# Stylesheets > Define ParagraphStyle and InlineStyle styles in a WPF editor, apply them, update them with Apply, show the Styles sidebar in XAML and copy template styles. - **Product:** TX Text Control .NET for WPF - **Section:** Documentation - **Kind:** Topic - **Path:** TX Text Control .NET for WPF > Document Editor > Stylesheets - **3730 words** - **Web URL:** https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/document-editor/stylesheets/ - **LLMs URL:** https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/document-editor/stylesheets/llms.txt - **LLMs-Full URL:** https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/document-editor/stylesheets/llms-full.txt --- Consistent documents depend on styles. Instead of setting font, size, color and spacing on every heading, you define a style named "Heading" once, apply it to each heading, and change the style when the design changes. In TX Text Control these *formatting styles*, or stylesheets, are saved with the document. The WPF `TextControl` gives users a styles gallery, a Styles sidebar panel and a styles dialog box, and gives your code collections of styles to create, apply, update and copy. For formatting without styles, see [Text and Paragraph Formatting](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/document-editor/formatting/llms-full.txt). ### What Styles Are Both kinds of styles derive from [FormattingStyle](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol/formattingstyle/llms-full.txt), which holds the character attributes: - **Paragraph styles.** A [ParagraphStyle](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol/paragraphstyle/llms-full.txt) formats blocks of text. It adds paragraph attributes in [ParagraphFormat](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol/paragraphstyle/paragraphformat-property/llms-full.txt), list attributes in [ListFormat](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol/paragraphstyle/listformat-property/llms-full.txt), and in [FollowingStyle](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol/paragraphstyle/followingstyle-property/llms-full.txt) the style that TX Text Control selects for the next paragraph when the user presses ENTER. - **Inline styles.** An [InlineStyle](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol/inlinestyle/llms-full.txt) formats single words. The text takes every attribute of its paragraph that the inline style doesn't set itself. Styles form chains: each style is based on another, which [BaseStyle](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol/formattingstyle/basestyle-property/llms-full.txt) returns, and a style takes each attribute it doesn't set from its base. The root of every chain is `[Normal]`, so a change to `[Normal]` reaches all styles based on it. `[Normal]` can be changed since version 32.0, as [Version 32.0](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/whats-new/3200/llms-full.txt) describes. The `TextControl` keeps the styles of the document in [ParagraphStyles](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol-wpf/textcontrol/paragraphstyles-property/llms-full.txt), a [ParagraphStyleCollection](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol/paragraphstylecollection/llms-full.txt), and [InlineStyles](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol-wpf/textcontrol/inlinestyles-property/llms-full.txt), an [InlineStyleCollection](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol/inlinestylecollection/llms-full.txt). The reference marks both as available at run time only, so fill them in the `Loaded` event of the control or later. ### Give Users the Styles The WPF ribbon's formatting tab has a **Styles** group with a gallery of the document's styles. For a list beside the document, add a [Sidebar](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol-wpf/sidebar/llms-full.txt) with the **Styles** panel. Like the toolbars, it names the editor it belongs to: ```xml ``` In a ribbon application, set the [StylesSidebar](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol-wpf/ribbonformattingtab/stylessidebar-property/llms-full.txt) attribute of the formatting tab to the name of a sidebar, as the TX Words sample does with `StylesSidebar="m_sbSidebarRight"`, so that the **Change Styles** item of the style list shows and hides that sidebar. [Sidebar and Panels](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/document-editor/ribbon-ui/sidebar/llms-full.txt) describes the sidebar. [FormattingStylesDialog](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol-wpf/textcontrol/formattingstylesdialog-method/llms-full.txt) opens the built-in dialog box for creating, deleting and modifying styles, for example from a menu item: ```csharp private void MenuItemStyles_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e) { textControl1.FormattingStylesDialog(); } ``` When a style is created or modified there, a dialog box asks for its name, its base style, the style of the following paragraph and its type. Its **Font**, **Paragraph**, **Tabs**, **Numbering** and **Language** buttons open the formatting dialog boxes for the style: ![The Modify Style dialog box for Heading 1, based on [Normal], with Heading 1 as the style for the following paragraph, the style type Paragraph and the buttons Font, Paragraph, Tabs, Numbering and Language.](https://docs.textcontrol.com/assets/img/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/modify-style-dialog.2f4b8957.webp) ### Create Styles in Code The following `Loaded` handler in *MainWindow.xaml.cs* adds two paragraph styles and an inline style to the document. It needs `using TXTextControl;`. The colors of styles are `System.Drawing.Color` values, written in full so that they don't clash with the `Color` of WPF: ```csharp private void textControl1_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e) { // A paragraph style based on [Normal] ParagraphStyle heading = new ParagraphStyle("Report Heading"); heading.FontName = "Arial"; heading.FontSize = 320; heading.Bold = true; heading.ForeColor = System.Drawing.Color.DarkBlue; heading.ParagraphFormat.BottomDistance = 120; heading.ParagraphFormat.StructureLevel = 1; heading.FollowingStyle = "Report Body"; ParagraphStyle body = new ParagraphStyle("Report Body"); body.FontName = "Arial"; body.FontSize = 220; body.ParagraphFormat.Alignment = TXTextControl.HorizontalAlignment.Justify; // A character style for single words InlineStyle highlight = new InlineStyle("Highlight"); highlight.Bold = true; highlight.TextBackColor = System.Drawing.Color.Yellow; textControl1.ParagraphStyles.Add(body); textControl1.ParagraphStyles.Add(heading); textControl1.InlineStyles.Add(highlight); } ``` - **Base style.** A style created with a name only is based on `[Normal]`. `new ParagraphStyle("Report Subheading", "Report Heading")` bases the new style on "Report Heading". - **Units.** Sizes are in twips, as for a selection: 320 twips are 16 points. `TXTextControl.HorizontalAlignment` is written in full because WPF has its own `HorizontalAlignment`. - **Tables of contents.** [StructureLevel](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol/paragraphformat/structurelevel-property/llms-full.txt) 1 makes the headings entries of a table of contents; see [Tables of Contents](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/document-editor/tables-of-contents/llms-full.txt). - **Adding.** [Add](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol/paragraphstylecollection/add-method/llms-full.txt) returns `false` if the style could not be added. ### Apply a Style Assign the name of a style to [Selection.FormattingStyle](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol/selection/formattingstyle-property/llms-full.txt). A paragraph style formats the selected paragraphs, an inline style the selected characters: ```csharp textControl1.Selection.FormattingStyle = "Highlight"; ``` To style a paragraph of the [Paragraphs](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol-wpf/textcontrol/paragraphs-property/llms-full.txt) collection directly, set its [FormattingStyle](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol/paragraph/formattingstyle-property/llms-full.txt). [RemoveInlineStyles](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol/selection/removeinlinestyles-method/llms-full.txt) takes the inline styles off the selection, so that only its paragraph style applies. ### Update a Style Across the Document Get the style with [GetItem](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol/paragraphstylecollection/getitem-method/llms-full.txt), which returns `null` for an unknown name, change it and call [Apply](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol/formattingstyle/apply-method/llms-full.txt): ```csharp private void redHeadingsButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e) { ParagraphStyle heading = textControl1.ParagraphStyles.GetItem("Report Heading"); if (heading != null) { heading.ForeColor = System.Drawing.Color.DarkRed; // Update all text formatted with the style heading.Apply(); } } ``` `Apply` applies the attributes of the style to the document, so every "Report Heading" paragraph turns red. [Remove](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol/formattingstylecollection/remove-method/llms-full.txt) deletes a style by its [Name](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol/formattingstyle/name-property/llms-full.txt). ### Copy Styles From a Template To give documents the styles of a company template, load the template, for example a DOTX file, into a [ServerTextControl](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol/servertextcontrol/llms-full.txt) and copy its styles. The constructors that take a style create a copy with all its attributes: ```csharp private void ApplyTemplateStyles(string templatePath) { using (ServerTextControl tx = new ServerTextControl()) { tx.Create(); tx.Load(templatePath, StreamType.WordprocessingML); foreach (ParagraphStyle style in tx.ParagraphStyles) { if (textControl1.ParagraphStyles.GetItem(style.Name) == null) { textControl1.ParagraphStyles.Add(new ParagraphStyle(style)); } } foreach (InlineStyle style in tx.InlineStyles) { if (textControl1.InlineStyles.GetItem(style.Name) == null) { textControl1.InlineStyles.Add(new InlineStyle(style)); } } } } ``` The method adds only styles that the document doesn't have yet. The blog article [Applying and Updating Formatting Styles from Master Templates (DOTX) in DOCX Documents](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2024/10/10/applying-and-updating-formatting-styles-from-master-templates-dotx-in-docx-documents/) goes on to update existing styles from the template. ### React to Style Changes - [FormattingStyleListChanged](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol-wpf/textcontrol/formattingstylelistchanged-event/llms-full.txt): styles were added, removed or renamed. Refill a style list of your own here. - [FormattingStyleChanged](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol-wpf/textcontrol/formattingstylechanged-event/llms-full.txt): the attributes of styles changed. - [InputFormattingStyleChanged](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol-wpf/textcontrol/inputformattingstylechanged-event/llms-full.txt): the input position moved into text with another style. [InputFormat.StyleName](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol/inputformat/stylename-property/llms-full.txt) returns that style. Whether styles may be applied in a protected document is returned by [CanStyleFormat](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol-wpf/textcontrol/canstyleformat-property/llms-full.txt), which depends on the edit mode and on [DocumentPermissions.AllowFormattingStyles](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/reference/txtextcontrol/documentpermissions/allowformattingstyles-property/llms-full.txt). [Document Protection and Editable Regions](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/document-editor/protection/llms-full.txt) explains the permissions. ### Next Steps - [Bullets and Numbered Lists](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/document-editor/lists/llms-full.txt): numbered lists defined in paragraph styles. - [Tables of Contents](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/document-editor/tables-of-contents/llms-full.txt): tables of contents from styles with structure levels. - [Sidebar and Panels](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/document-editor/ribbon-ui/sidebar/llms-full.txt): the Styles panel of the sidebar. - [Formatting and Styling](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/mail-merge/styling/llms-full.txt): styles in mail merge templates. --- ## Nearby - **Previous:** [Text and Paragraph Formatting](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/document-editor/formatting/llms-full.txt) - **Next:** [Bullets and Numbered Lists](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-wpf/document-editor/lists/llms-full.txt)