How can I make a WPF Expander Stretch?

Question

The Expander control in WPF does not stretch to fill all the available space. Is there any solutions in XAML for this?

score 49 · Accepted Answer · edited May 04 '16 at 13:40

49

All you need to do is this:

<Expander>
  <Expander.Header>
    <TextBlock
      Text="I am header text..."
      Background="Blue"
      Width="{Binding
        RelativeSource={RelativeSource
          Mode=FindAncestor,
          AncestorType={x:Type Expander}},
        Path=ActualWidth}"
      />
  </Expander.Header>
  <TextBlock Background="Red">
    I am some content...
  </TextBlock>
</Expander>

http://joshsmithonwpf.wordpress.com/2007/02/24/stretching-content-in-an-expander-header/

edited May 04 '16 at 13:40

Ryan

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answered Mar 25 '09 at 07:10

Jonathan Parker

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1

How do I do this in code? I realized that I have to account for some space for a button – coder_bro Mar 25 '09 at 09:03
3

TextBlock bx = new TextBlock(); bx.Text = "I am header text..."; Binding wdBind = new Binding("ActualWidth"); wdBind.RelativeSource = new RelativeSource(RelativeSourceMode.FindAncestor, typeof(Expander), 1); bx.SetBinding(TextBlock.TextProperty, wdBind); – Josh G Mar 25 '09 at 12:13
1

bx.Background = Colors.Blue; Expander ex = new Expander(); ex.Header = bx; – Josh G Mar 25 '09 at 12:14
TextBlock contBx = new TextBlock(); contBx.Background = Colors.Red; contBx.Text = "I am some content..."; ex.Content = contBx; – Josh G Mar 25 '09 at 12:14
7

Josh, you can always put this code in your own answer. That way it's more visible and can be voted on and marked as the answer. – Jonathan Parker Mar 25 '09 at 22:09
14

Just a note that this solution will expand the header a little too wide, as it doesn't account for the header's expansion indicator. So if you are trying to right-align the text you may need to add a right-margin to the TextBlock so that the text doesn't go outside of the Expander control. – deadlydog Jan 20 '14 at 23:06
@deadlydog check out most recent answer by Johan. – Kcvin Oct 28 '15 at 20:57

score 12 · Answer 2 · edited Sep 11 '13 at 02:11

12

Non stretchable Expanders is usually the problem of non stretchable parent controls.. Perhaps one of the parent controls has defined a HorizontalAlignment or VerticalAlignment property?

If you can post some sample code, we can give you a better answer.

edited Sep 11 '13 at 02:11

Dave Clemmer

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answered Mar 25 '09 at 10:19

Arcturus

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I can confirm that changing this property on the parent control will fix the issue. So much easier than any other option – Matt Jun 21 '11 at 16:24

score 7 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 15 '10 at 18:55

This solution is a lot simpler and does not effect other expander controls you may using in your application.

  <Expander ExpandDirection="Right" Grid.Column="0" Name="topOfB"> 
    <Expander.Header>
        <Grid HorizontalAlignment="Stretch" Width="{Binding Path=ActualWidth, ElementName=topOfB}">
            <!-- control content goes here -->

score 4 · Answer 4 · answered Oct 28 '15 at 20:55

The accepted answer draws outside the control because the header content is in one column and the expander button is in the first. Might be good enough for some cases.

If you want a clean solution you have to change the template of the expander.

Another way is an attached property:

using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Controls;
using System.Windows.Media;
public static class ParentContentPresenter
{
    public static readonly System.Windows.DependencyProperty HorizontalAlignmentProperty = System.Windows.DependencyProperty.RegisterAttached(
        "HorizontalAlignment",
        typeof(HorizontalAlignment),
        typeof(ParentContentPresenter),
        new PropertyMetadata(default(HorizontalAlignment), OnHorizontalAlignmentChanged));

    public static void SetHorizontalAlignment(this UIElement element, HorizontalAlignment value)
    {
        element.SetValue(HorizontalAlignmentProperty, value);
    }

    [AttachedPropertyBrowsableForChildren(IncludeDescendants = false)]
    [AttachedPropertyBrowsableForType(typeof(UIElement))]
    public static HorizontalAlignment GetHorizontalAlignment(this UIElement element)
    {
        return (HorizontalAlignment)element.GetValue(HorizontalAlignmentProperty);
    }

    private static void OnHorizontalAlignmentChanged(DependencyObject d, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
    {
        var presenter = d.Parents().OfType<ContentPresenter>().FirstOrDefault();
        if (presenter != null)
        {
            presenter.HorizontalAlignment = (HorizontalAlignment) e.NewValue;
        }
    }

    private static IEnumerable<DependencyObject> Parents(this DependencyObject child)
    {
        var parent = VisualTreeHelper.GetParent(child);
        while (parent != null)
        {
            yield return parent;
            child = parent;
            parent = VisualTreeHelper.GetParent(child);
        }
    }
}

It lets you do:

<Expander Header="{Binding ...}">
    <Expander.HeaderTemplate>
        <DataTemplate>
            <!--Using a border here to show how width changes-->
            <Border BorderBrush="Red" BorderThickness="1"
                    local:ParentContentPresenter.HorizontalAlignment="Stretch">
                ...    
            </Border>
        </DataTemplate>
    </Expander.HeaderTemplate>
</Expander>

Note that the use of the attached property is somewhat fragile as it assumes that there is a ContentPresenter in the template.

I dunno why but this doesn't work for me. `VisualTreeHelper.GetParent(child)` always returns null. — Palatis, Nov 02 '20 at 01:23

score 4 · Answer 5 · answered Mar 10 '16 at 12:20

I am pretty surprised nobody has mentioned to just edit the control template, all the other solutions have some pretty serious drawbacks weather its not calculating width properly, not redrawing, render time etc...

This control template will modify the header's contentpresenter horizontal alignment to match the actual expanders (meaning it will stretch)

    <ControlTemplate x:Key="ExpanderControlTemplate1" TargetType="{x:Type Expander}">
        <Border BorderBrush="{TemplateBinding BorderBrush}" BorderThickness="{TemplateBinding BorderThickness}" Background="{TemplateBinding Background}" CornerRadius="3" SnapsToDevicePixels="True">
            <DockPanel>
                <ToggleButton x:Name="HeaderSite" ContentTemplate="{TemplateBinding HeaderTemplate}" Content="{TemplateBinding Header}" DockPanel.Dock="Top" Foreground="{TemplateBinding Foreground}" FontWeight="{TemplateBinding FontWeight}" FontStyle="{TemplateBinding FontStyle}" FontStretch="{TemplateBinding FontStretch}" FontSize="{TemplateBinding FontSize}" FontFamily="{TemplateBinding FontFamily}" HorizontalContentAlignment="{TemplateBinding HorizontalContentAlignment}" IsChecked="{Binding IsExpanded, Mode=TwoWay, RelativeSource={RelativeSource TemplatedParent}}" Margin="1" MinWidth="0" MinHeight="0" Padding="{TemplateBinding Padding}" VerticalContentAlignment="{TemplateBinding VerticalContentAlignment}">
                    <ToggleButton.FocusVisualStyle>
                        <Style>
                            <Setter Property="Control.Template">
                                <Setter.Value>
                                    <ControlTemplate>
                                        <Border>
                                            <Rectangle Margin="0" SnapsToDevicePixels="True" Stroke="Black" StrokeThickness="1" StrokeDashArray="1 2"/>
                                        </Border>
                                    </ControlTemplate>
                                </Setter.Value>
                            </Setter>
                        </Style>
                    </ToggleButton.FocusVisualStyle>
                    <ToggleButton.Style>
                        <Style TargetType="{x:Type ToggleButton}">
                            <Setter Property="Template">
                                <Setter.Value>
                                    <ControlTemplate TargetType="{x:Type ToggleButton}">
                                        <Border Padding="{TemplateBinding Padding}">
                                            <Grid Background="Transparent" SnapsToDevicePixels="False">
                                                <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
                                                    <ColumnDefinition Width="19"/>
                                                    <ColumnDefinition Width="*"/>
                                                </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
                                                <Ellipse x:Name="circle" Fill="White" HorizontalAlignment="Center" Height="19" Stroke="#FF333333" VerticalAlignment="Center" Width="19"/>
                                                <Path x:Name="arrow" Data="M1,1.5L4.5,5 8,1.5" HorizontalAlignment="Center" SnapsToDevicePixels="False" Stroke="#FF333333" StrokeThickness="2" VerticalAlignment="Center"/>
                                                <ContentPresenter ContentTemplate="{TemplateBinding ContentTemplate}" Content="{TemplateBinding Content}" Grid.Column="1" ContentStringFormat="{TemplateBinding ContentStringFormat}" HorizontalAlignment="{TemplateBinding HorizontalContentAlignment}" Margin="4,0,0,0" RecognizesAccessKey="True" SnapsToDevicePixels="True" VerticalAlignment="Center"/>
                                            </Grid>
                                        </Border>
                                        <ControlTemplate.Triggers>
                                            <Trigger Property="IsChecked" Value="True">
                                                <Setter Property="Data" TargetName="arrow" Value="M1,4.5L4.5,1 8,4.5"/>
                                            </Trigger>
                                            <Trigger Property="IsMouseOver" Value="True">
                                                <Setter Property="Stroke" TargetName="circle" Value="#FF5593FF"/>
                                                <Setter Property="Fill" TargetName="circle" Value="#FFF3F9FF"/>
                                                <Setter Property="Stroke" TargetName="arrow" Value="Black"/>
                                            </Trigger>
                                            <Trigger Property="IsPressed" Value="True">
                                                <Setter Property="Stroke" TargetName="circle" Value="#FF3C77DD"/>
                                                <Setter Property="StrokeThickness" TargetName="circle" Value="1.5"/>
                                                <Setter Property="Fill" TargetName="circle" Value="#FFD9ECFF"/>
                                                <Setter Property="Stroke" TargetName="arrow" Value="Black"/>
                                            </Trigger>
                                            <Trigger Property="IsEnabled" Value="False">
                                                <Setter Property="Stroke" TargetName="circle" Value="#FFBCBCBC"/>
                                                <Setter Property="Fill" TargetName="circle" Value="#FFE6E6E6"/>
                                                <Setter Property="Stroke" TargetName="arrow" Value="#FF707070"/>
                                            </Trigger>
                                        </ControlTemplate.Triggers>
                                    </ControlTemplate>
                                </Setter.Value>
                            </Setter>
                        </Style>
                    </ToggleButton.Style>
                </ToggleButton>
                <ContentPresenter x:Name="ExpandSite" ContentTemplate="{TemplateBinding ContentTemplate}" Content="{TemplateBinding Content}" ContentStringFormat="{TemplateBinding ContentStringFormat}" DockPanel.Dock="Bottom" Focusable="False" HorizontalAlignment="{TemplateBinding HorizontalContentAlignment}" Margin="{TemplateBinding Padding}" Visibility="Collapsed" VerticalAlignment="{TemplateBinding VerticalContentAlignment}"/>
            </DockPanel>
        </Border>
        <ControlTemplate.Triggers>
            <Trigger Property="IsExpanded" Value="True">
                <Setter Property="Visibility" TargetName="ExpandSite" Value="Visible"/>
            </Trigger>
            <Trigger Property="ExpandDirection" Value="Right">
                <Setter Property="DockPanel.Dock" TargetName="ExpandSite" Value="Right"/>
                <Setter Property="DockPanel.Dock" TargetName="HeaderSite" Value="Left"/>
                <Setter Property="Style" TargetName="HeaderSite">
                    <Setter.Value>
                        <Style TargetType="{x:Type ToggleButton}">
                            <Setter Property="Template">
                                <Setter.Value>
                                    <ControlTemplate TargetType="{x:Type ToggleButton}">
                                        <Border Padding="{TemplateBinding Padding}">
                                            <Grid Background="Transparent" SnapsToDevicePixels="False">
                                                <Grid.RowDefinitions>
                                                    <RowDefinition Height="19"/>
                                                    <RowDefinition Height="*"/>
                                                </Grid.RowDefinitions>
                                                <Grid>
                                                    <Grid.LayoutTransform>
                                                        <TransformGroup>
                                                            <RotateTransform Angle="-90"/>
                                                        </TransformGroup>
                                                    </Grid.LayoutTransform>
                                                    <Ellipse x:Name="circle" Fill="White" HorizontalAlignment="Center" Height="19" Stroke="#FF333333" VerticalAlignment="Center" Width="19"/>
                                                    <Path x:Name="arrow" Data="M1,1.5L4.5,5 8,1.5" HorizontalAlignment="Center" SnapsToDevicePixels="False" Stroke="#FF333333" StrokeThickness="2" VerticalAlignment="Center"/>
                                                </Grid>
                                                <ContentPresenter ContentTemplate="{TemplateBinding ContentTemplate}" Content="{TemplateBinding Content}" ContentStringFormat="{TemplateBinding ContentStringFormat}" HorizontalAlignment="Center" Margin="0,4,0,0" Grid.Row="1" RecognizesAccessKey="True" SnapsToDevicePixels="True" VerticalAlignment="Top"/>
                                            </Grid>
                                        </Border>
                                        <ControlTemplate.Triggers>
                                            <Trigger Property="IsChecked" Value="True">
                                                <Setter Property="Data" TargetName="arrow" Value="M1,4.5L4.5,1 8,4.5"/>
                                            </Trigger>
                                            <Trigger Property="IsMouseOver" Value="True">
                                                <Setter Property="Stroke" TargetName="circle" Value="#FF5593FF"/>
                                                <Setter Property="Fill" TargetName="circle" Value="#FFF3F9FF"/>
                                                <Setter Property="Stroke" TargetName="arrow" Value="Black"/>
                                            </Trigger>
                                            <Trigger Property="IsPressed" Value="True">
                                                <Setter Property="Stroke" TargetName="circle" Value="#FF3C77DD"/>
                                                <Setter Property="StrokeThickness" TargetName="circle" Value="1.5"/>
                                                <Setter Property="Fill" TargetName="circle" Value="#FFD9ECFF"/>
                                                <Setter Property="Stroke" TargetName="arrow" Value="Black"/>
                                            </Trigger>
                                            <Trigger Property="IsEnabled" Value="False">
                                                <Setter Property="Stroke" TargetName="circle" Value="#FFBCBCBC"/>
                                                <Setter Property="Fill" TargetName="circle" Value="#FFE6E6E6"/>
                                                <Setter Property="Stroke" TargetName="arrow" Value="#FF707070"/>
                                            </Trigger>
                                        </ControlTemplate.Triggers>
                                    </ControlTemplate>
                                </Setter.Value>
                            </Setter>
                        </Style>
                    </Setter.Value>
                </Setter>
            </Trigger>
            <Trigger Property="ExpandDirection" Value="Up">
                <Setter Property="DockPanel.Dock" TargetName="ExpandSite" Value="Top"/>
                <Setter Property="DockPanel.Dock" TargetName="HeaderSite" Value="Bottom"/>
                <Setter Property="Style" TargetName="HeaderSite">
                    <Setter.Value>
                        <Style TargetType="{x:Type ToggleButton}">
                            <Setter Property="Template">
                                <Setter.Value>
                                    <ControlTemplate TargetType="{x:Type ToggleButton}">
                                        <Border Padding="{TemplateBinding Padding}">
                                            <Grid Background="Transparent" SnapsToDevicePixels="False">
                                                <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
                                                    <ColumnDefinition Width="19"/>
                                                    <ColumnDefinition Width="*"/>
                                                </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
                                                <Grid>
                                                    <Grid.LayoutTransform>
                                                        <TransformGroup>
                                                            <RotateTransform Angle="180"/>
                                                        </TransformGroup>
                                                    </Grid.LayoutTransform>
                                                    <Ellipse x:Name="circle" Fill="White" HorizontalAlignment="Center" Height="19" Stroke="#FF333333" VerticalAlignment="Center" Width="19"/>
                                                    <Path x:Name="arrow" Data="M1,1.5L4.5,5 8,1.5" HorizontalAlignment="Center" SnapsToDevicePixels="False" Stroke="#FF333333" StrokeThickness="2" VerticalAlignment="Center"/>
                                                </Grid>
                                                <ContentPresenter ContentTemplate="{TemplateBinding ContentTemplate}" Content="{TemplateBinding Content}" Grid.Column="1" ContentStringFormat="{TemplateBinding ContentStringFormat}" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="4,0,0,0" RecognizesAccessKey="True" SnapsToDevicePixels="True" VerticalAlignment="Center"/>
                                            </Grid>
                                        </Border>
                                        <ControlTemplate.Triggers>
                                            <Trigger Property="IsChecked" Value="True">
                                                <Setter Property="Data" TargetName="arrow" Value="M1,4.5L4.5,1 8,4.5"/>
                                            </Trigger>
                                            <Trigger Property="IsMouseOver" Value="True">
                                                <Setter Property="Stroke" TargetName="circle" Value="#FF5593FF"/>
                                                <Setter Property="Fill" TargetName="circle" Value="#FFF3F9FF"/>
                                                <Setter Property="Stroke" TargetName="arrow" Value="Black"/>
                                            </Trigger>
                                            <Trigger Property="IsPressed" Value="True">
                                                <Setter Property="Stroke" TargetName="circle" Value="#FF3C77DD"/>
                                                <Setter Property="StrokeThickness" TargetName="circle" Value="1.5"/>
                                                <Setter Property="Fill" TargetName="circle" Value="#FFD9ECFF"/>
                                                <Setter Property="Stroke" TargetName="arrow" Value="Black"/>
                                            </Trigger>
                                            <Trigger Property="IsEnabled" Value="False">
                                                <Setter Property="Stroke" TargetName="circle" Value="#FFBCBCBC"/>
                                                <Setter Property="Fill" TargetName="circle" Value="#FFE6E6E6"/>
                                                <Setter Property="Stroke" TargetName="arrow" Value="#FF707070"/>
                                            </Trigger>
                                        </ControlTemplate.Triggers>
                                    </ControlTemplate>
                                </Setter.Value>
                            </Setter>
                        </Style>
                    </Setter.Value>
                </Setter>
            </Trigger>
            <Trigger Property="ExpandDirection" Value="Left">
                <Setter Property="DockPanel.Dock" TargetName="ExpandSite" Value="Left"/>
                <Setter Property="DockPanel.Dock" TargetName="HeaderSite" Value="Right"/>
                <Setter Property="Style" TargetName="HeaderSite">
                    <Setter.Value>
                        <Style TargetType="{x:Type ToggleButton}">
                            <Setter Property="Template">
                                <Setter.Value>
                                    <ControlTemplate TargetType="{x:Type ToggleButton}">
                                        <Border Padding="{TemplateBinding Padding}">
                                            <Grid Background="Transparent" SnapsToDevicePixels="False">
                                                <Grid.RowDefinitions>
                                                    <RowDefinition Height="19"/>
                                                    <RowDefinition Height="*"/>
                                                </Grid.RowDefinitions>
                                                <Grid>
                                                    <Grid.LayoutTransform>
                                                        <TransformGroup>
                                                            <RotateTransform Angle="90"/>
                                                        </TransformGroup>
                                                    </Grid.LayoutTransform>
                                                    <Ellipse x:Name="circle" Fill="White" HorizontalAlignment="Center" Height="19" Stroke="#FF333333" VerticalAlignment="Center" Width="19"/>
                                                    <Path x:Name="arrow" Data="M1,1.5L4.5,5 8,1.5" HorizontalAlignment="Center" SnapsToDevicePixels="False" Stroke="#FF333333" StrokeThickness="2" VerticalAlignment="Center"/>
                                                </Grid>
                                                <ContentPresenter ContentTemplate="{TemplateBinding ContentTemplate}" Content="{TemplateBinding Content}" ContentStringFormat="{TemplateBinding ContentStringFormat}" HorizontalAlignment="Center" Margin="0,4,0,0" Grid.Row="1" RecognizesAccessKey="True" SnapsToDevicePixels="True" VerticalAlignment="Top"/>
                                            </Grid>
                                        </Border>
                                        <ControlTemplate.Triggers>
                                            <Trigger Property="IsChecked" Value="True">
                                                <Setter Property="Data" TargetName="arrow" Value="M1,4.5L4.5,1 8,4.5"/>
                                            </Trigger>
                                            <Trigger Property="IsMouseOver" Value="True">
                                                <Setter Property="Stroke" TargetName="circle" Value="#FF5593FF"/>
                                                <Setter Property="Fill" TargetName="circle" Value="#FFF3F9FF"/>
                                                <Setter Property="Stroke" TargetName="arrow" Value="Black"/>
                                            </Trigger>
                                            <Trigger Property="IsPressed" Value="True">
                                                <Setter Property="Stroke" TargetName="circle" Value="#FF3C77DD"/>
                                                <Setter Property="StrokeThickness" TargetName="circle" Value="1.5"/>
                                                <Setter Property="Fill" TargetName="circle" Value="#FFD9ECFF"/>
                                                <Setter Property="Stroke" TargetName="arrow" Value="Black"/>
                                            </Trigger>
                                            <Trigger Property="IsEnabled" Value="False">
                                                <Setter Property="Stroke" TargetName="circle" Value="#FFBCBCBC"/>
                                                <Setter Property="Fill" TargetName="circle" Value="#FFE6E6E6"/>
                                                <Setter Property="Stroke" TargetName="arrow" Value="#FF707070"/>
                                            </Trigger>
                                        </ControlTemplate.Triggers>
                                    </ControlTemplate>
                                </Setter.Value>
                            </Setter>
                        </Style>
                    </Setter.Value>
                </Setter>
            </Trigger>
            <Trigger Property="IsEnabled" Value="False">
                <Setter Property="Foreground" Value="{DynamicResource {x:Static SystemColors.GrayTextBrushKey}}"/>
            </Trigger>
        </ControlTemplate.Triggers>
    </ControlTemplate>

score 2 · Answer 6 · answered Nov 05 '12 at 04:53

<Expander Name="EXPANDER_NAME">
    <Expander IsExpanded="True" Margin="0">
        <Expander.Header>
            <Grid Background="Red" Width="{Binding ElementName=EXPANDER_NAME, Path=ActualWidth}">
                <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
                    <ColumnDefinition/>
                    <ColumnDefinition Width="30"/>
                </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
                <TextBlock>          HEADER TEXT          <TextBlock>
            </Grid>
        </Expander.Header>
   </Expander>

score 1 · Answer 7 · answered Mar 25 '09 at 10:58

I Agree with HTH - check what sort of a container you're putting the Expander in... the StackPanel will always fold it's children down to the smallest size they can go to.

I'm using Expanders a lot in my project, and if you drop them into a Grid / DockPanel, then the expander will fill all available space (assuming it's Vertical & Horizontal orientations are set to Stretch).

Jonathan's suggestion of Binding the Expander's width to the container's width can get a bit tricky... I tried this technique a few weeks back and found that it can producte undesirable results in some cases, because it can inhibit the functioning of the layout system.

PS: As a general tip (and I'm sure I'm gonna get flamed for writing this), if you're unsure of what sort of layout-container to your controls in, then start off with a Grid. Using the Column & Row definitions allows you to very easily control whether child controls use minimum space ("Auto"), maximum space ("*") or an exact amount of space ("[number]").

Grid is definitely the most versatile and easy to use container. I've heard that it performs much worse than most containers also. — Josh G, Mar 25 '09 at 12:18
@Mark, you mean you agree with Arcturus. HTH means Hope That Helps and is a common closing around here. — Bryan Anderson, Mar 25 '09 at 13:44

score 0 · Answer 8 · answered Mar 25 '09 at 12:38

0

The Silverlight Toolkit includes an Accordion control which acts like an expander that always stretches to the available space. I haven't tested it yet, but it might be functional for WPF too, like the Silverlight Chart controls.

answered Mar 25 '09 at 12:38

Anthony Brien

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How can I make a WPF Expander Stretch?

8 Answers8

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