Code behind can`t find element in XAML - wpf

I have an element in my XAML called Tasklst which I was able to reference it in my code-behind without a problem. However, when I introduced a tab control (as shown below) and moved my Tasklst inside a DataTemplate, suddenly my code-behind was telling me that Tasklst cannot find it. How do I reference it now?
<dx:DXTabControl x:Name="TabControl"
ItemsSource="{Binding Sequences}"
SelectionChanged="TabControl_OnSelectionChanged"
SelectedItem="">
<dx:DXTabControl.View>
<dx:TabControlMultiLineView HeaderLocation="Bottom" />
</dx:DXTabControl.View>
<!--Header-->
<dx:DXTabControl.ItemHeaderTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Name}" />
</DataTemplate>
</dx:DXTabControl.ItemHeaderTemplate>
<!--Content-->
<dx:DXTabControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<views:DxTaskList x:Name="Tasklst" />
</DataTemplate>
</dx:DXTabControl.ItemTemplate>
</dx:DXTabControl>

DataTemplate is the Problem here ...
you can do something like this
(DxTaskList)TabControl.Template.FindName("Tasklst", TabControl);

Related

Dynamic Telerik RadOutlookBar headers come out wrong with ItemTemplate

I'm trying to use Telerik RadControls in a MVVM kind of way but having some strange problems.
The Viewmodel behind the RadOutlookBar has a collection of ViewModels that each have a Title string property. I wanted to define it so way the they get Wrapped inside a RadOutlookBarItem and bind the header/title properties together.
XAML:
<telerik:RadOutlookBar x:Name="Items">
<telerik:RadOutlookBar.TitleTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<ContentControl Content="{Binding Path=Title}" />
</DataTemplate>
</telerik:RadOutlookBar.TitleTemplate>
<telerik:RadOutlookBar.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<telerik:RadOutlookBarItem Header="{Binding Path=Title}" >
<ContentControl Content="{Binding}" />
</telerik:RadOutlookBarItem>
</DataTemplate>
</telerik:RadOutlookBar.ItemTemplate>
</telerik:RadOutlookBar>
This works as intended except that the Header comes out strange. Instead of being like a static string item it seems to get wrapped inside another object that behaves like a similar to a RadOutlookBarItem ( it' changes color when mouseover and such )
Even if I cahnge to straightforward string instead of binding it's still strange. But If I don't define a ItemTemplate inside the RadOutlookBar (that is, not a dynamic control) it looks all right.
What could be going on there?
Solved this and another problem in one fell swoop. I was binding to the wrong Template the whole time. This made me think I had to add OutLookBarItem myself.
In the end I was supposed to bind what I was trying to bind to the ContentTemplate.
<telerik:RadOutlookBar x:Name="Items">
<telerik:RadOutlookBar.ContentTemplate>
<DataTemplate >
<ContentControl Content="{Binding}" />
</DataTemplate>
</telerik:RadOutlookBar.ContentTemplate>
<telerik:RadOutlookBar.TitleTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding DisplayName}" />
</DataTemplate>
</telerik:RadOutlookBar.TitleTemplate>
<telerik:RadOutlookBar.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding DisplayName}" />
</DataTemplate>
</telerik:RadOutlookBar.ItemTemplate>
</telerik:RadOutlookBar>
Should work I think.

WPF DataGrid, in a Binding in a ColumnTemplate access a Element outside of the DataGrid

I'd like to access a Object from my UserControl from within the Datgrids ColumnTemplate.
This doesn't work. Now I've read it's because of the Datacontext.
I found this Example, which should fix this: http://blog.errorok.com/2010/09/09/212/
But the Event: ColumnDataContextChanged is never called in my Project!
here's a part of my XAML:
<DataGridTemplateColumn Header="Database-Fieldtype" Width="Auto" IsReadOnly="False" SortMemberPath="DatabaseFieldType">
<DataGridTemplateColumn.CellTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding DatabaseFieldType}" />
</DataTemplate>
</DataGridTemplateColumn.CellTemplate>
<DataGridTemplateColumn.CellEditingTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<ComboBox ItemsSource="{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource FindAncestor, AncestorType={x:Type ConfigurationTool:EditProtocolDatasets}}, Path=grdDatasets.SelectedItem.Storage.DatabaseFieldTypes}"
SelectedItem="{Binding DatabaseFieldType}"
VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="179" Padding="0" Margin="0">
<ComboBox.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Name}" />
</DataTemplate>
</ComboBox.ItemTemplate>
</ComboBox>
</DataTemplate>
</DataGridTemplateColumn.CellEditingTemplate>
</DataGridTemplateColumn>
ConfigurationTool:EditProtocolDatasets is my UserControl, grdDatasets is another Datagrid, to which SelectedItem I'd like to bind!
Okay, I'm going to suggest a completely different direction than my first one. My guess is that you have the ItemsSource for grdDatasets bound to something.
For the item that's going to act as your datacontext for the control, make sure it has the following characteristics, or at least a comparable structure:
public class ListOfDataSets : DependencyObject
{
public IEnumerable<DataSetOption> Items
{
get
{
...Whatever you normally use to get your DataSetOptions...
}
}
public DataSetOption SelectedItem
{
get { return (DataSetOption)GetValue(SelectedItemProperty); }
set { SetValue(SelectedItemProperty, value); }
}
public static readonly DependencyProperty SelectedItemProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("SelectedItem", typeof(DataSetOption), typeof(ListOfDataSets), new PropertyMetadata(null));
}
The key here is that you have one property that is a list of your choices, and another property that represents one of those items.
Then, in your XAML, your control can have the following structure:
<UserControl>
<UserControl.Resources>
<ConfigurationTool:ListOfDatasets x:Key=DataSetOptions />
</UserControl.Resources>
<StackPanel Name="LayoutRoot">
<DataGrid Name="grdDatasets"
ItemsSource="{Binding Source={StaticResource DataSetOptions}, Path=Items}"
SelectedItem="{Binding Source={StaticResource DataSetOptions}, Path=SelectedItem}"
...
</DataGrid>
...
<DataGrid Name="OtherDataGrid" ItemsSource="{Binding OtherSource}">
<DataGrid.Columns>
...
<DataGridTemplateColumn Header="Database-Fieldtype" Width="Auto" IsReadOnly="False" SortMemberPath="DatabaseFieldType">
<DataGridTemplateColumn.CellTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding DatabaseFieldType}" />
</DataTemplate>
</DataGridTemplateColumn.CellTemplate>
<DataGridTemplateColumn.CellEditingTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<ComboBox ItemsSource="{StaticResource DataSetOptions}, Path=SelectedItem.Storage.DatabaseFieldTypes}" SelectedItem="{Binding DatabaseFieldType, Mode=TwoWay}"
VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="179" Padding="0" Margin="0">
<ComboBox.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Name}" />
</DataTemplate>
</ComboBox.ItemTemplate>
</ComboBox>
</DataTemplate>
</DataGridTemplateColumn.CellEditingTemplate>
</DataGridTemplateColumn>
</Datagrid.Columns>
</DataGrid>
</StackPanel>
</UserControl>
I actually tried this structure out, and the databinding works fine. If the DataSetOptions change a lot, though, this solution may not work, unless you're using MVVM, and the ViewModel is good at tracking what options are available, and presents them properly to the View.
Hopefully this makes sense. I actually tried this one before answering.
I was not correct with my original answer, and overestimated the capabilities of RelativeSource before I experimented with it.
---Original text below---
I think I can help, but I need a few more details. For now I'm just going to work off assumptions.
Assumption 1: You're in a WPF UserControl with a DataGrid that has a defined ItemsSource.
Assumption 2: The UserControl has another element that you want a column within your DataGrid to have access to.
If these two assumptions are correct, it is a much better problem to have in WPF than in Silverlight.
Each row in your DataGrid is going to be working from within a DataContext that consists of the Item for that row. But, you can reach outside of the cell's (or any) DataContext with a RelativeSource.
So, if you wanted to go up the Visual Tree to get to your control's Width, you would use:
{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource FindAncestor, AncestorType={x:Type MyUserControl}}, Path=Width}
This will trace upward in the Visual Tree until an object of type "MyUserControl" is found, at which point it will grab the "Width" property and bind to it.
The Path doesn't have to be only one item deep, either. You can run up an down your visual tree as required. As this gets more complex, though, your code is going to be more fragile.
If this isn't correct, please post your XAML (or something similar) and say so, and I'll spin up a test environment and edit my post.

Pattern for working with a form in Silverlight 4? (How to get references to XAML elements)

I have a form:
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" Visibility="{Binding Editable, Converter={StaticResource visibilityConverter}}"
ToolTipService.ToolTip="Add new topic to this group">
<sdk:AutoCompleteBox Width="160" ItemsSource="{Binding ElementName=LayoutRoot, Path=DataContext.TopicNames}" />
<Button Click="addTopicButton_Click">
<Image Source="Images/appbar.add.rest.png" />
</Button>
</StackPanel>
This form appears in a DataTemplate for an ItemsControl. I'm not sure what the best way is to get the data from the AutoCompleteBox when the button is clicked. I can't give the elements x:Name attributes, because they're in a template (right?).
How can I get around this? The Click event will give me the Button, but I need a reference to the text box. Use the Button's parent, then look through the children for the Textbox? If I factored this out into its own UserControl, I could set x:Name values, but I'd rather not do that.
Any other ideas?
Update: Here is another example of such a problem:
<ListBox x:Name="topicList"
ItemsSource="{Binding Id, Converter={StaticResource topicGroupIDConverter}}"
SelectionChanged="ListBox_SelectionChanged"
HorizontalAlignment="Stretch">
<ListBox.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal">
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Name}"
Width="150"
VerticalAlignment="Center"
ToolTipService.ToolTip="{Binding Description}"
ToolTipService.Placement="Right" />
<Button ToolTipService.ToolTip="Remove this topic from this group"
Visibility="{Binding ElementName=topicList,
Path=DataContext.Editable,
Converter={StaticResource visibilityConverter}}"
Click="removeTopicButton_Click"
HorizontalAlignment="Right"
Margin="10,0">
<Image Source="Images/appbar.cancel.rest.png" />
</Button>
</StackPanel>
</DataTemplate>
</ListBox.ItemTemplate>
</ListBox>
When the button is clicked, I want to access topicList.DataContext. However, topicList itself is a DataTemplate in an ItemsControl, so I can't access it using its name from code-behind. How else can I do this?
You can add a property, say SelectedItemInAutoCompleteBox, to your presenter, and then can bind it to the SelectedItem property of AutoCompleteBox, using Mode=TwoWay, like this,
<sdk:AutoCompleteBox SelectedItem="{Binding Path=DataContext.SelectedItemInAutoCompleteBox, Mode=TwoWay}" ... />
You may try the same approach with Text property of AutoCompleteBox, also. See if it solves your problem.:-)
You have several choices:
If you're on Silverlight 5, use the AncestorBinding
Otherwise, use a Silverlight 4 AncestorBinding hack (it doesn't look pretty)
Or you could try DataContextProxy, which stores the DataContext in a resource so that it is accessible. Note: you should set the DataContextProxy as a Resource of topicList ListBox, not the UserControl as in Dan Wahlin's example.

Access property of DataContext inside ItemTemplate

I have a really nasty problem with bindings. I know that there are other topics regarding binding itmes inside itemtemplate to datacontext of an object outside the template. However, this just won't work, i.e. the first textblock display 'Test' as desired whereas the same textbox inside the itemtemplate shows nothing.
<TextBlock Text="{Binding DataContext.Test, ElementName=myList}"/>
<ItemsControl x:Name="myList" ItemsSource="{Binding AllItems}"
Margin="0,0,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top" HorizontalAlignment="Center">
<ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
<ItemsPanelTemplate>
<toolkit:WrapPanel Orientation="Horizontal"
ItemHeight="170" ItemWidth="140"/>
</ItemsPanelTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
<ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<StackPanel>
<Image x:Name="{Binding KeyName}"
Source="{Binding ImagePath}"
Width="128"
Height="128">
</Image>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding DataContext.Test, ElementName=myList}"/>
</StackPanel>
</DataTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
</ItemsControl>
I would appreciate some help here folks as this is really a problem for me.
Inside the itemtemplate, the binding is initialized to the context of the current item in AllItems.
Update
Outside of the ItemTemplateyour bindings are relative to the DataContext of the page.**
Once inside an ItemTemplate then bindings are limited to the scope of the item specifically being evaluated at that time.
So, if we assume the following (based on the code in your question):
<ItemsControl x:Name="myList" ItemsSource="{Binding AllItems}" >
<ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<StackPanel>
<TextBlock x:Name="tb1"
Text="{Binding DataContext.Test, ElementName=myList}"/>
<TextBlock x:Name="tb2" Text="{Binding KeyName}"/>
</StackPanel>
</DataTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
</ItemsControl>
tb1 cannot access the DataContext object directly.
tb2 cann access KeyName - assuming that whatever object AllItems is an IEnumerable of contains a property with that name.
As I understand it, inside an itemtemplate, the item past from the enumeration controls the binding source and this can't be overridden (by setting ElementName or otherwise).
If you need the value from Test in every object in your enumeration then you'll need to add it as a property of the object in the enumeration.
I'm sure someone more knowledgeable than me could explain why this is or give a better explanation but that's the gist of it.
** Assuming no other nesting of ItemsControls (or equivalent)

How can I achieve a binding path which is bound by another binding?

I'm writing my own UserControl which displays data in a ListBox. I want to achieve something similar to a property like "DisplayMemberPath". In my example, it's "EditableMemberPath", which should determine which member will be displayed in the textbox. However, using a binding on a binding does not work.
<ListBox ItemsSource="{Binding Path=Items, ElementName=me}"
SelectedItem="{Binding Path=SelectedItem, ElementName=me}">
<ListBox.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<StackPanel>
<Image Source="{Binding Converter={Binding Path=ItemToImageConverter, ElementName=me}}" />
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Path={Binding Path=EditableMemberPath, ElementName=me}}" />
</StackPanel>
</DataTemplate>
</ListBox.ItemTemplate>
</ListBox>
Can you help me finding a proper solution?
Best Regards
Oliver Hanappi
You can't do that directly in XAML (at least not with the built-in classes) : a Binding is not a DependencyObject, so you can't bind its properties.
However the post mentioned by Martin Harris looks promising...

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