Style.TargetType Property

Definition

Namespace:

System.Windows

Assembly:

PresentationFramework.dll

Gets or sets the type for which this style is intended.

C#

[System.Windows.Localizability(System.Windows.LocalizationCategory.NeverLocalize)]
[System.Windows.Markup.Ambient]
public Type TargetType { get; set; }

Property Value

Type

The target type for this style.

Attributes

LocalizabilityAttribute AmbientAttribute

Examples

The following example defines a style that will be applied to all instances of the TextBlock element.

XAML

<Style TargetType="{x:Type TextBlock}">
  <Setter Property="FontFamily" Value="Segoe Black" />
  <Setter Property="HorizontalAlignment" Value="Center" />
  <Setter Property="FontSize" Value="12pt" />
  <Setter Property="Foreground" Value="#777777" />
</Style>

Setting the TargetType property to the TextBlock type without setting an x:Key implicitly sets the x:Key to {x:Type TextBlock}. This also means that if you give the above Style an x:Key value of anything other than {x:Type TextBlock}, the Style would not be applied to all TextBlock elements automatically. Instead, you need to apply the style to the TextBlock elements explicitly.

Many WPF controls consist of a combination of other WPF controls, so creating a style that applies to all controls of a type can have broad impact. For instance, if you create a style that targets the TextBox controls in a Canvas, the style is applied to all TextBox controls in the canvas, even if the TextBox is part of another control, such as a ComboBox.

Remarks

You can set a style on any element that derives from FrameworkElement or FrameworkContentElement. Therefore, your target type can be any of those elements. However, if you create a style with a TargetType property and base it on another style that also defines a TargetType property, the target type of the derived style must be the same as or be derived from the target type of the base style.

If you do not specify a TargetType, then you must specify an x:Key for your Style and also qualify the properties in your style with a class name.

XAML Attribute Usage

<object  TargetType="{x:Type typeName}"/>
-or-
<object  TargetType="typeName"/>

XAML Values

{x:Type ...} An x:Type Markup Extension markup extension usage.

typeName The type name of the class.

Applies to