Change Background Color of SelectedItem in ListBox in .NET 4.5 WPF

Question

I want to change the background color of a ListBox's SelectedItem. I tried the below code :

<ListBox Grid.Column="0" ScrollViewer.HorizontalScrollBarVisibility="Hidden" 
         ItemsSource="{Binding Parents}" DisplayMemberPath="Title"
         Height="35" FontSize="18" BorderThickness="0" Background="#FF2A2A2A" 
         Foreground="White" SelectedIndex="0">

    <ListBox.ItemsPanel>
        <ItemsPanelTemplate>
            <StackPanel IsItemsHost="True" Orientation="Horizontal"/>
        </ItemsPanelTemplate>
    </ListBox.ItemsPanel>

    <ListBox.ItemContainerStyle>
        <Style TargetType="{x:Type ListBoxItem}">
            <Style.Triggers>
                <Trigger Property="IsSelected" Value="True">
                    <Setter Property="BorderThickness" Value="0" />
                    <Setter Property="Background" Value="Transparent" />
                    <Setter Property="Foreground" Value="DodgerBlue" />
                </Trigger>
            </Style.Triggers>

            <Style.Resources>
                <SolidColorBrush x:Key="{x:Static SystemColors.HighlightBrushKey}" 
                                 Color="Transparent"/>
                <SolidColorBrush x:Key="{x:Static SystemColors.InactiveSelectionHighlightBrushKey}"
                                 Color="Transparent" />
            </Style.Resources>
        </Style>
    </ListBox.ItemContainerStyle>
</ListBox>

But I cannot see any change in SelectedItems's Background Color. Can anybody point the mistake in above XAML?

Also I want to use this style for this specific ListBox, so I don't want to change ControlTemplate.

score 6 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 08 '15 at 16:27

Try this:

                <ListBox Grid.Column="1" Grid.Row="1" Margin="2" SelectionMode="Multiple" ItemsSource="{Binding NavigationMenuItems}" DisplayMemberPath="Name">
                    <ListBox.ItemContainerStyle>
                        <Style TargetType="{x:Type ListBoxItem}">
                            <Setter Property="IsSelected" Value="{Binding Mode=TwoWay, Path=IsSelected}"/>
                            <Setter Property="Template">
                                <Setter.Value>
                                    <ControlTemplate TargetType="{x:Type ListBoxItem}">
                                        <Border x:Name="Bd" BorderBrush="{TemplateBinding BorderBrush}" BorderThickness="{TemplateBinding BorderThickness}" Background="{TemplateBinding Background}" Padding="{TemplateBinding Padding}" SnapsToDevicePixels="true">
                                            <ContentPresenter HorizontalAlignment="{TemplateBinding HorizontalContentAlignment}" SnapsToDevicePixels="{TemplateBinding SnapsToDevicePixels}" VerticalAlignment="{TemplateBinding VerticalContentAlignment}"/>
                                        </Border>
                                        <ControlTemplate.Triggers>
                                            <Trigger Property="IsSelected" Value="true">
                                                <Setter Property="Background" TargetName="Bd" Value="{DynamicResource {x:Static SystemColors.HighlightBrushKey}}"/>
                                                <Setter Property="Foreground" Value="{DynamicResource {x:Static SystemColors.HighlightTextBrushKey}}"/>
                                            </Trigger>
                                            <Trigger Property="IsEnabled" Value="false">
                                                <Setter Property="Foreground" Value="{DynamicResource {x:Static SystemColors.GrayTextBrushKey}}"/>
                                            </Trigger>
                                        </ControlTemplate.Triggers>
                                    </ControlTemplate>
                                </Setter.Value>
                            </Setter>
                        </Style>
                    </ListBox.ItemContainerStyle>
                </ListBox>

Is it possible to add a comment explaining what you believe was the problem with the original and why you think this will fix it? That way your answer not only helps the person who asked the question, but anyone else who comes across it in the future as well. — starsplusplus, Apr 08 '15 at 16:35

score 5 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 11:54

In .NET 4.5 system does not use SystemColors by default, therefore you should:

1) create your own Style/ControlTemplate;

2) create a BlankListBoxContainer like in this example:

<Style x:Key="BlankListBoxContainerStyle" TargetType="{x:Type ListBoxItem}">
    <Setter Property="Template">
        <Setter.Value>
            <ControlTemplate TargetType="{x:Type ListBoxItem}">
                <ContentPresenter HorizontalAlignment="{TemplateBinding HorizontalContentAlignment}" 
                                  SnapsToDevicePixels="{TemplateBinding SnapsToDevicePixels}"
                                  VerticalAlignment="{TemplateBinding VerticalContentAlignment}" />
            </ControlTemplate>
        </Setter.Value>
    </Setter>

   <Setter Property="FocusVisualStyle" Value="{x:Null} "/>
</Style>

3) remove the difference between the frameworks, like this:

FrameworkCompatibilityPreferences.AreInactiveSelectionHighlightBrushKeysSupported = false;

before any Window are created, for example before InitializeComponent().

From MSDN:

AreInactiveSelectionHighlightBrushKeysSupported:

Gets or sets a value that indicates whether the application should use the InactiveSelectionHighlightBrush and InactiveSelectionHighlightTextBrush properties for the colors of inactive selected items.

Thanks for a brilliant effort. It solves the problem. – Vishal Mar 02 '14 at 20:25 — Vishal, Mar 02 '14 at 20:25

Change Background Color of SelectedItem in ListBox in .NET 4.5 WPF

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