`WindowsFormsHost`

Many controls based on Windows Forms exist. We can use any of them in a WPF program with the WindowsFormsHost control.

A compatibility feature

In a WindowsFormsHost we specify Windows Forms controls in XAML. Only one control can be nested in it.

To start, please add a "xmlns wf" attribute to the Window element. The "wf" part is just a namespace we specify—other names can instead be used.

Next Drag a WindowsFormsHost control to the application. Then try adding a Windows Forms control.

Detail All the classics are available—I used a Button. You must prefix the Windows Forms control's name with the "wf" namespace.

Info I specified several attributes of the Windows Forms Button. Windows Forms does not use XAML in most programs, but within WPF it does.

<Window x:Class="WpfApplication19.MainWindow"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        xmlns:wf="clr-namespace:System.Windows.Forms;assembly=System.Windows.Forms"
        Title="MainWindow" Height="350" Width="525">
    <Grid>
        <WindowsFormsHost HorizontalAlignment="Left" Height="59" Margin="10,10,0,0"
                          VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="163">
            <wf:Button Text="Button" Top="0" Left="0" Click="Button_Click"
                       BackColor="AliceBlue"
                       ForeColor="RosyBrown"
                       Font="Consolas"
                       FlatStyle="Flat"/>
        </WindowsFormsHost>
    </Grid>
</Window>using System;
using System.Windows;

namespace WpfApplication19
{
    public partial class MainWindow : Window
    {
        public MainWindow()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
        }

        private void Button_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            // ... Cast as System.Windows.Forms.Button, not
            //     System.Windows.Controls.Button.
            System.Windows.Forms.Button b = sender as System.Windows.Forms.Button;
            b.Text = "Clicked";
        }
    }
}

A discussion

Only one Windows Forms control can be nested within the WindowsFormsHost. But we can use a control such as TableLayoutPanel that can have sub-controls.

Detail In the example, I added a Click event handler. When the user clicks on the Button, the Button_Click event handler runs.

And The Text attribute of the Button is changed to the word "Clicked." This is not a WPF Button, which uses Content.

A summary

Based on my experiment with WindowsFormsHost, it seems that avoiding this element is an ideal choice. Using it introduces a lot of extra complexity.