#972 – How ListBox Items Are Rendered

The rules for how WPF will render items contained in a ListBox are as follows:

• If the item derives from UIElement, it is rendered normally, using the layout system
• Otherwise, the item’s ToString method is called and the resulting string is displayed

In the example below, the first two items in the ListBox derive from UIElement and are therefore rendered as controls.  The third item is a simple .NET object, so its ToString method is called.

        <ListBox Margin="15" Width="250" Height="250">
            <TextBox Text="Enter text here" Width="150"/>
            <Label Content="A label" FontFamily="Times New Roman"
                   FontSize="16"/>
            <local:Actor FullName="Marty Feldman" BirthYear="1934" DeathYear="1982"/>
        </ListBox>