WPF different dataContext for comboBox ItemsSource - wpf

Question

I have a ItemControl and inside I have a comboBox, what I'm trying to achieve is to have a different dataContext for the comboBox itemsSource
This is my itemControl:
<ItemsControl ItemsSource="{Binding Types}" Margin="0,25,0,0" >
<ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<DockPanel Margin="8">
<Border CornerRadius="6" BorderBrush="Gray" Background="LightGray" BorderThickness="2" DockPanel.Dock="Top">
<StackPanel >
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" Margin="10">
<TextBlock Text="Name:" FontSize="15" FontWeight="SemiBold"/>
<TextBox Text="{Binding Name}" Width="70" Margin="10,0,0,0"/>
</StackPanel>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" Margin="10">
<TextBlock Text="Type:" FontSize="15" FontWeight="SemiBold"/>
<ComboBox ItemsSource="{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource FindAncestor, AncestorType={x:Type UserControl}},Path=DataContext.EmployeeStatus}"
SelectedValue="{Binding Type}" Width="70" Margin="10,0,0,0"/>
</StackPanel>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" Margin="10">
<TextBlock Text="Units:" FontSize="15" FontWeight="SemiBold"/>
<TextBox Text="{Binding Units}" Width="70" Margin="10,0,0,0"/>
</StackPanel>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" Margin="10">
<TextBlock Text="Range:" FontSize="15" FontWeight="SemiBold"/>
<TextBox Text="{Binding Range}" Width="70" Margin="10,0,0,0"/>
</StackPanel>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" Margin="10">
<TextBlock Text="Scale:" FontSize="15" FontWeight="SemiBold"/>
<TextBox Text="{Binding Scale}" Width="70" Margin="10,0,0,0"/>
</StackPanel>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" Margin="10">
<TextBlock Text="Reason:" FontSize="15" FontWeight="SemiBold"/>
<TextBox Text="{Binding Reason}" Width="70" Margin="10,0,0,0"/>
</StackPanel>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" Margin="10">
<TextBlock Text="Description:" FontSize="15" FontWeight="SemiBold" />
<TextBox Text="{Binding Description}" Width="70" Margin="10,0,0,0"/>
</StackPanel>
</StackPanel>
</Border>
</DockPanel>
</DataTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
</ItemsControl>
I saw something similar but couldn't make the connection to my problem
WPF ComboBox bind itemssource to different datacontext in MVVM

Answer 1

Solution 1: Each ComboBox has different items
You must create appropriate type with ComboBox items source.
Example:
public class MyType
{
public string Name { get; set; }
public List<string> Types { get; set; }
public string Type { get; set; }
//...
}
Now you can binding ComboBox items source to different source:
<ItemsControl ItemsSource="{Binding Types}" Margin="0,25,0,0" >
<ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<DockPanel Margin="8">
<Border CornerRadius="6" BorderBrush="Gray" Background="LightGray" BorderThickness="2" DockPanel.Dock="Top">
<StackPanel >
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" Margin="10">
<TextBlock Text="Name:" FontSize="15" FontWeight="SemiBold"/>
<TextBox Text="{Binding Name}" Width="70" Margin="10,0,0,0"/>
</StackPanel>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" Margin="10">
<TextBlock Text="Type:" FontSize="15" FontWeight="SemiBold"/>
<ComboBox ItemsSource="{Binding Path=Types}"
SelectedValue="{Binding Type}" Width="70" Margin="10,0,0,0"/>
</StackPanel>
...
</ItemsControl>
Here you can find example solution.
Solution 2: All ComboBox have the same items
public class MyType
{
public string Name { get; set; }
public string Type { get; set; }
}
class MyViewModel
{
private List<MyType> _types;
public List<MyType> Types
{
get { return _types; }
set { _types = value; }
}
public List<string> TypesItemsSource { get; set; }
}
XAML code:
<ItemsControl ItemsSource="{Binding Types}" Margin="0,25,0,0" >
<ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<DockPanel Margin="8">
<Border CornerRadius="6" BorderBrush="Gray" Background="LightGray" BorderThickness="2" DockPanel.Dock="Top">
<StackPanel >
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" Margin="10">
<TextBlock Text="Name:" FontSize="15" FontWeight="SemiBold"/>
<TextBox Text="{Binding Name}" Width="70" Margin="10,0,0,0"/>
</StackPanel>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" Margin="10">
<TextBlock Text="Type:" FontSize="15" FontWeight="SemiBold"/>
<ComboBox ItemsSource="{Binding Path=DataContext.TypesItemsSource, RelativeSource={RelativeSource Mode=FindAncestor, AncestorType=Window}}"
SelectedValue="{Binding Type}" Width="70" Margin="10,0,0,0"/>
</StackPanel>
...
</ItemsControl>
Here you can find example solution.

Answer 2

i use "marker interfaces" to find the right datacontext
public interface IDataContextMarker{} //just an empty interface
so within the view where your viewmodel is bound to implement this interface
public class MyView : IDataContextMarker {}
and now you can use the interface with relativesource binding instead of controls or ancestorlevel, that makes thing easier for some cases :)
<ComboBox ItemsSource="{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource AncestorType={x:Type local:IDataContextMarker}}, Path=DataContext.EmployeeStatus}"