Skip to main content
BuyLog In
WPF Controls
Search in…
Docs > WPF Controls > Common Concepts > Themes
All docs
V24.2
WPF Controls
Prerequisites
What's New
What's Installed
.NET/.NET Core Support
Common Concepts
Customize Your Application Appearance
Themes
Theme List
Lightweight Themes
Preload Theme Resources
Palettes
Modify Theme Resources
Customize Themes
Images
Printing and Exporting
Save/Restore Control Layout
Fluent Design Support
Typed Styles
Touch Support
Expressions
Filtering
Formatting Values
Prism Adapters
Data Sources
Performance Enhancements
UI Test Automation Support
Accessibility Support
XAML Namespaces
MVVM Support
MVVM Framework
Controls and Libraries
AI-powered Extensions
Localization
Security Considerations
Support, Debug, and Troubleshooting
Redistribution and Deployment
Desktop & Web App UI Framework (Powered by EF Core)
Get More Help
API Reference
Download CHM

WPF Application Themes

  • 9 minutes to read

The DevExpress WPF Subscription ships with over 30 custom designed application themes. You can use each of these themes without modification or customize them in our free WPF Theme Designer application.

Refer to the Theme List topic to get the available theme list. You can apply each theme to the DevExpress WPF Controls and the supported Standard WPF Controls.

The Lightweight Themes topic contains a list of available lightweight themes. These themes visually replicate regular themes, but offer quicker startup times and consume less memory.

Run Demo: Outlook Inspired Demo

Note

When you reference a DevExpress WPF library in an application, the application applies the Office2019Colorful theme. This theme affects all the DevExpress WPF Controls and the supported Standard WPF Controls. You can reset the DevExpress Theme applied to Standard WPF Controls.

WPF Themes

List of Supported Standard Controls

The following Standard WPF Controls support the DevExpress WPF Themes:

Show supported Standard WPF Controls

* These controls are supported only in the Office2016SE, VS2017, Office2019, VS2019, Win10, and Win11 themes.

Apply a DevExpress Theme

To apply a theme, it is necessary to reference the theme assembly or the theme NuGet package in your project.

View Example: Use DevExpress Themes in a WPF Application

Apply a DevExpress Theme to an Application

Approach 1

Open the Window’s or the User Control’s Quick Action or Smart Tag, expand the ApplicationTheme drop-down list, and select a theme. The list only shows the themes that are referenced in your project.

SmartTagThemes

The resulting App.config file appears as follows:

  • .NET

    ...
<configuration>
    <configSections>
        <section name="DXThemeManager"
        type="System.Configuration.ClientSettingsSection, System, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089"
        allowExeDefinition="MachineToLocalUser" requirePermission="false" />
    </configSections>
    <DXThemeManager>
        <setting name="ApplicationThemeName" serializeAs="String">
            <value>Office2019Colorful</value>
        </setting>
    </DXThemeManager>
</configuration>
...

  • .NET Framework

    <configuration>
    <configSections>
        <sectionGroup name="userSettings"
        type="System.Configuration.UserSettingsGroup, System, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089" >
        <section name="DXThemeManager"
        type="System.Configuration.ClientSettingsSection, System, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089"
        allowExeDefinition="MachineToLocalUser" requirePermission="false" />
        </sectionGroup>
    </configSections>
    <startup>
        <supportedRuntime version="v4.0" sku=".NETFramework,Version=v4.7.2" />
    </startup>
    <userSettings>
        <DXThemeManager>
        <setting name="ApplicationThemeName" serializeAs="String">
            <value>Office2019Colorful</value>
        </setting>
        </DXThemeManager>
    </userSettings>
</configuration>

Approach 2

This approach overrides changes to the App.config file made with Approach 1.

  1. Reference the DevExpress.Data.Desktop.v24.2 assembly.
  2. Set the ApplicationThemeHelper.ApplicationThemeName property to a theme name at application startup. 
public partial class App : Application {
    protected override void OnStartup(StartupEventArgs e) {
        ApplicationThemeHelper.ApplicationThemeName = Theme.MetropolisLightName;
        base.OnStartup(e);
    }
}

Tip

You can add the Ribbon Gallery Theme Selector to your application.

Apply a DevExpress Theme to a Container

Specify the attached ThemeManager.ThemeName property. You can apply the property to the DevExpress WPF Controls and the Supported WPF Standard Controls. The following code sample applies the Office2016SEWhite theme to the ThemedWindow and the Office2019Black theme to the GridControl:

<ThemedWindow ...
    xmlns:dx="http://schemas.devexpress.com/winfx/2008/xaml/core" 
    xmlns:dxg="http://schemas.devexpress.com/winfx/2008/xaml/grid"
    dx:ThemeManager.ThemeName="Office2016SEWhite"
    x:Name="mainWindow">
    <dxg:GridControl dx:ThemeManager.ThemeName="Office2019Black">
        ...
    </dxg:GridControl>  
</ThemedWindow>

In code, you can call the ThemeManager.SetThemeName method to apply a theme to a container:

using DevExpress.Xpf.Core;
//...
        public MainWindow() {
            //...
            ThemeManager.SetThemeName(mainWindow, "Office2019Black");
        }

Reset the Applied DevExpress Theme

When you reset a theme, DevExpress WPF Themes no longer affect Standard WPF Controls. DevExpress WPF Controls get their appearance from the DeepBlue theme built into the controls’ assemblies.

Reset the Applied DevExpress Theme to an application

Approach 1

Click the “X” button (disable-theming-button.png) in the Window’s Smart Tag:

disable-theming

The resulting App.config file appears as follows:

...
<DXThemeManager>
    <setting name="ApplicationThemeName" serializeAs="String">
        <value>None</value>
    </setting>
</DXThemeManager>
...

If you use Quick Actions, you need to edit the App.config file manually.

Approach 2

Set the ApplicationThemeHelper.ApplicationThemeName property to Theme.NoneName at application startup. This approach overrides changes to the App.config file made with Approach 1.

using DevExpress.Xpf.Core;
...
    public partial class App : Application {
        protected override void OnStartup(StartupEventArgs e) {
            ApplicationThemeHelper.ApplicationThemeName = Theme.NoneName;
            base.OnStartup(e);
        }
    }

Reset a DevExpress Theme Applied to a Container

Set the attached ThemeManager.ThemeName property to None: 

<ThemedWindow ...
    xmlns:dx="http://schemas.devexpress.com/winfx/2008/xaml/core" 
    xmlns:dxg="http://schemas.devexpress.com/winfx/2008/xaml/grid">
    <dxg:GridControl dx:ThemeManager.ThemeName="None">
        ...
    </dxg:GridControl>  
</ThemedWindow>

Reset a DevExpress Theme Only For the Standard WPF Controls

To reset a DevExpress Theme only for a container with Standard WPF Controls:

  1. Reset the application theme
  2. Apply a theme only to containers that contain the DevExpress WPF Controls.
...
<DXThemeManager>
    <setting name="ApplicationThemeName" serializeAs="String">
        <value>None</value>
    </setting>
</DXThemeManager>
...

<ThemedWindow ...
    xmlns:dx="http://schemas.devexpress.com/winfx/2008/xaml/core" 
    xmlns:dxg="http://schemas.devexpress.com/winfx/2008/xaml/grid">
    <dxg:GridControl dx:ThemeManager.ThemeName="Office2019White">
        ...
    </dxg:GridControl>  
    <ComboBox>
        ...
    </ComboBox>
</ThemedWindow>

Save a Theme Applied at Runtime

The application applies a theme specified in the application’s configuration file at its startup. Call the ApplicationThemeHelper.SaveApplicationThemeName method to save the current theme to the application’s configuration file:

ApplicationThemeHelper.ApplicationThemeName = Theme.MetropolisLightName;
ApplicationThemeHelper.SaveApplicationThemeName();

Add a Theme Selector to your App

DevExpress WPF Controls include the following MVVM behaviors that allow you to implement theme selectors in your application:

Selector GitHub Example
BarSubItemThemeSelectorBehavior Example
BarSplitItemThemeSelectorBehavior Example
GalleryThemeSelectorBehavior Example
RibbonGalleryItemThemeSelectorBehavior Example
HamburgerSubMenuThemeSelectorBehavior Example

Use Legacy Default Themes

You can use the CompatibilitySettings.LegacyDefaultTheme property to specify the legacy default theme that the application should use:

using DevExpress.Xpf.Core;
...
    public partial class App : Application {
        protected override void OnStartup(StartupEventArgs e) {
            CompatibilitySettings.LegacyDefaultTheme = LegacyDefaultTheme.Office2016White;
            base.OnStartup(e);
        }
    }

Use Windows App Mode

The latest DevExpress WPF Theme families include the *System theme. This theme does not introduce its own new look and feel options. Instead, it reads Windows settings and applies one of the existing themes to match the current OS appearance. You application then looks consistent with other software that a user runs on their machine.

The following table lists *System theme names and the corresponding themes that take effect in dark or light OS modes:

Theme Family System Theme Name Light Theme[1] Dark Theme[2]
Office 2016 SE Themes Office2016SystemSE Office2016ColorfulSE Office2016BlackSE
Office 2019 Themes Office2019System Office2019Colorful Office2019Black
Visual Studio 2017 Themes VS2017System VS2017Light VS2017Dark
Visual Studio 2019 Themes VS2019System VS2019Light VS2019Dark
Windows 10 Themes[3] Win10System Win10Light Win10Dark
Windows 11 Themes Win11System Win11Light Win11Dark

You should reference assemblies/NuGet packages of both (Dark and Light) theme versions. For example, to allow the Win11System theme to switch between Win11Light and Win11Dark themes, you should choose any of the following options:

  • Reference the DevExpress.Xpf.Themes.Win11Dark.v22.2.dll and DevExpress.Xpf.Themes.Win11Light.v22.2.dll assemblies.
  • Reference the DevExpress.Wpf.Themes.Win11Dark and DevExpress.Wpf.Themes.Win11Light NuGet packages.
  • Reference the DevExpress.Wpf.Themes.All NuGet package.

The following code sample applies the VS2019System theme to the application:

public partial class App : Application {
    protected override void OnStartup(StartupEventArgs e) {
        ApplicationThemeHelper.ApplicationThemeName = Theme.VS2019SystemName;
        base.OnStartup(e);
    }
}

*System themes are available in the theme selector.

Apply a Touch Theme

The DevExpress WPF Touch Themes affect only an element’s appearance (size, paddings, margins, etc.). Refer to the following topic for more information on DevExpress WPF Controls Touch Support: Touch Support.

Append ;Touch to a theme name to apply the touch-friendly theme version:

Note

The TouchlineDark theme is touch-friendly (the default setting). You do not need to append ;Touch to its theme name. 

<ThemedWindow ...
    xmlns:dx="http://schemas.devexpress.com/winfx/2008/xaml/core"
    dx:ThemeManager.ThemeName="Office2013;Touch">
    ...
</ThemedWindow>
Show touch-friendly theme list
Name ThemeManager.ThemeName
Office 2019 Black Office2019Black;Touch
Office 2019 Colorful Office2019Colorful;Touch
Office 2019 DarkGray Office2019DarkGray;Touch
Office 2019 HighContrast Office2019HighContrast;Touch
Office 2019 White Office2019White;Touch
Office 2016 Black SE Office2016BlackSE;Touch
Office 2016 Colorful SE Office2016ColorfulSE;Touch
Office 2016 DarkGray SE Office2016DarkGraySE;Touch
Office 2016 White SE Office2016WhiteSE;Touch
Office 2016 Black Office2016Black;Touch
Office 2016 Colorful Office2016Colorful;Touch
Office 2016 White Office2016White;Touch
Office 2013 Office2013;Touch
Office 2013 DarkGray Office2013DarkGray;Touch
Office 2013 LightGray Office2013LightGray;Touch
TouchlineDark TouchlineDark

DevExpress Themes - Touch Friendly Theme

Preload Themes

Controls load theme resources when you run the application. Use the PreloadThemeResourceAsync method to load and cache all the theme resources asynchronously at the application startup. The method reduces application freezes. You can set the runTypeInitializers method parameter to true to invoke static constructors and speed up control initialization.

Lightweight Templates

Lightweight Templates contain fewer visual elements and reduce the time it takes to load DevExpress WPF Controls. The following themes support Lightweight Templates:

Theme Family Themes
Windows 11 Dark, Light
Windows 10 Dark, Light
Office 2019 Black, Colorful, Dark Gray, White, HighContrast
Visual Studio 2019 Blue, Dark, Light
Office 2016 SE Black, Colorful, Dark Gray, White
Visual Studio 2017 Blue, Dark, Light

The following table lists DevExpress WPF Controls that support Lightweight Templates and the properties you should use to enable/disable Lightweight Templates:

Control Property
BarItem CompatibilitySettings.UseLightweightBarItems
GridControl TableView.UseLightweightTemplates
PivotGridControl PivotGridControl.UseLightweightTemplates
RibbonControl CompatibilitySettings.UseLightweightBarItems

Tip

Refer to the following topics for more information on Lightweight Templates: GridControl Optimized Mode, Ribbon Lightweight Templates.

Standard WPF Control Properties

You can specify the Background, BorderBrush, and BorderThickness property values to change the appearance of Standard WPF Controls when an application uses one of the following DevExpress WPF Themes:

Theme Family Themes
Windows 11 Dark, Light
Windows 10 Dark, Light
Office 2019 Black, Colorful, Dark Gray, White, HighContrast
Visual Studio 2019 Blue, Dark, Light
Office 2016 SE Black, Colorful, Dark Gray, White
Visual Studio 2017 Blue, Dark, Light

The following code sample sets the Standard WPF Button‘s Background property to Red when the Office2016WhiteSE theme is applied:

<dx:ThemedWindow 
    ...
    xmlns:dx="http://schemas.devexpress.com/winfx/2008/xaml/core"
    dx:ThemeManager.Theme="Office2016WhiteSE">
    <Grid>
        <Button Content="Button" Background="Red" />
    </Grid>
</dx:ThemedWindow>
Footnotes

  1. The theme that is applied when the Windows app mode is set to Light.

  2. The theme that is applied when the Windows app mode is set to Dark.

  3. These themes can adjust their colors based on the Windows accent color setting. Refer to the following link for more information: Windows Accent Color and App Mode Support.

See Also