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Posted 24 Jun 2010


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Shaped WPF Form

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24 Jun 2010CPOL2 min read
Shaping WPF Form using an Image


Hello WPF lovers. With the invent of unified API language such as WPF, it has become very easy to enrich user interface. Creating rich user interface is just a thought away. All you need to have is a creative mind and latest technological blend. WPF and Expression Blend are very useful in making rich UI applications, crispy graphics and pretty good animation.


What I am going to post is about shaping a window rectangular form to the shape of an image. It can be any image, any shape, any size just that it should be PNG (Portable Network Graphics) image with no background (white background removed).

Using the Code

Well, achieving this is a piece of cake but still I will provide a complete walkthrough process.


  1. .NET FrameWork 3.0 or above
  2. Visual Studio 2008 or above
  3. Adobe Photoshop or an image editing tool
  4. An image file that you are going to use
  5. Knowledge of XAML

Preparing the Image File

  1. Select image file that you wish to use as Form shape.
  2. Making the image background free is a pretty easy process in most image editing tools, however, I will explain it for Adobe Photoshop (as I love that product :)).
  3. Open the image file in Adobe Photoshop.
  4. Select the entire image excluding the background.
  5. Copy the selection.
  6. Click on menu File>>New. This will show a dialog box. In the Content section of the dialog box, select Transparent and click ok.
  7. A transparent background canvas will open up, paste your image there and save it as PNG file.


Now our image file is ready, let's shape our WPF Form now. :)

Setting up WPF Application

  1. Open Visual Studio 2008 and create new project.
  2. Under Visual C# project templates, select Windows>>WPF Application.
  3. Use the following XAML:
<window title="ShapedWindow" windowstartuplocation="CenterScreen" 
    allowstransparency="True" opacitymask="White" windowstyle="None" 
    background="Transparent" width="620" height="267" 
        <img name="imgBackground" source="Shape.png" stretch="Fill" />

And that's it, it's done. :)

Let me explain the XAML:

  1. allowstransparency="True" - This property makes the Form transparent.
  2. background="Transparent" - This property specifies that the background color should be transparent.
  3. windowstyle="None" - This property removes the title bar and makes the form borderless. Basically removes all the system controls from the form.
  4. opacitymask="White" - This property makes the specified background color invisible from the form.

Done, tutorial is complete. By doing this, you can have an image as form shape. Give creative shape to your forms. Happy designing!


  • 24th June, 2010: Initial post




About the Author

Amit Kumar Tiwari
Technical Lead
United States United States
I am a developer in Microsoft Technologies like .NET, SharePoint etc.

Comments and Discussions

GeneralShaped WPF Form Pin
Member 77365903-Aug-16 5:10
MemberMember 77365903-Aug-16 5:10 
QuestionNice Work Pin
hoob computer3-Nov-13 19:14
Memberhoob computer3-Nov-13 19:14 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Manoj Kumar Choubey4-Apr-12 23:50
professionalManoj Kumar Choubey4-Apr-12 23:50 
QuestionIs it possible to change the Shape.PNG to Shape1.PNG Pin
Member 83268216-Dec-11 11:05
MemberMember 83268216-Dec-11 11:05 
AnswerRe: Is it possible to change the Shape.PNG to Shape1.PNG Pin
emarti28-Dec-11 12:53
Memberemarti28-Dec-11 12:53 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
csharpbd16-Nov-11 20:30
professionalcsharpbd16-Nov-11 20:30 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
ayad0net9-Aug-11 11:17
Memberayad0net9-Aug-11 11:17 
GeneralGood trick man... Pin
Abhishek Sur30-Jun-10 22:27
professionalAbhishek Sur30-Jun-10 22:27 
GeneralRe: Good trick man... Pin
Amit Kumar Tiwari5-Jul-10 17:35
MemberAmit Kumar Tiwari5-Jul-10 17:35 
GeneralVery practical Pin
RabinDl24-Jun-10 10:37
MemberRabinDl24-Jun-10 10:37 
GeneralRe: Very practical Pin
Amit Kumar Tiwari5-Jul-10 17:34
MemberAmit Kumar Tiwari5-Jul-10 17:34 

