How to: Preserve the Aspect Ratio of an Image Used as a Background

This example shows how to use the Stretch property of an ImageBrush in order to preserve the aspect ratio of the image.

By default, when you use an ImageBrush to paint an area, its content is stretched to completely fill the output area. When the output area and the image have different aspect ratios, the image is distorted by this stretching.

To make an ImageBrush preserve the aspect ratio of its image, set the Stretch property to Uniform or UniformToFill.

Example

The following example uses two ImageBrush objects to paint two rectangles. Each rectangle is 300 by 150 pixels and each contains a 300 by 300 pixel image. The Stretch property of the first brush is set to Uniform, and the Stretch property of the second brush is set to UniformToFill.

using System;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Controls;
using System.Windows.Media.Imaging;
using System.Windows.Media;
using System.Windows.Shapes;

namespace Microsoft.Samples.Graphics.UsingImageBrush
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Demonstrates different ImageBrush Stretch settings.
    /// </summary>
    public class StretchModes : Page
    {
        public StretchModes()
        {

            // Create an ImageBrush with its Stretch
            // property set to Uniform. The image it
            // contains will be expanded as much as possible
            // to fill the output area while still
            // preserving its aspect ratio.
            ImageBrush uniformBrush = new ImageBrush();
            uniformBrush.ImageSource = 
                new BitmapImage(new Uri("sampleImages\\square.jpg", UriKind.Relative));
            uniformBrush.Stretch = Stretch.Uniform;

            // Freeze the brush (make it unmodifiable) for performance benefits.
            uniformBrush.Freeze();

            // Create a rectangle and paint it with the ImageBrush.
            Rectangle rectangle1 = new Rectangle();
            rectangle1.Width = 300;
            rectangle1.Height = 150;
            rectangle1.Stroke = Brushes.MediumBlue;
            rectangle1.StrokeThickness = 1.0;
            rectangle1.Fill = uniformBrush;

            // Create an ImageBrush with its Stretch
            // property set to UniformToFill. The image it
            // contains will be expanded to completely fill
            // the rectangle, but its aspect ratio is preserved.
            ImageBrush uniformToFillBrush = new ImageBrush();
            uniformToFillBrush.ImageSource =
                new BitmapImage(new Uri("sampleImages\\square.jpg", UriKind.Relative));
            uniformToFillBrush.Stretch = Stretch.UniformToFill;

            // Freeze the brush (make it unmodifiable) for performance benefits.
            uniformToFillBrush.Freeze();

            // Create a rectangle and paint it with the ImageBrush.
            Rectangle rectangle2 = new Rectangle();
            rectangle2.Width = 300;
            rectangle2.Height = 150;
            rectangle2.Stroke = Brushes.MediumBlue;
            rectangle2.StrokeThickness = 1.0;
            rectangle2.Margin = new Thickness(0, 10, 0, 0);
            rectangle2.Fill = uniformToFillBrush;

            StackPanel mainPanel = new StackPanel();
            mainPanel.Children.Add(rectangle1);
            mainPanel.Children.Add(rectangle2);

            Content = mainPanel;
            Background = Brushes.White;
            Margin = new Thickness(20);
            Title = "ImageBrush Stretch Modes";


        }
    }
}

<!-- Demonstrates different ImageBrush Stretch settings.-->
<Page 
  xmlns="https://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
  xmlns:x="https://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
  xmlns:PresentationOptions="https://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation/options" 
  xmlns:mc="https://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
  mc:Ignorable="PresentationOptions"
  Background="White" Margin="20"
  Title="ImageBrush Stretch Modes">
  <StackPanel>

    <!-- The ImageBrush in this example has its
         Stretch property set to Uniform. As a result,
         the image it contains is expanded as much as possible
         to fill the rectangle while
         still preserving its aspect ratio.-->
    <Rectangle
      Width="300" Height="150" 
      Stroke="MediumBlue" StrokeThickness="1">
      <Rectangle.Fill>
        <ImageBrush
          Stretch="Uniform" ImageSource="sampleImages\square.jpg"
          PresentationOptions:Freeze="True" />
      </Rectangle.Fill>
    </Rectangle>

    <!-- The ImageBrush in this example has its
         Stretch property set to UniformToFill. As a result,
         the image is expanded to completely fill
         the rectangle, but its aspect ratio is preserved.-->
    <Rectangle
      Width="300" Height="150"
      Stroke="MediumBlue" StrokeThickness="1"
      Margin="0,10,0,0">
      <Rectangle.Fill>
        <ImageBrush 
          Stretch="UniformToFill" ImageSource="sampleImages\square.jpg" 
          PresentationOptions:Freeze="True" />
      </Rectangle.Fill>
    </Rectangle>
  </StackPanel>
</Page>

The following illustration shows the output of the first brush, which has a Stretch setting of Uniform.

The next illustration shows the output of the second brush, which has a Stretch setting of UniformToFill.

Note that the Stretch property behaves identically for the other TileBrush objects, that is, for DrawingBrush and VisualBrush. For more information about ImageBrush and the other TileBrush objects, see Painting with Images, Drawings, and Visuals.

Note also that, although the Stretch property appears to specify how the TileBrush content is stretched to fit its output area, it actually specifies how the TileBrush content is stretched to fill its base tile. For more information, see TileBrush.

This code example is part of a larger example that is provided for the ImageBrush class. For the complete sample, see ImageBrush Sample.

See Also

Reference

TileBrush

Concepts

Painting with Images, Drawings, and Visuals