使用控件时未加载 UserControl 中的外部图像

Question

I have an Image that I need to load from an external file into a Button .
The Image resides in a folder in the same directory as the final executable file.

/Resources/image.png  

It's not included in the Project Resources and it should not be for the needs of the Application .
The Image is loaded and displayed into a UserControl fine, but when I place my UserControl into my main View ,
I get the following error:

Cannot locate resource 'views/usercontrols/resources/playerbuttonsicons/repeat-icon.png'.  

The UserControl is located under Views/UserControls in my Project Tree as the error says.
I have tried various ways of specifying the image path (absolute, relative, uri , pack etc), but none of them worked.
The problem is to be tackled using xaml only, if possible.

---

UserControl code:

<UserControl x:Class="MusicPlayer.Views.UserControls.NowPlayingControl"
             xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
             xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
             xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
             xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
             xmlns:local="clr-namespace:MusicPlayer.Views.UserControls"
             mc:Ignorable="d"
             d:DesignWidth="400"
             x:Name="ParentControl">

    <!--Resources-->
    <UserControl.Resources>  
    
    </UserControl.Resources>

    <!--Design-->
    <DockPanel x:Name="ParentContainer">
         <Button x:Name="btnPlay">
                <Button.Background>
                    <ImageBrush ImageSource="Resources/PlayerButtonsIcons/play-icon.png" />
                </Button.Background>
        </Button>
    </DockPanel>
</UserControl>

---

MainView code:

<Window x:Class="MusicPlayer.MainView"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
        xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
        xmlns:local="clr-namespace:MusicPlayer"
        mc:Ignorable="d"
        xmlns:vm="clr-namespace:MusicPlayer.ViewModels"
        xmlns:uc="clr-namespace:MusicPlayer.Views.UserControls"
        x:Name="ParentControl">

    <!--Resources-->
    <Window.Resources>
        <vm:MainViewModel x:Key="VM" />
    </Window.Resources>

    <!--Design-->
    <Grid x:Name="ParentContainer"
                  DataContext="{StaticResource VM}">  
        <uc:NowPlayingControl />
    </Grid>
</Window>

Answer 1

I resolved my problem with the following steps.

1. Included all the external files into my Project Resources . Marked them as Content and Copy Always .
2. Instead of loading the Images into my UserControl at run-time, I loaded them in my App.xaml Resources .
3. The Images are now used as StaticResource in my UserControl .

---

App.xaml

<Application x:Class="MusicPlayer.App"
             xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
             xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
             xmlns:local="clr-namespace:MusicPlayer"
             xmlns:ex="clr-namespace:SharpUtilities.WPF"
             StartupUri="Views/MainView.xaml">
    
    <Application.Resources>
        <BitmapImage x:Key="PlayerPlayIcon"
                     UriSource="Resources/play-icon.png" />
    </Application.Resources>
</Application>

---

UserControl.xaml

<UserControl x:Class="MusicPlayer.Views.UserControls.NowPlayingControl"
             xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
             xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
             xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
             xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
             xmlns:local="clr-namespace:MusicPlayer.Views.UserControls"
             mc:Ignorable="d"
             d:DesignWidth="400"
             x:Name="ParentControl">

    <DockPanel x:Name="ParentContainer">
         <Button x:Name="btnPlay">
                <Button.Background>
                    <ImageBrush ImageSource="{StaticResource PlayerPlayIcon}" />
                </Button.Background>
        </Button>
    </DockPanel>
</UserControl>