FrameworkElement.Margin Property

  • Reference

Definition

Namespace:
Windows.UI.Xaml
Edit

Gets or sets the outer margin of a FrameworkElement.

public:
 property Thickness Margin { Thickness get(); void set(Thickness value); };
Thickness Margin();

void Margin(Thickness value);
public Thickness Margin { get; set; }
var thickness = frameworkElement.margin;
frameworkElement.margin = thickness;
Public Property Margin As Thickness
<frameworkElement Margin="uniform"/>
- or -
<frameworkElement Margin="left+right,top+bottom"/>
- or -
<frameworkElement Margin="left,top,right,bottom"/>

Property Value

Thickness

Provides margin values for the object. The default value is a default Thickness with all properties (dimensions) equal to 0.

Examples

This example sets Margin in code as part of a larger scenario of creating a UI element at run time, and then setting various layout-related properties. This is often done prior to adding a new element to an existing XAML UI page's object tree. In this case several Margin properties are set using a new Thickness created with the uniform-value constructor.

    public Page()
    {
        InitializeComponent();
        LayoutDesign();
    }

    private void LayoutDesign()
    {
        //Create Stackpanel for ListBox Control and its description
        StackPanel DeptStackPanel = new StackPanel();
        DeptStackPanel.Margin = new Thickness(10);

        LayoutRoot.Children.Add(DeptStackPanel);
        Grid.SetColumn(DeptStackPanel, 1);
        Grid.SetRow(DeptStackPanel, 1);

        TextBlock DeptListHeading = new TextBlock();
        DeptListHeading.Text = "Department";

        ListBox DeptList = new ListBox();
        DeptList.Items.Add("Finance");
        DeptList.Items.Add("Marketing");
        DeptList.Items.Add("Human Resources");
        DeptList.Items.Add("Payroll");

        DeptStackPanel.Children.Add(DeptListHeading);
        DeptStackPanel.Children.Add(DeptList);

        //Create StackPanel for buttons
        StackPanel ButtonsStackPanel = new StackPanel();
        ButtonsStackPanel.Margin = new Thickness(10);
        ButtonsStackPanel.Orientation = Orientation.Horizontal;
        ButtonsStackPanel.HorizontalAlignment = HorizontalAlignment.Center;

        LayoutRoot.Children.Add(ButtonsStackPanel);
        Grid.SetColumn(ButtonsStackPanel, 0);
        Grid.SetRow(ButtonsStackPanel, 2);
        Grid.SetColumnSpan(ButtonsStackPanel, 2);

        Button BackButton = new Button();
        BackButton.Content = "Back";
        BackButton.Width = 100;

        Button CancelButton = new Button();
        CancelButton.Content = "Cancel";
        CancelButton.Width = 100;

        Button NextButton = new Button();
        NextButton.Content = "Next";
        NextButton.Width = 100;

        ButtonsStackPanel.Children.Add(BackButton);
        ButtonsStackPanel.Children.Add(CancelButton);
        ButtonsStackPanel.Children.Add(NextButton);

        BackButton.Margin = new Thickness(10);
        CancelButton.Margin = new Thickness(10);
        NextButton.Margin = new Thickness(10);
    }
}

Partial Public Class Page
    Inherits UserControl

    Public Sub New()
        InitializeComponent()
        LayoutDesign()
    End Sub

    Private Sub LayoutDesign()
        'Create Stackpanel for ListBox Control and its description 
        Dim DeptStackPanel As New StackPanel()
        DeptStackPanel.Margin = New Thickness(10)

        LayoutRoot.Children.Add(DeptStackPanel)
        Grid.SetColumn(DeptStackPanel, 1)
        Grid.SetRow(DeptStackPanel, 1)

        Dim DeptListHeading As New TextBlock()
        DeptListHeading.Text = "Department"

        Dim DeptList As New ListBox()
        DeptList.Items.Add("Finance")
        DeptList.Items.Add("Marketing")
        DeptList.Items.Add("Human Resources")
        DeptList.Items.Add("Payroll")

        DeptStackPanel.Children.Add(DeptListHeading)
        DeptStackPanel.Children.Add(DeptList)

        'Create StackPanel for buttons 
        Dim ButtonsStackPanel As New StackPanel()
        ButtonsStackPanel.Margin = New Thickness(10)
        ButtonsStackPanel.Orientation = Orientation.Horizontal
        ButtonsStackPanel.HorizontalAlignment = HorizontalAlignment.Center

        LayoutRoot.Children.Add(ButtonsStackPanel)
        Grid.SetColumn(ButtonsStackPanel, 0)
        Grid.SetRow(ButtonsStackPanel, 2)
        Grid.SetColumnSpan(ButtonsStackPanel, 2)

        Dim BackButton As New Button()
        BackButton.Content = "Back"
        BackButton.Height = 30
        BackButton.Width = 100

        Dim CancelButton As New Button()
        CancelButton.Content = "Cancel"
        CancelButton.Height = 30
        CancelButton.Width = 100

        Dim NextButton As New Button()
        NextButton.Content = "Next"
        NextButton.Height = 30
        NextButton.Width = 100

        ButtonsStackPanel.Children.Add(BackButton)
        ButtonsStackPanel.Children.Add(CancelButton)
        ButtonsStackPanel.Children.Add(NextButton)

        BackButton.Margin = New Thickness(10)
        CancelButton.Margin = New Thickness(10)
        NextButton.Margin = New Thickness(10)
    End Sub
End Class

Remarks

Margin behavior and layout

A margin value greater than 0 applies space outside the object's ActualWidth and ActualHeight.

Margins are additive for peer objects in a layout; for example, two horizontally or vertically adjacent objects both with a margin of 30 set on the adjoining edge would have 60 pixels of space between them.

Objects that have margins set will not typically constrain the size of the specified Margin if the allotted rectangle space is not large enough for the margin plus the object's content area. The content area will be constrained instead when layout is calculated. The only case where margins would be constrained also is if the content is already constrained all the way to zero. However, this behavior is ultimately controlled by the specific type that is interpreting Margin, as well as the layout container of that object.

Negative values for margin dimensions are permitted, but should be used with caution (and be aware that negative margins can be interpreted differently by different class layout implementations). Negative margins typically clip the content of the object in that direction.

Non-integral values for margin values are technically permitted, but should typically be avoided.

Margin and Padding

A related concept is padding. For an object and its bounding box, the margin is extra space that is allocated to the outside of the bounding box when the UI element is contained and rendered. Padding is the area inside the bounding box, and affects the layout of any additional content or child objects inside the element. FrameworkElement does not define a padding property, However, several derived classes do define a Padding property. These include:

Applies to

See also