ProvideMetadataAttribute Class

Article
02/23/2011

Represents a class that provides metadata.

Inheritance Hierarchy

System.Object
System.Attribute
Microsoft.Windows.Design.Metadata.ProvideMetadataAttribute

Namespace: Microsoft.Windows.Design.Metadata
Assembly: Microsoft.Windows.Design.Extensibility (in Microsoft.Windows.Design.Extensibility.dll)

Syntax

'Declaration
<AttributeUsageAttribute(AttributeTargets.Assembly, AllowMultiple := True)> _
Public NotInheritable Class ProvideMetadataAttribute _
    Inherits Attribute

[AttributeUsageAttribute(AttributeTargets.Assembly, AllowMultiple = true)]
public sealed class ProvideMetadataAttribute : Attribute

[AttributeUsageAttribute(AttributeTargets::Assembly, AllowMultiple = true)]
public ref class ProvideMetadataAttribute sealed : public Attribute

[<Sealed>]
[<AttributeUsageAttribute(AttributeTargets.Assembly, AllowMultiple = true)>]
type ProvideMetadataAttribute =  
    class
        inherit Attribute
    end

public final class ProvideMetadataAttribute extends Attribute

The ProvideMetadataAttribute type exposes the following members.

Constructors

	Name	Description
	ProvideMetadataAttribute	Initializes a new instance of the ProvideMetadataAttribute class.

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Properties

	Name	Description
	MetadataProviderType	Gets the type that implements the IProvideAttributeTable interface.
	TypeId	When implemented in a derived class, gets a unique identifier for this Attribute. (Inherited from Attribute.)

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Methods

	Name	Description
	Equals	Infrastructure. Returns a value that indicates whether this instance is equal to a specified object. (Inherited from Attribute.)
	Finalize	Allows an object to try to free resources and perform other cleanup operations before it is reclaimed by garbage collection. (Inherited from Object.)
	GetHashCode	Returns the hash code for this instance. (Inherited from Attribute.)
	GetType	Gets the Type of the current instance. (Inherited from Object.)
	IsDefaultAttribute	When overridden in a derived class, indicates whether the value of this instance is the default value for the derived class. (Inherited from Attribute.)
	Match	When overridden in a derived class, returns a value that indicates whether this instance equals a specified object. (Inherited from Attribute.)
	MemberwiseClone	Creates a shallow copy of the current Object. (Inherited from Object.)
	ToString	Returns a string that represents the current object. (Inherited from Object.)

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Explicit Interface Implementations

	Name	Description
	_Attribute.GetIDsOfNames	Maps a set of names to a corresponding set of dispatch identifiers. (Inherited from Attribute.)
	_Attribute.GetTypeInfo	Retrieves the type information for an object, which can be used to get the type information for an interface. (Inherited from Attribute.)
	_Attribute.GetTypeInfoCount	Retrieves the number of type information interfaces that an object provides (either 0 or 1). (Inherited from Attribute.)
	_Attribute.Invoke	Provides access to properties and methods exposed by an object. (Inherited from Attribute.)

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Remarks

Add this attribute to your assembly to declare types that provide metadata. The types in the assembly implement the IProvideAttributeTable interface to provide design-time metadata attributes to design tools, such as Visual Studio and Expression Blend. For more information, see Providing Design-time Metadata.

Examples

The following code example shows how to create and populate an attribute table. For more information, see Walkthrough: Creating a Design-time Adorner.

Imports System
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.Text
Imports System.ComponentModel
Imports System.Windows.Media
Imports System.Windows.Controls
Imports System.Windows
Imports CustomControlLibrary
Imports Microsoft.Windows.Design.Features
Imports Microsoft.Windows.Design.Metadata

' The ProvideMetadata assembly-level attribute indicates to designers
' that this assembly contains a class that provides an attribute table. 
<Assembly: ProvideMetadata(GetType(CustomControlLibrary.VisualStudio.Design.Metadata))> 

Namespace CustomControlLibrary.VisualStudio.Design

    ' Container for any general design-time metadata to initialize.
    ' Designers look for a type in the design-time assembly that 
    ' implements IProvideAttributeTable. If found, designers instantiate
    ' this class and access its AttributeTable property automatically.
    Friend Class Metadata
        Implements IProvideAttributeTable

        ' Accessed by the designer to register any design-time metadata.
        Public ReadOnly Property AttributeTable() As AttributeTable _
            Implements IProvideAttributeTable.AttributeTable
            Get
                Dim builder As New AttributeTableBuilder()

                ' Add the adorner provider to the design-time metadata.
                builder.AddCustomAttributes(GetType(ButtonWithDesignTime), _
                                            New FeatureAttribute(GetType(OpacitySliderAdornerProvider)))

                Return builder.CreateTable()
            End Get
        End Property


    End Class

End Namespace

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Windows.Media;
using System.Windows.Controls;
using System.Windows;

using CustomControlLibrary;
using Microsoft.Windows.Design.Features;
using Microsoft.Windows.Design.Metadata;

// The ProvideMetadata assembly-level attribute indicates to designers
// that this assembly contains a class that provides an attribute table. 
[assembly: ProvideMetadata(typeof(CustomControlLibrary.VisualStudio.Design.Metadata))]
namespace CustomControlLibrary.VisualStudio.Design
{
    // Container for any general design-time metadata to initialize.
    // Designers look for a type in the design-time assembly that 
    // implements IProvideAttributeTable. If found, designers instantiate 
    // this class and access its AttributeTable property automatically.
    internal class Metadata : IProvideAttributeTable
    {
        // Accessed by the designer to register any design-time metadata.
        public AttributeTable AttributeTable
        {
            get 
            {
                AttributeTableBuilder builder = new AttributeTableBuilder();

                // Add the adorner provider to the design-time metadata.
                builder.AddCustomAttributes(
                    typeof(ButtonWithDesignTime),
                    new FeatureAttribute(typeof(OpacitySliderAdornerProvider)));

                return builder.CreateTable();
            }
        }
    }
}

Thread Safety

Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.