How Can I Determine if My WPF Application is Running in Design Mode?

Determining WPF Design Mode Execution Status

When building applications with WPF, it can be useful to distinguish between code execution in design mode (such as within Blend or Visual Studio) and actual runtime execution. This distinction allows for situations where specific behavior or data is desired during design-time prototyping but not in production.

To determine if WPF code is currently executing in design mode, consider utilizing the DesignerProperties.GetIsInDesignMode method. This method accepts a DependencyObject and returns a Boolean indicating whether the object is in design mode or not.

// 'this' is your UI element
DesignerProperties.GetIsInDesignMode(this);

For Silverlight and WP7 environments, consider using DesignerProperties.IsInDesignTool instead, as GetIsInDesignMode may occasionally return false while within Visual Studio.

In WinRT/Metro/Windows Store applications, the equivalent property is DesignModeEnabled.

Windows.ApplicationModel.DesignMode.DesignModeEnabled

By leveraging these properties, you can implement design-time-specific behavior in your WPF applications, such as loading mock data or switching to a design-mode-specific ViewModel. This capability enhances the development experience by providing a seamless transition between design-time prototyping and runtime execution.

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