Question

So I am starting to use XAML to create WPF applications in Visual Studio, and it seems a LOT of the controls are different. Same name, but different.

Most notably (for me) is the Treeview and RichTextBox.

Since I am working in WPF, should I use System.Windows.Forms.TreeView or System.Windows.Controls.TreeView (same for rich text boxes, etc.)?

I do not like the way that the controls in System.Windows.Controls work. It may be because I am used to them in Forms, but for example, I don’t get why Controls.RichTextBox does not have a Text or a Clear method.

At the same time, it is really annoying having to use <wf:TreeView /> notation a lot, so I try to use the Sys.Windows.Controls versions of stuff as much as I can.

Is one way better than the other? Or is it just preference?

Answer 1

The preferred way is of course using WPF-native System.Windows.Controls. I think you’ll get used to them. WPF controls are superior to Windows Forms ones due to their support of binding, animation, styling, etc.

The WPF controls are feature-rich, but the features are sometimes implemented not the same way as the Windows Forms counterparts. In particular, for RichTextBox you can use RichTextBox.Document for working with the text inside.

For example, getting the text from a RichTextBox can be done as follows:

TextRange textRange = new TextRange(richTextBox.Document.ContentStart,
                                    richTextBox.Document.ContentEnd);
string text = textRange.Text;