Introduction

In Silverlight we can apply transparency either by using Alpha Channel or Opacity. In this article you will learn how to apply trnsparency using Opacity.

I have discussed the Alpha Channel in my previous article 'Alpha Channels in XAML Silverlight'; take a little look there too.

Opacity is nothing more than an additional element attribute; it is very different from Alpha Channel where we applied an additional color code in hexadecimal color code to create transparency. But in Opacity we use an Opacity attribute with a decimal value varying from 0 to 1. So, to apply opacity we can use 0 or 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 …, 0.9 or 1 (1 is the default which means no opacity or in other words no transparency). Let's take a look at a screenshot where I will be using opacity.

<!--[if !vml]-->image002.jpg
<!--[endif]-->

In the above screenshot, I marked out the Alpha Channel and Opacity.

In the above example, I have used a textblock and 6 rectangles overlapped on text to show the transparency.

XAML Code

<Grid

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

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

xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"

xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006" mc:Ignorable="d"

x:Class="SilverlightApplication1.MainPage"

Width="640" Height="480">

<!--TextBlock with text-->

<TextBlock Text="ITORIAN.COM/ABOUT" FontSize="50"/>

<!--6 rectangles with partially transparent background-->

<Rectangle Width="80" Height="100" Fill="#FFFF0000" Opacity="0.1" VerticalAlignment="Top" HorizontalAlignment="Left" />

<Rectangle Width="80" Height="100" Fill="#FFFF0000" Opacity="0.3" VerticalAlignment="Top" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="104,0,0,0"/>

<Rectangle Width="80" Height="100" Fill="#FFFF0000" Opacity="0.5" VerticalAlignment="Top" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="206,0,0,0"/>

<Rectangle Width="80" Height="100" Fill="#FFFF0000" Opacity="0.7" VerticalAlignment="Top" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="310,0,250,0"/>

<Rectangle Width="80" Height="100" Fill="#FFFF0000" Opacity="0.9" VerticalAlignment="Top" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="415,0,0,0"/>

<Rectangle Width="80" Height="100" Fill="#FFFF0000" Opacity="1" VerticalAlignment="Top" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="520,0,0,0"/>

</Grid>

Be tuned for the next article.

HAVE A HAPPY CODING!!