How do I show a custom button theme while the application theme is also loaded in the visual studio designer?

Never mind, I figured it out.

Visual studio designer only respects the RadButton.ElementTree.EnableApplicationThemeName property inside the InitializeComponent() method.

My button inherits RadButton so adding a browsable property allows me to set it via the properties window and therefore gets set inside InitializeComponent.

 <Browsable(True), DefaultValue(True)>
    Public Property EnableApplicationTheme() As Boolean
        Get
            Return ElementTree.EnableApplicationThemeName
        End Get
        Set(value As Boolean)
            ElementTree.EnableApplicationThemeName = value
        End Set
    End Property

Now I can view my form in the designer using the application theme with my button using a custom theme.

Hello, Benjamin,

I am glad that you have found a suitable solution for your scenario.

I would like just to mention that instead of applying a global theme  via the ThemeResolutionService, it is possible to apply a theme to the form (by using the ThemeName property) and then apply it to the ThemeName  property to all controls:

Step 1:

Step 2:

This will iterate the Controls collection and set the control's ThemeName respectively:

Step 3: It is possible to change the ThemeName for a particular control:

It is up to the developer which approach to use in the application according to the complete requirements that should be achieved.

Regards,
Dess | Tech Support Engineer, Principal
Progress Telerik