RoutedEventArgs.Source vs Sender

Question

What is the difference between sender and source in wpf event handling?

For example, say I had an ellipse in a canvas, and clicked on the ellipse:

Answer 1

Hope this helps :)

• RoutedEventArgs.OriginalSource - original object that first raised the event
• RoutedEventArgs.Source - object that raised event. This is usually the same as OriginalSource but when dealing with Composite Controls it can be the parent that contains the OriginalSource object.*
• Sender - Current element that is handling the event

*Common cases where the source may be adjusted include content elements inside a content model for a control (the contents of a list item, for instance, will report the list item element as the Source and the actual element within the list item will be the OriginalSource).

References:

• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.windows.routedeventargs.originalsource.aspx
• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.windows.routedeventargs.source.aspx (Includes mention of Sender)