WPF: How to style or disable the default ContextMenu of a TextBox

Question

Apparantly when users right-click in our WPF application, and they use the Windows Classic theme, the default ContextMenu of the TextBox (which contains Copy, Cut and Paste) has a black background.

I know this works well:

<Page xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"

      xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml">

  <TextBox ContextMenu="{x:Null}"/>

</Page>

But this doesn't work:

<Page xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
      xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml">

<Page.Resources>

 <Style x:Key="{x:Type TextBox}" TargetType="{x:Type TextBox}">
   <Setter Property="ContextMenu" Value="{x:Null}"/>
</Style>
</Page.Resources>

  <TextBox/>
</Page> 

Does anyone know how to style or disable the default ContextMenu for all TextBoxes in WPF?

Elongate

don't you need considering disable shortcut keys, e.g. CTRL-V? – Volution

Answer 1

Due to a late bug report we discovered that we cannot use the ApplicationComands Cut Paste and Copy directly in a partial trusted application. Therefor, using these commands in any Commmand of your controls will do absolutely nothing when executed.

So in essence Brads answer was almost there, it sure looked the right way i.e. no black background, but did not fix the problem.

We decided to "remove" the menu based on Brads answer, like so:

<ContextMenu x:Key="TextBoxContextMenu" Width="0" Height="0" />

And use this empty context menu like so:

<Style TargetType="{x:Type TextBox}">
  <Setter Property="ContextMenu" Value="{StaticResource TextBoxContextMenu}" />
</Style>

Elongate

or you could use <ContextMenu x:Key="key" Visibility="Collapsed" />, which also works. – Verditer

Additionally, setting IsEnabled on ContextMenu to false avoids issue of the focus "freezing" when user attempts to right click. – Stodge

Answer 2

To style ContextMenu's for all TextBoxes, I would do something like the following:

First, in the resources section, add a ContextMenu which you plan to use as your standard ContextMenu in a textbox.
e.g.

<ContextMenu x:Key="TextBoxContextMenu" Background="White">
  <MenuItem Command="ApplicationCommands.Copy" />
  <MenuItem Command="ApplicationCommands.Cut" />
  <MenuItem Command="ApplicationCommands.Paste" />
</ContextMenu>

Secondly, create a style for your TextBoxes, which uses the context menu resource:

<Style TargetType="{x:Type TextBox}">
  <Setter Property="ContextMenu" Value="{StaticResource TextBoxContextMenu}" />
</Style>

Finally, use your text box as normal:

<TextBox />

If instead you want to apply this context menu to only some of your textboxes, do not create the style above, and add the following to your TextBox markup:

<TextBox ContextMenu="{StaticResource TextBoxContextMenu}" />

Hope this helps!

Extern

I am sorry to stumble upon a bug.. I never realized it, but I cannot use the ApplicationCommands Cut, Copy and Paste directly in partial trust.. This menu will not work under partial trust. Clicking the menu item, does absolutely nothing.. I am sorry it took almost 18 months to discover ;) – Elongate

Your answer has lead me to my new solution: disabling the menu with an empty menu.. Thanks again though for your answer! – Elongate

Answer 3

Bizarre. ContextMenu="{x:Null}" doesn't do the trick.

This does, however:

<TextBox.ContextMenu>
    <ContextMenu Visibility="Collapsed">
    </ContextMenu>
</TextBox.ContextMenu>

Copal

Answer 4

Doesn't matter, if you do not provide a key, it will use the TargetType as key just the same way my example uses :)

Taken from MSDN on Style:

Setting the TargetType property to the TextBlock type without setting an x:Key implicitly sets the x:Key to {x:Type TextBlock}. This also means that if you > > give the above Style an x:Key value of anything other than {x:Type TextBlock}, the Style would not be applied to all TextBlock elements automatically. Instead, you need to apply the style to the TextBlock elements explicitly.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.windows.style.targettype.aspx

Elongate

Answer 5

This is way is what I always use:

      <TextBox x:Name="MyTextbox">
         <TextBox.ContextMenu>
         <ContextMenu Visibility="Hidden"/>
         </TextBox.ContextMenu>
      </TextBox>

And also can use:

           MyTextbox.ContextMenu.Visibility = Visibility.Hidden;
           MyTextbox.ContextMenu.Visibility = Visibility.Visble;

Metope

Code-only answers are discouraged. Please click on edit and add some words summarising how your code addresses the question, or perhaps explain how your answer differs from the previous answer/answers. Thanks – Dupaix

@Cœur that's really cool. I hadn't seen that before but will definitely use it in future. Is there a doc page for such useful features? – Dupaix

Take a look now, more useful in some cases. – Metope

Answer 6

Try removing the x:Key attribute from the Style resource, leaving TargetType. I know, you're supposed to have that x:Key for a resource, but if you have it along with your TargetType the Key prevails.

Here's a sample style that I use in a project to skin all tooltips in one of my apps (this is in App.Resources--notice, no Key)

 <Style
    TargetType="{x:Type ToolTip}">
    <Setter
      Property="Template">
      <Setter.Value>
        <ControlTemplate
          TargetType="{x:Type ToolTip}">
          <Grid
            Width="{TemplateBinding Width}"
            Height="{TemplateBinding Height}">
            <Rectangle
              RadiusX="9"
              RadiusY="9"
              Stroke="LightGray"
              StrokeThickness="2">
              <Rectangle.Fill>
                <RadialGradientBrush>
                  <GradientStop />
                  <GradientStop
                    Color="FloralWhite"
                    Offset="0" />
                  <GradientStop
                    Color="Cornsilk"
                    Offset="2" />
                </RadialGradientBrush>
              </Rectangle.Fill>
            </Rectangle>
            <ContentPresenter
              Margin="6 4 6 4" />
          </Grid>
        </ControlTemplate>
      </Setter.Value>
    </Setter>
  </Style>

Brana