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In a dgml file, an expanded Node can have the Background color set which changes the background of the border and title bar. The Foreground color sets the color of the title text.

The body currently seems to be filled with a color that depends on the current color theme selected in the Visual Studio options dialog. This means some people end up with white backgrounds and some black. This causes issues, especially when trying to export as xps to print the diagram. A massive block of black ink is a waste of ink!

How can the color of the body of the expanded Node be specified?

Scott Langham
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No it cannot. It was a "UI design" decision. Filling the entire group background with color conflicted too much with the VS color scheme. For example, a dark theme editor showing tons of White looks ugly, and a light themed VS showing tons of dark colors also looks ugly...sorry.

Chris
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  • Ok, yes, I guess the use case for exporting or printing dgml diagrams was forgotten when the decision was made. – Scott Langham Jul 31 '19 at 15:19
  • Yeah, I know it can be frustrating when tools make arbitrary UI decisions about what you can do or not. But hey, at least this way you will be saving some ink. Ink is so expensive these days :-) You should still see the color around the edges of the group, so the information will still be there on your printout. – Chris Aug 01 '19 at 17:46
  • I just remembered one more reason. A solid background color on an expanded group would make it seem like it is "selectable" and "draggable" by clicking anywhere. The hollow appearance dispels that illusion and the usability of selection of child nodes and not accidentally dragging the parent group is much better. – Chris Aug 07 '19 at 19:10