syncfusion-wpf-rating

Implementing Syncfusion WPF Rating

The SfRating control for WPF provides a visual star-based rating system that allows users to rate items. It supports configurable precision modes, extensive appearance customization, tooltips, and read-only display. Use this control for rating movies, applications, products, services, or any scenario requiring user feedback through a rating interface.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when user need to:

• Implement star-based rating controls in WPF applications
• Create product or service rating interfaces
• Build review systems with visual rating feedback
• Display read-only ratings (e.g., average ratings, historical ratings)
• Configure rating precision (full stars, half stars, or exact values)
• Customize rating appearance (colors, sizes, spacing, hover effects)
• Add tooltips to show rating values
• Handle rating value changes with ValueChanged events
• Integrate rating controls with data binding scenarios

Component Overview

SfRating provides:

• Configurable number of rating items (typically 5 stars)
• Three precision modes: Standard (full), Half (0.5 increments), Exact (any value)
• Extensive styling options (fill colors, stroke colors, sizes, spacing)
• Tooltip support with customizable precision and appearance
• Read-only mode for displaying non-editable ratings
• ValueChanged event for handling rating updates
• Theme support (via SfSkinManager)

Documentation and Navigation Guide

Getting Started

📄 Read: references/getting-started.md

• Assembly deployment and NuGet package installation
• Adding SfRating control via designer, XAML, or C#
• Setting ItemsCount and Value properties
• Basic configuration and ValueChanged event
• Methods overview (Dispose, template methods, event handlers)
• Theme configuration

Precision Modes

📄 Read: references/precision.md

• Understanding precision modes (Standard, Half, Exact)
• Configuring rating accuracy levels
• Use cases for each precision type
• Code examples and visual comparisons

Appearance and Styling

📄 Read: references/appearance-styling.md

• Customizing fill colors (rated/unrated items)
• Setting stroke colors and thickness
• Configuring mouse hover effects
• Adjusting item heights, sizes, and spacing
• Setting corner radius for rating items
• Using ItemContainerStyle for consistent styling
• PreviewValue property for hover feedback

Tooltip Configuration

📄 Read: references/tooltip.md

• Enabling/disabling tooltips
• Configuring tooltip precision (decimal places)
• Customizing tooltip foreground color
• Tooltip behavior and best practices

Read-Only Mode

📄 Read: references/readonly-configuration.md

• Setting IsReadOnly property
• Use cases for non-editable ratings
• Combining read-only with styling options

Quick Start Example

Basic Rating Control (XAML)

<Window xmlns:syncfusion="http://schemas.syncfusion.com/wpf">
    <Grid>
        <syncfusion:SfRating ItemsCount="5" 
                             Value="3" 
                             Width="150"/>
    </Grid>
</Window>

Basic Rating Control (C#)

using Syncfusion.Windows.Controls.Input;

namespace RatingApp
{
    public partial class MainWindow : Window
    {
        public MainWindow()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
            
            SfRating rating = new SfRating()
            {
                ItemsCount = 5,
                Value = 3,
                Width = 150
            };
            
            this.Content = rating;
        }
    }
}

Common Patterns

1. Rating with ValueChanged Event

<syncfusion:SfRating ItemsCount="5" 
                     Value="3" 
                     Width="150"
                     ValueChanged="SfRating_ValueChanged"/>

private void SfRating_ValueChanged(object sender, ValueChangedEventArgs e)
{
    var oldValue = e.OldValue;
    var newValue = e.NewValue;
    MessageBox.Show($"Rating changed from {oldValue} to {newValue}");
}

2. Half Precision Rating

<syncfusion:SfRating ItemsCount="5" 
                     Precision="Half" 
                     Value="3.5" 
                     Width="150"/>

3. Custom Styled Rating

<syncfusion:SfRating ItemsCount="5" Value="4" Width="150">
    <syncfusion:SfRating.ItemContainerStyle>
        <Style TargetType="syncfusion:SfRatingItem">
            <Setter Property="RatedFill" Value="Gold"/>
            <Setter Property="UnratedFill" Value="LightGray"/>
            <Setter Property="RatedStroke" Value="Orange"/>
            <Setter Property="RatedStrokeThickness" Value="2"/>
        </Style>
    </syncfusion:SfRating.ItemContainerStyle>
</syncfusion:SfRating>

4. Read-Only Rating Display

<syncfusion:SfRating ItemsCount="5" 
                     Value="4.5" 
                     Precision="Half"
                     IsReadOnly="True" 
                     Width="150"/>

5. Rating with Custom Size and Spacing

<syncfusion:SfRating ItemsCount="5" 
                     Value="3" 
                     ItemSize="30"
                     ItemsSpacing="10"
                     Width="200"/>

6. Rating with Tooltip Configuration

<syncfusion:SfRating ItemsCount="5" 
                     Value="3" 
                     Precision="Exact"
                     ShowToolTip="True"
                     AutoToolTipPrecision="2"
                     ToolTipForeground="DarkBlue"
                     Width="150"/>

Key Properties

Property	Type	Description
ItemsCount	int	Number of rating items to display (e.g., 5 stars)
Value	double	Current rating value (0 to ItemsCount)
Precision	Precision	Rating accuracy: Standard, Half, or Exact
IsReadOnly	bool	Makes rating non-editable when true
ShowToolTip	bool	Shows/hides tooltip on hover (default: true)
AutoToolTipPrecision	int	Decimal places in tooltip (default: 1)
ItemSize	double	Size of each rating item (default: 20)
ItemsSpacing	double	Space between items (default: 4)
CornerRadius	CornerRadius	Corner radius for rating items
PreviewValue	double	Read-only preview value on hover

Styling Properties (via ItemContainerStyle)

Property	Description
RatedFill	Fill color for selected/rated items
UnratedFill	Fill color for unselected items
RatedStroke	Stroke color for rated items
UnratedStroke	Stroke color for unrated items
RatedStrokeThickness	Stroke thickness for rated items
UnratedStrokeThickness	Stroke thickness for unrated items
PointerOverFill	Fill color on mouse hover
PointerOverStroke	Stroke color on mouse hover
PointerOverStrokeThickness	Stroke thickness on hover
Height	Individual item height

Common Use Cases

1. Product Reviews - Display and collect product ratings in e-commerce applications
2. Service Feedback - Gather user satisfaction ratings for services
3. Movie/Content Ratings - Show and allow rating of media content
4. Performance Evaluations - Visual rating scales for assessments
5. Survey Responses - Rating scale questions in surveys
6. Dashboard Metrics - Display KPI or quality scores as visual ratings
7. User Profiles - Show user reputation or skill level ratings
8. Comparison Tools - Visual comparison of rated items

Best Practices

• Use Standard precision for simple 1-5 star ratings
• Use Half precision for more granular feedback (0.5 increments)
• Use Exact precision when binding to calculated values or allowing precise input
• Set IsReadOnly="True" when displaying average or historical ratings
• Customize RatedFill to match your application's brand colors
• Use ShowToolTip to provide numeric feedback alongside visual stars
• Set appropriate ItemSize and ItemsSpacing for your UI layout
• Handle ValueChanged event for immediate feedback or data binding updates
• Consider using Precision="Half" with IsReadOnly="True" for displaying decimal averages

Assembly Requirements

Required assemblies:

• Syncfusion.SfInput.WPF
• Syncfusion.SfShared.WPF

NuGet package: Syncfusion.SfInput.WPF

Related Components

• TextBox - Text input controls
• Numeric TextBox - Numeric input with validation
• Input Mask - Formatted text input
• Slider - Range value selection