How to make System.Windows.MessageBox buttons stylized?

Question

I use System.Windows.MessageBox in a WPF application, and for some reason its buttons are in Windows 2000 style, not WinXP, not Aero, not the WPF standard. Just gray with basic 3D borders.

How can I make them look with a more modern style? (it doesn't really matter which one)

Answer 1

You can fix this with a manifest. See this article for step-by-step instructions: Why I get dialog boxes with old-style files and message boxes with WPF

Basically, you should add an XML file called a "manifest" to your application.

Update:

In fact, this is very easy to do in VS2008. Go to "Project Properties-> Application" and click on the "View UAC Settings" button. This will automatically create the application manifest file and open it. Edit this file as follows:

Only after the line:

</trustInfo> 

Paste in the following dependency section:

  <!-- Activate Windows Common Controls v6 usage (XP and Vista): --> <dependency> <dependentAssembly> <assemblyIdentity type="win32" name="Microsoft.Windows.Common-Controls" version="6.0.0.0" processorArchitecture="*" publicKeyToken="6595b64144ccf1df" language="*" /> </dependentAssembly> </dependency> 

My complete manifest is as follows:

 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <asmv1:assembly manifestVersion="1.0" xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1" xmlns:asmv1="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1" xmlns:asmv2="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v2" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"> <assemblyIdentity version="1.0.0.0" name="MyApplication.app"/> <trustInfo xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v2"> <security> <requestedPrivileges xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v3"> <!-- UAC Manifest Options If you want to change the Windows User Account Control level replace the requestedExecutionLevel node with one of the following. <requestedExecutionLevel level="asInvoker" uiAccess="false" /> <requestedExecutionLevel level="requireAdministrator" uiAccess="false" /> <requestedExecutionLevel level="highestAvailable" uiAccess="false" /> If you want to utilize File and Registry Virtualization for backward compatibility then delete the requestedExecutionLevel node. --> <requestedExecutionLevel level="asInvoker" uiAccess="false" /> </requestedPrivileges> </security> </trustInfo> <!-- Activate Windows Common Controls v6 usage (XP, Vista, Win 7) to support themed dialogs: --> <dependency> <dependentAssembly> <assemblyIdentity type="win32" name="Microsoft.Windows.Common-Controls" version="6.0.0.0" processorArchitecture="*" publicKeyToken="6595b64144ccf1df" language="*" /> </dependentAssembly> </dependency> </asmv1:assembly> 

After that, just create an application, launch it and run, the buttons of the MessageBox dialog will take on the style of the system theme.