One of the main advantages to using Silverlight is the ability to change the style or template of any control. Controls are "lookless" with fully customizable user interfaces and the ability to use built-in and custom themes. Themes allow you to customize the appearance of controls and take advantage of Silverlight's XAML-based styling. The following topics introduce you to styling Silverlight controls with themes.

You can customize WPF and Microsoft Silverlight controls by creating and modifying control templates and styles. This results in a unique and consistent look for your application.

Templates and styles define the pieces that make up a control and the default behavior of the control, respectively. You can create templates and styles by making copies of the original styles and templates for a control. Modifying templates and styles is an easy way to essentially make new controls in Design view of Microsoft Expression Blend, without having to use code. The following topics provide a detailed comparison of styles and templates to help you decide whether you want to modify the style or template of a control, or both. The topics also discuss the built-in themes available in ComponentOne Studio for Silverlight.