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WinRT doesn't have OuterGlowBitmapEffect. So, is there any way to display the outer glow effect for a TextBlock in WinRT?

Elmo
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  • What type of content do you want to apply a glow to? Is it text, vectors or bitmaps and does is it static or not? – Kris Oct 20 '12 at 18:26
  • If you don't want to use HTML and CSS I would go with 2nd option I posted unless you need to support many fonts and sizes or paragraphs of text. It would need a few tweaks for WinRT. – Kris Oct 20 '12 at 19:02

1 Answers1

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There is not a good way to apply effects to XAML content, WinRT also currently lacks a way to render XAML elements to a bitmap so you are mainly left with methods where you don't use XAML.

Make sure the glow is necessary and you have reviewed the guidelines for Windows 8 apps. If your sure you need it here are a few suggestions:

  • For simple cases you may be able to use gradients or duplicated geometry to get a glow affect.

  • Bundle graphics with the glow already applied with your app, this obviously wouldn't work for completely dynamic shapes but you could do it for text similar to my answer here.

  • Use Direct2D instead of XAML and use Direct2D effects (SharpDX offers bindings for Direct2D)

  • If you need to apply a glow to a bitmap you could use a WriteableBitmap and apply the glow yourself. (WriteableBitmapEX could be useful)

  • Use HTML and CSS instead of XAML, possibly hosted in a WebView or for the whole app.

Community
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Kris
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  • I have to display text on a image which has both light and dark background so I really need to use the outer glow effect. – Elmo Oct 21 '12 at 16:02
  • Putting a black textblock under a white one and shifting it diagonally would make the text visible but if you do need a glow the 2nd and 3rd options would work. I can look at updating the code for WinRT if needed. This is much simpler in HTML as text-shadow is supported. – Kris Oct 21 '12 at 16:35