:CardflowView3D.Theme>
      </xcdg:CardflowView3D>
    </xcdg:DataGridControl.View>
  </xcdg:DataGridControl>
</Grid>

Defining region configurations

The following example demonstrates how to define default and explicit region configurations.

XAML
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<Grid xmlns:xcdg="http://schemas.xceed.com/wpf/xaml/datagrid">
  <Grid.Resources>
     <xcdg:DataGridCollectionViewSource x:Key="cvs_employees"
                                     Source="{Binding Source={x:Static Application.Current}, Path=EmployeesTable}"
                                        AutoCreateItemProperties="False">
        <xcdg:DataGridCollectionViewSource.ItemProperties>
           <!--Will be explicitly positioned in the default "Title" region.-->
           <xcdg:DataGridItemProperty Name="Title"/>
           <xcdg:DataGridItemProperty Name="FirstName"/>
           <xcdg:DataGridItemProperty Name="LastName"/>
           <xcdg:DataGridItemProperty Name="TitleOfCourtesy"/>
           <!--Will be automatically detected as containing an image and displayed in the "Image" region.-->
           <xcdg:DataGridItemProperty Name="Photo"/>
           <!--Will appear in the "Data" region. There is no need to explicitly position them as, by default,
                the "Data" region displays information from the fields that have not been explicitly
                assigned to another region.-->
           <xcdg:DataGridItemProperty Name="EmployeeID"
                                      Title="Employee Identification #"/>
           <xcdg:DataGridItemProperty Name="Address"/>
           <xcdg:DataGridItemProperty Name="City"/>
           <xcdg:DataGridItemProperty Name="Country"/>
           <xcdg:DataGridItemProperty Name="PostalCode"
                                      Title="Postal Code"/>
           <xcdg:DataGridItemProperty Name="HomePhone"
                                      Title="Home Phone Number"/>
           <xcdg:DataGridItemProperty Name="BirthDate"
                                      Title="Date of Birth"/>
        </xcdg:DataGridCollectionViewSource.ItemProperties>
     </xcdg:DataGridCollectionViewSource>
    </Grid.Resources>
 
    <xcdg:DataGridControl x:Name="EmployeesGrid"
                          ItemsSource="{Binding Source={StaticResource cvs_employees}}">
     <xcdg:DataGridControl.View>
        <xcdg:CardflowView3D>
           <xcdg:CardflowView3D.Theme>
              <xcdg:ElementalBlackTheme>
                <!-- The DefaultTitleRegionConfiguration will be applied to all title regions in all surfaces
                     for which a RegionConfiguration has not been explicitly provided. -->
                <xcdg:ElementalBlackTheme.DefaultTitleRegionConfiguration>
                   <xcdg:RegionConfiguration FieldNames="TitleOfCourtesy, FirstName, LastName, Title"
                                             ReadOnly="True">
                      <xcdg:RegionConfiguration.Template>
                         <DataTemplate>
                            <Viewbox>
                               <StackPanel>
                                  <StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal"
                                              HorizontalAlignment="Center">
                                     <StackPanel.Resources>
                                        <Style TargetType="{x:Type xcdg:DataCell}">
                                           <Setter Property="Margin"
                                                   Value="0, 0, 3, 0"/>
                                        </Style>
                                     </StackPanel.Resources>
                                     <xcdg:DataCell FieldName="TitleOfCourtesy"/>
                                     <xcdg:DataCell FieldName="FirstName"/>
                                     <xcdg:DataCell FieldName="LastName"/>
                                  </StackPanel>
                                  <xcdg:DataCell FieldName="Title"
                                                 TextElement.FontSize="10"
                                                 HorizontalContentAlignment="Center"/>
                               </StackPanel>
                            </Viewbox>
                         </DataTemplate>
                      </xcdg:RegionConfiguration.Template>
                   </xcdg:RegionConfiguration>
                </xcdg:ElementalBlackTheme.DefaultTitleRegionConfiguration>
                <xcdg:ElementalBlackTheme.SurfaceConfigurations>
                   <!-- Because an attempt is made to automatically detect an image in the data
                        item, there is no need to specify the name of the field that contains
                        the image in the surface configuration's ImageRegionConfiguration.
                       
                        If a data item contains more than one image you can set the FieldNames
                        property of the ImageRegionConfiguration to the name of the field that
                        contains the desired image. -->
                   <xcdg:ImageAndTitleSurfaceConfiguration xcdg:CardflowView3D.Surfaces="Center"/>
                   <!-- Explicitly define a new template for the TitleRegionConfiguration since
                        we want to use one that is different from the one provided in the
                        DefaultTitleRegionConfiguration. In this situation, the names of the
                        fields to display in the title region must be provided. -->
                   <xcdg:TitleSurfaceConfiguration xcdg:CardflowView3D.Surfaces="Left, Right">
                      <xcdg:TitleSurfaceConfiguration.TitleRegionConfiguration>
                         <xcdg:RegionConfiguration FieldNames="FirstName, LastName"
                                                   ReadOnly="True">
                            <xcdg:RegionConfiguration.Template>
                               <DataTemplate>                                    
                                   <!--In this example, a fixed font size is not ideal since we don't
                                        know the final size of a card and we want the font size of the Title
                                        to vary along with the card size; therefore, we will place everything
                                        in a Viewbox, which will handle everything.-->
                                   <Viewbox>
                                      <!-- Using a Viewbox will stretch each title according to its
                                           content resulting in titles that can be of various sizes.
                                           This result may not always be esthetically pleasing and can
                                           also produce perspective problems (optical illusions).
                                           Giving the root element of the Viewbox an arbitrary width
                                           will correct this undesirable behavior. This size of 100 was
                                           determined by trial and error using our data source and it may
                                           be appropriate to change it according to the data.-->
                                      <Grid Width="100">
                                         <!--This grid is used to center the title when its desired
                                              width is less than 100.-->
                                         <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
                                            <ColumnDefinition Width="*"/>
                                            <ColumnDefinition Width="Auto"/>
                                            <ColumnDefinition Width="*"/>
                                         </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
                                        <StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal"
                                                    Grid.Column="1">
                                           <xcdg:DataCell FieldName="FirstName"
                                                          Margin="0, 0, 3, 0"/>
                                           <xcdg:DataCell FieldName="LastName"/>
                                        </StackPanel>                       
                                     </Grid>
                                   </Viewbox> 
                              </DataTemplate>
                            </xcdg:RegionConfiguration.Template>
                         </xcdg:RegionConfiguration>
                      </xcdg:TitleSurfaceConfiguration.TitleRegionConfiguration>
                   </xcdg:TitleSurfaceConfiguration>
                   <!-- In this surface configuration there is no need to specify the field names to use since:
                          - the image field is automatically detected and used in the image region
                          - the fields used in the title region are specified in the
                            DefaultTitleRegionConfiguration
                          - the fields that have not been explicitly assigned to a specific region will
                            automatically be placed in the default "Data" region. -->
                   <xcdg:CompleteSurfaceConfiguration xcdg:CardflowView3D.Surfaces="Back"/>
                </xcdg:ElementalBlackTheme.SurfaceConfigurations>  
             </xcdg:ElementalBlackTheme>
           </xcdg:CardflowView3D.Theme>
        </xcdg:CardflowView3D>
     </xcdg:DataGridControl.View>
  </xcdg:DataGridControl>     
</Grid> 
 

Setting a multi-surface theme

The following example demonstrates how to set a multi-surface theme using property element syntax.

XAML
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<Grid xmlns:xcdg="http://schemas.xceed.com/wpf/xaml/datagrid">
   <Grid.Resources>
      <xcdg:DataGridCollectionViewSource x:Key="cvs_employees"
                                   Source="{Binding Source={x:Static Application.Current}, Path=EmployeesTable}"/>
   </Grid.Resources>
   <xcdg:DataGridControl x:Name="EmployeesGrid"
                         ItemsSource="{Binding Source={StaticResource cvs_employees}}">
     <xcdg:DataGridControl.View>
        <xcdg:CardflowView3D>
           <xcdg:CardflowView3D.Theme>
              <xcdg:ChameleonTheme/>
           </xcdg:CardflowView3D.Theme>
        </xcdg:CardflowView3D>
     </xcdg:DataGridControl.View>
   </xcdg:DataGridControl>
</Grid>
VB.NET
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Dim view As New CardflowView3D()
view.Theme = New ChameleonTheme()
dataGridControl.View = view
C#
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CardflowView3D view = new CardflowView3D();
view.Theme = new ChameleonTheme();
dataGridControl.View = view;

 

Changing a title-region position

The following example demonstrates how to change the position of the title-surface configuration's title region.

XAML
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<Grid xmlns:xcdg="http://schemas.xceed.com/wpf/xaml/datagrid">
  <Grid.Resources>
     <xcdg:DataGridCollectionViewSource x:Key="cvs_employees"
                                   Source="{Binding Source={x:Static Application.Current}, Path=EmployeesTable}"/>
  </Grid.Resources>
  <xcdg:DataGridControl x:Name="EmployeesGrid"
                        ItemsSource="{Binding Source={StaticResource cvs_employees}}">
     <xcdg:DataGridControl.View>
        <xcdg:CardflowView3D>  
         <xcdg:CardflowView3D.Theme>
              <xcdg:ElementalBlackTheme>
                 <!-- The DefaultTitleRegionConfiguration will be applied to all title regions in all surfaces
                      for which a RegionConfiguration has not been explicitly provided. -->
                 <xcdg:ElementalBlackTheme.DefaultTitleRegionConfiguration>
                    <xcdg:RegionConfiguration FieldNames="FirstName, LastName"
                                              ShowCellTitles="False"
                                              ReadOnly="True">
                       <xcdg:RegionConfiguration.Template>
                          <DataTemplate>
                             <!-- In this example, a fixed font size is not ideal since we don't
                                  know the final size of a card and we want the font size of the Title
                                  to vary along with the card size; therefore, we will place everything
                                  in a Viewbox, which will handle everything. -->
                             <Viewbox>
                                <!-- Using a Viewbox will stretch each title according to its
                                     content resulting in titles that can be of various sizes.
                                     This result may not always be esthetically pleasing and can
                                     also produce perspective problems (optical illusions).
                                     Giving the root element of the Viewbox an arbitrary width
                                     will correct this undesirable behavior. This size of 125 was
                                     determined by trial and error using our data source and it may
                                     be appropriate to change it according to the data. -->
                                <Grid Width="125">
                                   <!-- This grid is used to center the title when its desired
                                        width is less than 100. -->
                                   <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
                                      <ColumnDefinition Width="*"/>
                                      <ColumnDefinition Width="Auto"/>
                                      <ColumnDefinition Width="*"/>
                                   </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
                                   <StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal"
                                               Grid.Column="1">
                                      <xcdg:DataCell FieldName="FirstName"
                                                     Margin="0, 0, 3, 0"/>
                                      <xcdg:DataCell FieldName="LastName"/>
                                   </StackPanel>
                                </Grid>
                             </Viewbox>
                          </DataTemplate>
                       </xcdg:RegionConfiguration.Template>
                    </xcdg:RegionConfiguration>
                 </xcdg:ElementalBlackTheme.DefaultTitleRegionConfiguration>
                 <xcdg:ElementalBlackTheme.SurfaceConfigurations>
                    <!-- Because an attempt is made to automatically detect an image in the data 
                         item, there is no need to specify the name of the field that contains 
                         the image in the surface configuration's ImageRegionConfiguration. -->
                    <xcdg:ImageAndTitleSurfaceConfiguration xcdg:CardflowView3D.Surfaces="Center"/>               
                   <!-- This surface will use the DefaultTitleRegionConfiguration; however, it will display
                        its title region in the middle oft he surface rather than the bottom (default).
                        
                        It is important to note that themes decide what title-region positions they support
                        and for which surface configuration. -->
                   <xcdg:TitleSurfaceConfiguration xcdg:CardflowView3D.Surfaces="Left, Right"
                                                   xcdg:ElementalBlackTheme.TitleRegionPosition="Middle"/>
                    <!--In this surface configuration there is no need to specify the field names to use since:
                           - the image field is automatically detected and used in the image region
                           - the fields used in the title region are specified in the 
                             DefaultTitleRegionConfiguration
                           - the fields that have not been explicitly assigned to a specific region will 
                             automatically be placed in the default "Data" region.-->
                    <xcdg:CompleteSurfaceConfiguration xcdg:CardflowView3D.Surfaces="Back"/>
                 </xcdg:ElementalBlackTheme.SurfaceConfigurations>
              </xcdg:ElementalBlackTheme>
           </xcdg:CardflowView3D.Theme>
        </xcdg:CardflowView3D>
     </xcdg:DataGridControl.View>
  </xcdg:DataGridControl>
</Grid>

Providing new gradient colors

The following example demonstrates how to change the gradient applied to the card surfaces when using the Chameleon theme.

XAML
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 <Grid xmlns:xcdg="http://schemas.xceed.com/wpf/xaml/datagrid">
    <Grid.Resources>
       <xcdg:DataGridCollectionViewSource x:Key="cvs_employees"
                                   Source="{Binding Source={x:Static Application.Current}, Path=EmployeesTable}"/>
    </Grid.Resources>
    <xcdg:DataGridControl x:Name="EmployeesGrid"
                          ItemsSource="{Binding Source={StaticResource cvs_employees}}">
       <xcdg:DataGridControl.Columns>
          <xcdg:Column FieldName="LastName" IsMainColumn="True"/>
          <xcdg:Column FieldName="Notes" Visible="False"/>
          <xcdg:Column FieldName="ReportsTo" Visible="False"/>
          <xcdg:Column FieldName="StillEmployed" Visible="False"/>
          <xcdg:Column FieldName="TitleOfCourtesy" Visible="False"/>
       </xcdg:DataGridControl.Columns>
       <xcdg:DataGridControl.View>
          <xcdg:CardflowView3D>
            <xcdg:CardflowView3D.Theme>
               <xcdg:ChameleonTheme GradientLightColor="Pink"
                                    GradientDarkColor="Purple">
                 
               </xcdg:ChameleonTheme>                 
            </xcdg:CardflowView3D.Theme>
          </xcdg:CardflowView3D>
       </xcdg:DataGridControl.View>
    </xcdg:DataGridControl>
 </Grid>
VB.NET
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dataGridControl.Columns( "LastName" ).IsMainColumn = True
dataGridControl.Columns( "Notes" ).Visible= False
dataGridControl.Columns( "ReportsTo" ).Visible = False
dataGridControl.Columns( "StillEmployed" ).Visible = False
dataGridControl.Columns( "TitleOfCourtesy" ).Visible = False
Dim theme As New ChameleonTheme()
theme.GradientLightColor = Brushes.Pink.Color
theme.GradientDarkColor = Brushes.Purple.Color
Dim view As New CardflowView3D()
view.Theme = theme
dataGridControl.View = view
C#
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dataGridControl.Columns[ "LastName" ].IsMainColumn = true;
dataGridControl.Columns[ "Notes" ].Visible= false;
dataGridControl.Columns[ "ReportsTo" ].Visible = false;
dataGridControl.Columns[ "StillEmployed" ].Visible = false;
dataGridControl.Columns[ "TitleOfCourtesy" ].Visible = false;
ChameleonTheme theme = new ChameleonTheme();
theme.GradientLightColor = Brushes.Pink.Color;
theme.GradientDarkColor = Brushes.Purple.Color;
CardflowView3D view = new CardflowView3D();
view.Theme = theme;
dataGridControl.View = view;

Creating a custom surface configuration and multi-surface theme

Because creating a custom surface configuration and multi-surface theme requires more than a code snippet to demonstrate, links to the required classes are provided below:

  1. ImageAndDoubleTitleSurfaceConfiguration Class

    Provides the implementation, in code, of a surface configuration that derives from the ImageAndTitleSurfaceConfiguration class and adds a new RegionConfiguration property named "SecondTitleRegionConfiguration". The TargetRegionPresenterName attribute, which specifies the name of the corresponding RegionPresenter in the ControlTemplate ("REGION_SecondTitle"), has also been set on the new property. 

  2. ElementalPinkTheme Class

    Provides the implementation, in code, of a theme that derives from the ElementalBlackTheme class and adds a new RegionConfiguration property named "DefaultSecondTitleRegionConfiguration". The TargetRegionPresenterName attribute, which specifies the name of the corresponding RegionPresenter in the ControlTemplate ("REGION_SecondTitle"), has also been set on the new property. 

    The TargetSurfaceConfiguration attribute has also been set on the ElementalPinkTheme class to include the ImageAndDoubleTitleSurfaceConfiguration class as a targeted surface configuration.

  3. CardflowView3D.Elemental.Pink.xaml Resource Dictionary

    Based on the CardflowView3D.Elemental.Black resource dictionary, this dictionary provides the pink color scheme for the Elemental Pink theme as well as the modified ControlTemplate that contains the second title region identified as "REGION_SecondTitle".

  4. Elemental.Resources.xaml Resource Dictionary

    Exact copy of Xceed's Elemental.Resources resource dictionary, which provides the templates and styles required by the CardflowView3D.Elemental.Pink resource dictionary.

  5. generic.xaml Resource Dictionary

    The theme-level resource dictionary for the Elemental Pink theme, which must be placed in a themes folder at the root of the project that contains the theme.
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