WPF styling on Windows Server 2008 R2

Question

I have a WPF program that is styled quite differently on Windows 8.1 vs Windows Server 20008 R2. The image below shows a sample from each OS (Windows 8 on the left, Server 2008 R2 on the right).

The program is built using the .NET Framework 4.5. I looked at the installed frameworks on each machine and they are as follows:

Windows 8.1:

• .NET Framework 4 Multi-Targeting Pack
• .NET Framework 4.5 Multi-Targeting Pack
• .NET Framework 4.5 SDK
• .NET Framework 4.5.1 Multi-Targeting Pack
• .NET Framework 4.5.1 Multi-Targeting Pack (ENU)
• .NET Framework 4.5.1 SDK

Windows Server 2008 R2:

• .NET Framework 4 Multi-Targeting Pack
• .NET Framework 4.5.1

What is it that drives the appearance of the application and is there a way to get the program on Server 2008 R2 to look more like the program on Windows 8.1? While everything is working correctly on Server 2008 R2 it would be nice to have it look more like the Windows 8.1 image.

             Windows 8.1                                 Windows Server 2008 R2

Answer 1

I believe your issue is due to Aero not being enabled on Windows Server 2008 by default. This link Enable Aero shows how to enable the Aero (and other desktop enhancements) on Windows Server 2008, I assume the same process can be used for Windows Server 2008 R2.

This is turned off by default, I believe, as the user experience on a server is designed to be different to that of a workstation.