Is there a way to bind directly to a Collection in the model and manually tell WPF that the binding needs refreshing without having to create an ObservableCollection for it in the viewmodel?
<ListBox ItemsSource="{Binding Position.PossibleMoves}">
...
</ListBox>
Position is my model, part of a chess library, and PossibleMoves is a Collection within it. I do not want to implement INotifyProperty changed or put ObservableCollections in a stand alone optimized library.
I want to avoid copying PossibleMoves into an ObservableCollection every time the position is updated. The data binding works on initialization but it would be handy if I could also refresh the binding at will inside the viewmodel.
Calling OnNotifyPropertyChanged("Position.PossibleMoves") from the viewmodel doesn't work because the reference to the collection itself does not change.
You can do this by using an attached behavior to bind a handler to an event that gets triggered in the view model. You can't bind directly to events though so you have to wrap them in a class like so:
public class Refresher
{
public delegate void RefreshDelegate();
public event RefreshDelegate Refresh;
public void DoRefresh()
{
if (this.Refresh != null)
this.Refresh();
}
}
Now add an instance of that to your view model:
public class MyViewModel
{
public IList<string> Items { get; set; }
private Refresher _Refresher = new Refresher();
public Refresher Refresher {get {return this._Refresher;}}
}
Next create an attached behavior that registers a delegate instance with that event and forces the listbox to refresh its binding:
public static class RefreshBehavior
{
public static readonly DependencyProperty RefresherProperty = DependencyProperty.RegisterAttached(
"Refresher",
typeof(Refresher),
typeof(RefreshBehavior),
new PropertyMetadata(null, OnRefresherChange));
public static void SetRefresher(DependencyObject source, Refresher value)
{
source.SetValue(RefresherProperty, value);
}
public static Refresher GetRefresher(DependencyObject source)
{
return (Refresher)source.GetValue(RefresherProperty);
}
private static void OnRefresherChange(DependencyObject d, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
Refresher.RefreshDelegate handler = () =>
{
var listBox = d as ListBox;
listBox.Items.Refresh();
};
if (e.NewValue != null)
(e.NewValue as Refresher).Refresh += handler;
if (e.OldValue != null)
(e.OldValue as Refresher).Refresh -= handler;
}
}
And finally attach it to your listbox in the xaml:
<ListBox ItemsSource="{Binding Items}"
local:RefreshBehavior.Refresher="{Binding Refresher}"/>
That's it. Call Refresher.DoRefresh() in your view model and it will force a listbox update.
This works but it's really hammering a square peg into a round hole. If I were you I'd do everything I could to try and do proper collection changed notification in your view model. I understand you wanting to keep ObservableCollection out of your model but there are ways to proxy change notification automatically (e.g. Castle DynamicProxy).
You need to NotifyPropertyChange for the PossibleMoves from inside the Position class or make a property that delegates to the Position.PossibleMoves and notify that one.
Related
I have created a few Custom Controls (NOT UserControls) with bind-able "ClearCommand" ICommand dependency properties. This property will do exactly what it sounds: it will clear all the values from the control (textboxes, etc). I also bind (some) of those same properties to the VM I describe below.
Now I'm stuck trying to trigger the ClearCommand in those controls in the following MVVM scenario:
I've added a few such controls into my View. The View also includes a "Save" button that binds to my ViewModel's SaveCommand DelegateCommand property.
What I need to happen is that, upon a successful save, the VM should trigger the ClearCommand on those controls found in the View.
UPDATE
I've added code examples below. I have a few controls that resemble the ExampleCustomControl. Also, just to note, I am open to restructuring some of this if it's completely off.
Example Control snippet:
public class ExampleCustomControl : Control {
public string SearchTextBox { get; set; }
public IEnumerable<CustomObject> ResultList { get; set; }
public ExampleCustomControl() {
ClearCommand = new DelegateCommand(Clear);
}
/// <summary>
/// Dependency Property for Datagrid ItemSource.
/// </summary>
public static DependencyProperty SelectedItemProperty = DependencyProperty.Register("SelectedItem",
typeof(CustomObject), typeof(ExampleCustomControl), new PropertyMetadata(default(CustomObject)));
public CustomObject SelectedItem {
get { return (CustomObject)GetValue(SelectedCustomObjectProperty); }
set { SetValue(SelectedCustomObjectProperty, value); }
}
public static DependencyProperty ClearCommandProperty = DependencyProperty.Register("ClearCommand", typeof(ICommand),
typeof(ExampleCustomControl), new PropertyMetadata(default(ICommand)));
/// <summary>
/// Dependency Property for resetting the control
/// </summary>
[Description("The command that clears the control"), Category("Common Properties")]
public ICommand ClearCommand {
get { return (ICommand)GetValue(ClearCommandProperty); }
set { SetValue(ClearCommandProperty, value); }
}
public void Clear(object o) {
SearchTextBox = string.Empty;
SelectedItem = null;
ResultList = null;
}
}
Example View snippet:
<Grid HorizontalAlignment="Stretch" VerticalAlignment="Stretch">
<Grid.RowDefinitions>
<RowDefinition Height="*" />
<RowDefinition Height="30"/>
</Grid.RowDefinitions>
<control:ExampleCustomControl Grid.Row="0"
SelectedItem="{Binding Selection, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}" />
<Button Grid.Row="1" x:Name="ResetButton" Command="{Binding SaveCommand}">
Save
</Button>
</Grid>
Example ViewModel:
public class TestViewModel : WorkspaceTask {
public TestViewModel() {
View = new TestView { Model = this };
SaveCommand = new DelegateCommand(Save);
}
private CustomObject _selection;
public CustomObject Selection {
get { return _selection; }
set {
_selection = value;
OnPropertyChanged("Selection");
}
}
public DelegateCommand SaveCommand { get; private set; }
private void Save(object o) {
// perform save
// clear controls
}
}
As others have said the VM shouldn't know about the view directly in MVVM so it doesn't make sense really that the VM triggers something on your custom control to clear everything.
I would have set the DataContext of the custom control to an object that has all the properties you want to clear, which are all each bound (two-way) to your textboxes etc. Then in the Save() method you can set a new object (which the custom control DataContext is bound to) and all the properties will be cleared for you (assuming you have implemented INotifyPropertyChanged on the object).
UPDATED:
As per my comment, see an example of the workaround for your current setup (untested btw):
public static DependencyProperty SelectedItemProperty = DependencyProperty.Register("SelectedItem",
typeof(CustomObject), typeof(ExampleCustomControl), new PropertyMetadata(default(CustomObject), OnSelectedItemChanged));
private static void OnSelectedItemChanged(DependencyObject source, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
var cont = source as ExampleCustomControl;
//do all the clearing of txtboxes etc here....
cont.SearchTextBox = string.Empty;
}
But I would still try and move all this into the VM. i.e. have a clear command, like you do with the save command and bind the textbox text etc to a property in the VM and when the command is called it clears everything, which you can then easily call from the Save method in the VM too. But obviously I have no idea what you are trying to achieve in the long run or how selectedItem and the textboxes etc are related, so depends (as always) i guess.
It sounds like you are thinking about this the wrong way. In MVVM the ViewModel should never know anything about the custom controls (hence you are having a problem with this Clear functionality).
Your requirements are a bit vague, but have you considered:
1) If the properties are bound from the VM, can't the Control detect when these are changed?
2) If you really need to call Clear from the XAML layer and want to keep it pure MVVM, then consider something like the Expression Blend SDK's CallMethodAction.
As a followup to my comment. I suspect your command is targeting the View and clearing the TextBoxes directly. Instead, have your command target the ViewModel and clear the properties the View is bound to. Then you can have the command be a property on the ViewModel and call it whenever needed.
I am trying to create a Custom control derived from a standard Grid.
I added a ObservableCollection as a DependencyProperty of the Custom control. However, the get/set of it is never reached. Can I have some guidelines in creating a DependencyProperty that works correctly with and ObservableCollection?
public class MyGrid : Grid
{
public ObservableCollection<string> Items
{
get
{
return (ObservableCollection<string>)GetValue(ItemsProperty);
}
set
{
SetValue(ItemsProperty, value);
}
}
public static DependencyProperty ItemsProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("Items", typeof(ObservableCollection<string>),
typeof(MyGrid), new UIPropertyMetadata(null, OnItemsChanged));
}
I would suggest not to use ObservableCollection as the type of an Items dependency property.
The reason for having an ObservableCollection here (I guess) is to enable the UserControl to attach a CollectionChanged handler when the property value is assigned. But ObservableCollection is too specific.
The approach in WPF (e.g. in ItemsControl.ItemsSource) is to define a very basic interface type (like IEnumerable) and when the property is assigned a value, find out if the value collection implements certain more specific interfaces. This would at least be INotifyCollectionChanged here, but the collection might also implement ICollectionView and INotifyPropertyChanged. All these interfaces wouldn't be mandatory and that would enable your dependency property to bind to all sorts of collections, starting with a plain array up to a complex ItemCollection.
Your OnItemsChanged property change callback would then look like this:
private static void OnItemsChanged(DependencyObject obj, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
MyGrid grid = obj as MyGrid;
if (grid != null)
{
var oldCollectionChanged = e.OldValue as INotifyCollectionChanged;
var newCollectionChanged = e.NewValue as INotifyCollectionChanged;
if (oldCollectionChanged != null)
{
oldCollectionChanged.CollectionChanged -= grid.OnItemsCollectionChanged;
}
if (newCollectionChanged != null)
{
newCollectionChanged.CollectionChanged += grid.OnItemsCollectionChanged;
// in addition to adding a CollectionChanged handler
// any already existing collection elements should be processed here
}
}
}
private void OnItemsCollectionChanged(object sender, NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs e)
{
// handle collection changes here
}
The WPF binding mechanism may bypass your standard CLR property and go directly to the dependency property accessors (GetValue and SetValue).
That is why logic should not be placed inside of the CLR property, but instead inside a changed handler.
Also the ObservableCollection<string> will never be set because when you use collection properties from XAML, like the following:
<local:MyGrid>
<local:MyGrid.Items>
<sys:String>First Item</sys:String>
<sys:String>Second Item</sys:String>
</local:MyGrid.Items>
</local:MyGrid>
It is actually calling a get on Items and then calling Add for each of the elements.
Alternatively: How to subscribe to the PropertyChanged event defined by INotifyPropertyChanged thru the databinding of two dependency properties?
I have two separate user controls inside my main window. One control contains the parameters that affect the other control, let’s call it the display control. I want the parameter control to act as the datasource of the display control so that when I change a parameter in the parameter control, the display control be listening and reacts accordingly.
For this I created a class that implements INotifyPropertyChanged that stores these parameters and created dependencies properties of this class type in both controls. I was expecting that if I binded one control property to the other I would get the desired behaviour, but unfortunately I am missing something important because the display control is not reacting.
On a closer inspection with the debugger, I notice that my event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged was always null when a property had changed, and everything I have read indicates, that no one is listening.
Because the display control is created in real time, I have to create the binding programmatically like this:
var DispayControlValuesBinding = new Binding();
DispayControlValuesBinding.Source = DisplayControlsControl;
DispayControlValuesBinding.Path = new PropertyPath("DisplayControlValues");
DispayControlValuesBinding.Mode = BindingMode.OneWay;
DispayControlValuesBinding.UpdateSourceTrigger = UpdateSourceTrigger.PropertyChanged;
DispayControlValuesBinding.NotifyOnSourceUpdated = true;
//
graph.SetBinding(Graph.DisplayControlValuesProperty, DisplayControlValuesBinding);
Both controls have a dependency property called DispayControlValues. I try to bind the DisplayControlControl's DisplayControlValues property to the graph control's DisplayControlValues property.
When the application runs, it initializes the parameter control, then with a user request a display control is created programmatically and the binding is made. Then I change a value in the parameter control, this is catch by the parameters class that implements the INotifyPropertyChanged interface but because no one is listening, the event handler is null and here is where I am stuck.
Your help is greatly appreciated!
Here are more details as requested:
I have one user control that exposes the parameters that changes the behaviour of another control. This control has a dependency property that contains parameter details and implements the INotifyPropertyChanged interface.
Here is the class:
public class ZoomGraphControlValues : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private bool _displayRaw;
public bool DisplayRaw
{
get { return _displayRaw; }
set
{
_displayRaw = value;
OnPropertyChanged(new PropertyChangedEventArgs("DisplayRaw"));
}
}
private bool _enableFit;
public bool EnableFit
{
get { return _enableFit; }
set
{
_enableFit = value;
OnPropertyChanged(new PropertyChangedEventArgs("EnableFit"));
}
}
public ZoomGraphControlValues()
{}
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
public void OnPropertyChanged(PropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
if (PropertyChanged != null)
PropertyChanged(this, e);
}
}
Here is the dependency property:
public ZoomGraphControlValues ControlValues
{
get { return (ZoomGraphControlValues)GetValue(ControlValuesProperty); }
set { SetValue(ControlValuesProperty, value); }
}
public static readonly DependencyProperty ControlValuesProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("ControlValues", typeof(ZoomGraphControlValues), typeof(ZoomGraphControls), new PropertyMetadata(null, OnControlValuesPropertyChanged));
private static void OnControlValuesPropertyChanged(DependencyObject d, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
var myObj = d as ZoomGraphControls;
myObj.OnControlValuesPropertyChanged(e);
}
private void OnControlValuesPropertyChanged(DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
if (ControlValues != null)
{
IniValues();
}
}
Then I have the display user control. This control also implements a dependency property of the same type as the other control and I want this control to be the target of the binding, so that when I change values in the parameter control, this control reflect the changes.
Here is the dependency property of this control:
public ZoomGraphControlValues ZoomGraphControlValues
{
get { return (ZoomGraphControlValues)GetValue(ZoomGraphControlValuesProperty); }
set { SetValue(ZoomGraphControlValuesProperty, value); }
}
public static readonly DependencyProperty ZoomGraphControlValuesProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("ZoomGraphControlValues", typeof(ZoomGraphControlValues), typeof(zoomGraph), new PropertyMetadata(null, OnZoomGraphControlValuesPropertyChanged));
private static void OnZoomGraphControlValuesPropertyChanged(DependencyObject d, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
var myObj = d as zoomGraph;
myObj.OnZoomGraphControlValuesPropertyChanged(e);
}
private void OnZoomGraphControlValuesPropertyChanged(DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
if (ZoomGraphControlValues != null)
{
// update the control with the new parameters
ShowRawData(ZoomGraphControlValues.DisplayRaw);
SetChartBehabiour();
}
}
The Parameters control is initialized since the beginning of the application cycle. The display control gets created as per user request into a tab, so I have to create the control programmatically and thereby the binding as well:
//create the tab and wire tab events
//…
//create a display control
var graph = new zoomGraph();
// initialize the parameters class
var zgcv = new ZoomGraphControlValues
{
DisplayRaw = true,
ChartBehaviour = ChartBehaviour.Zoom
};
//assign the parameters class to the parameters user control dependency property
ZoomGraphControlsControl.ControlValues = zgcv;
//create the binding of the parameter control to the display control by linking their respective dependency properties
var zoomGraphControlValuesBinding = new Binding();
zoomGraphControlValuesBinding.Source = ZoomGraphControlsControl;
zoomGraphControlValuesBinding.Path = new PropertyPath("ControlValues");
zoomGraphControlValuesBinding.Mode = BindingMode.TwoWay;
zoomGraphControlValuesBinding.UpdateSourceTrigger = UpdateSourceTrigger.PropertyChanged;
zoomGraphControlValuesBinding.NotifyOnSourceUpdated = true;
zoomGraphControlValuesBinding.NotifyOnTargetUpdated = true;
graph.SetBinding(zoomGraph.ZoomGraphControlValuesProperty, zoomGraphControlValuesBinding);
//…
// add the user control to a tab
When I change a parameter in the parameter control I can see that it tries to fire the OnPropertyChanged event but it is always null. Because of this I think I am lacking something.
You are setting the binding mode to "OneWay" which means the view model will never get updated when the value changes in the view. Change the Binding mode to "TwoWay" and try again.
Also, check if you are changing the complete instance of "DisplayControlValues" or just properties on that class, because your binding is only set to fire when the entire instance changes, not its properties.
In addition to that, keep in mind that you can bind properties of two different controls using the Binding.ElementName property, which would make it unnecessary for you to create a view model, unless there is anything in the code behind you need to do when these values change.
If you post more code and XAML it will be easier to find the most appropriate way to solve your issue.
I have some nested view models that implement INotifyPropertyChanged. I'd like to bind an event listener to a nested property path (e.g. "Parent.Child.Name"), much like FrameworkElement dependency properties can be bound to arbitrary nested properties.
However, I just want something like a PropertyChanged event listener -- I don't actually have any UI element I'd like to bind. Is there any way to use the existing framework to set up such an event source? Ideally, I shouldn't need to modify my view model classes (as this is not required for regular data binding in Silverlight).
You can certainly co-opt the binding/dependency-property infrastructure to listen for changes to a nested property. The code below is WPF but I believe you can do something similar in Silverlight:
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
this.DataContext = new Parent { Child = new Child { Name = "Bob" } };
this.SetBinding(ChildNameProperty, new Binding("Child.Name"));
}
public string ChildName
{
get { return (string)GetValue(ChildNameProperty); }
set { SetValue(ChildNameProperty, value); }
}
// Using a DependencyProperty as the backing store for ChildName. This enables animation, styling, binding, etc...
public static readonly DependencyProperty ChildNameProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("ChildName", typeof(string), typeof(MainWindow), new UIPropertyMetadata(ChildNameChanged));
static void ChildNameChanged(DependencyObject d, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
MessageBox.Show("Child name is now " + e.NewValue);
}
}
So I've defined my own DependencyProperty, not part of any UI per se (just the MainWindow class), and bound "Child.Name" to it directly. I'm then able to be notified when Child.Name changes.
Will that work for you?
I have an issue similar to the following post:
Silverlight DataGridTextColumn Binding Visibility
I need to have a Column within a Silverlight DataGrid be visibile/collapsed based on a value within a ViewModel. To accomplish this I am attempting to Bind the Visibility property to a ViewModel. However I soon discovered that the Visibility property is not a DependencyProperty, therefore it cannot be bound.
To solve this, I attempted to subclass my own DataGridTextColumn. With this new class, I have created a DependencyProperty, which ultimately pushes the changes to the DataGridTextColumn.Visibility property. This works well, if I don't databind. The moment I databind to my new property, it fails, with a AG_E_PARSER_BAD_PROPERTY_VALUE exception.
public class MyDataGridTextColumn : DataGridTextColumn
{
#region public Visibility MyVisibility
public static readonly DependencyProperty MyVisibilityProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("MyVisibility", typeof(Visibility), typeof(MyDataGridTextColumn), new PropertyMetadata(Visibility.Visible, OnMyVisibilityPropertyChanged));
private static void OnMyVisibilityPropertyChanged(DependencyObject d, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
var #this = d as MyDataGridTextColumn;
if (#this != null)
{
#this.OnMyVisibilityChanged((Visibility)e.OldValue, (Visibility)e.NewValue);
}
}
private void OnMyVisibilityChanged(Visibility oldValue, Visibility newValue)
{
Visibility = newValue;
}
public Visibility MyVisibility
{
get { return (Visibility)GetValue(MyVisibilityProperty); }
set { SetValue(MyVisibilityProperty, value); }
}
#endregion public Visibility MyVisibility
}
Here is a small snippet of the XAML.
<DataGrid ....>
<DataGrid.Columns>
<MyDataGridTextColumn Header="User Name"
Foreground="#FFFFFFFF"
Binding="{Binding User.UserName}"
MinWidth="150"
CanUserSort="True"
CanUserResize="False"
CanUserReorder="True"
MyVisibility="{Binding Converter={StaticResource BoolToVisibilityConverter}, Path=ShouldShowUser}"/>
<DataGridTextColumn .../>
</DataGrid.Columns>
</DataGrid>
A couple important facts.
The Converter is indeed defined above in the local resources.
The Converter is correct, it is used many other places in the solution.
If I replace the {Binding} syntax for the MyVisibility property with "Collapsed" the Column does in fact disappear.
If I create a new DependencyProperty (i.e. string Foo), and bind to it I receive the AG_E_PARSER_BAD_PROPERTY_VALUE exception too.
Does anybody have any ideas as to why this isn't working?
Here's the solution I've come up with using a little hack.
First, you need to inherit from DataGrid.
public class DataGridEx : DataGrid
{
public IEnumerable<string> HiddenColumns
{
get { return (IEnumerable<string>)GetValue(HiddenColumnsProperty); }
set { SetValue(HiddenColumnsProperty, value); }
}
public static readonly DependencyProperty HiddenColumnsProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register ("HiddenColumns",
typeof (IEnumerable<string>),
typeof (DataGridEx),
new PropertyMetadata (HiddenColumnsChanged));
private static void HiddenColumnsChanged(object sender,
DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs args)
{
var dg = sender as DataGrid;
if (dg==null || args.NewValue == args.OldValue)
return;
var hiddenColumns = (IEnumerable<string>)args.NewValue;
foreach (var column in dg.Columns)
{
if (hiddenColumns.Contains ((string)column.GetValue (NameProperty)))
column.Visibility = Visibility.Collapsed;
else
column.Visibility = Visibility.Visible;
}
}
}
The DataGridEx class adds a new DP for hiding columns based on the x:Name of a DataGridColumn and its descendants.
To use in your XAML:
<my:DataGridEx x:Name="uiData"
DataContext="{Binding SomeDataContextFromTheVM}"
ItemsSource="{Binding Whatever}"
HiddenColumns="{Binding HiddenColumns}">
<sdk:DataGridTextColumn x:Name="uiDataCountOfItems">
Header="Count"
Binding={Binding CountOfItems}"
</sdk:DataGridTextColumn>
</my:DataGridEx>
You need to add these to your ViewModel or whatever data context you use.
private IEnumerable<string> _hiddenColumns;
public IEnumerable<string> HiddenColumns
{
get { return _hiddenColumns; }
private set
{
if (value == _hiddenColumns)
return;
_hiddenColumns = value;
PropertyChanged (this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs("HiddenColumns"));
}
}
public void SomeWhereInYourCode ()
{
HiddenColumns = new List<string> {"uiDataCountOfItems"};
}
To unhide, you only need to remove the corresponding name from the list or recreate it without the unhidden name.
I have another solution to this problem that uses an approach similar to the "Binding" property that you find on DataGridTextColumn. Since the column classes are DependencyObjects, you can't directly databind to them, BUT if you add a reference to a FrameworkElement that implements INotifyPropertyChanged you can pass a databinding through to the element, and then use a dependency property to notify the Column that the databinding has changed.
One thing to note is that having the binding on the Column itself instead of the Grid will probably mean that you will want to use a DataContextProxy to get access to the field that you want to bind the Visibility to (the column binding will default to the scope of the ItemSource).
using System;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Controls;
using System.Windows.Data;
namespace XYZ.Controls
{
public class ExtendedDataGridTextColumn : DataGridTextColumn
{
private readonly Notifier _e;
private Binding _visibilityBinding;
public Binding VisibilityBinding
{
get { return _visibilityBinding; }
set
{
_visibilityBinding = value;
_e.SetBinding(Notifier.MyVisibilityProperty, _visibilityBinding);
}
}
public ExtendedDataGridTextColumn()
{
_e = new Notifier();
_e.PropertyChanged += ToggleVisibility;
}
private void ToggleVisibility(object sender, PropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
if (e.PropertyName == "Visibility")
this.Visibility = _e.MyVisibility;
}
//Notifier class is just used to pass the property changed event back to the column container Dependency Object, leaving it as a private inner class for now
private class Notifier : FrameworkElement, INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
public Visibility MyVisibility
{
get { return (Visibility)GetValue(MyVisibilityProperty); }
private set { SetValue(MyVisibilityProperty, value); }
}
public static readonly DependencyProperty MyVisibilityProperty = DependencyProperty.Register("MyVisibility", typeof(Visibility), typeof(Notifier), new PropertyMetadata(MyVisibilityChanged));
private static void MyVisibilityChanged(DependencyObject d, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
var n = d as Notifier;
if (n != null)
{
n.MyVisibility = (Visibility) e.NewValue;
n.PropertyChanged(n, new PropertyChangedEventArgs("Visibility"));
}
}
}
}
}
The datagrid column inherits from DependencyObject instead of FrameworkElement. In WPF this would be no big deal... but in silverlight you can only bind to FrameworkElement objects. So you get the descriptive error message of AG_E_PARSER_BAD_PROPERTY_VALUE when you try.
I don't know how much this will help, but I've run into the lack of dependency property problem with data grid columns myself in my latest project. What I did to get around it, was to create an event in the grid column view model, then when the grid is being assembled in the client, use a closure to subscribe the grid column to the column view model. My particular problem was around width. It starts with the view model class for the grid column, which looks something like this pseudo-code:
public delegate void ColumnResizedEvent(double width);
public class GridColumnViewModel : ViewModelBase
{
public event ColumnResizedEvent ColumnResized;
public void Resize(double newContainerWidth)
{
// some crazy custom sizing calculations -- don't ask...
ResizeColumn(newWidth);
}
public void ResizeColumn(double width)
{
var handler = ColumnResized;
if (handler != null)
handler(width);
}
}
Then there's the code that assembles the grid:
public class CustomGrid
{
public CustomGrid(GridViewModel viewModel)
{
// some stuff that parses control metadata out of the view model.
// viewModel.Columns is a collection of GridColumnViewModels from above.
foreach(var column in viewModel.Columns)
{
var gridCol = new DataGridTextColumn( ... );
column.ColumnResized += delegate(double width) { gridCol.Width = new DataGridLength(width); };
}
}
}
When the datagrid is resized in the application, the resize event is picked up and calls the resize method on the viewmodel the grid is bound to. This in turn calls the resize method of each grid column view model. The grid column view model then raises the ColumnResized event, which the data grid text column is subscribed to, and it's width is updated.
I realise this isn't directly solving your problem, but it was a way I could "bind" a view model to a data grid column when there are no dependency properties on it. The closure is a simple construct that nicely encapsulates the behaviour I wanted, and is quite understandable to someone coming along behind me. I think it's not too hard to imagine how it could be modified to cope with visibility changing. You could even wire the event handler up in the load event of the page/user control.
Chris Mancini,
you do not create binding to "Binding" property of data grid column. Well, you write "{Binding User.UserName}", but it doesn't create binding, because (as zachary said) datagrid column doesn't inherit from FrameworkElement and hasn't SetBinding method.
So expression "{Binding User.UserName}" simply creates Binding object and assign it to Binding property of column (this property is type of Binding).
Then datagrid column while generates cells content (GenerateElement - protected method) uses this Binding object to set binding on generated elements (e.g. on Text property of generated TextBlock) which are FrameworkElements
GreatTall1's solution is great, but it need to bit change to make it work.
var n = d as Notifier;
if (n != null)
{
//Assign value in the callback will break the binding.
//n.MyVisibility = (Visibility)e.NewValue;
n.PropertyChanged(n, new PropertyChangedEventArgs("Visibility"));
}
Note that the problem isn't just as simple as 'Visibility' not being a dependency property. In a DataGrid the columns aren't part of the visual 'tree' so you can't use AncestorType even in WPF (or Silverlight 5).
Here's a couple WPF related links (please comment if any of these work for Silverlight - sorry I don't have time to test now)
Has a really nice explanation of the problem and failures of certain solutions (and a clever solution):
http://tomlev2.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/wpf-how-to-bind-to-data-when-the-datacontext-is-not-inherited/
And a couple StackOverflow questions:
WPF Hide DataGridColumn via a binding
Binding Visible property of a DataGridColumn in WPF DataGrid
This works on a data grid template column:
public class ExtendedDataGridColumn : DataGridTemplateColumn
{
public static readonly DependencyProperty VisibilityProperty = DependencyProperty.Register("Visibility", typeof(Visibility), typeof(DataGridTemplateColumn), new PropertyMetadata(Visibility.Visible, VisibilityChanged));
public new Visibility Visibility
{
get { return (Visibility)GetValue(VisibilityProperty); }
set { SetValue(VisibilityProperty, value); }
}
private static void VisibilityChanged(DependencyObject d, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
if ((DataGridTemplateColumn)d != null)
{
((DataGridTemplateColumn)d).Visibility = (Visibility)e.NewValue;
}
}
}
From your MyDataGridTextColumn class, you could get the surrounding DataGrid.
Then you get your ViewModel out of the DataContext of the DataGrid and add a handler to the PropertyChanged event of your ViewModel. In the handler you just check for the property name and its value and change the Visibility of the Column accordingly.
Its not quite the best solution, but it should work ;)