WPF TreeView DataBinding: data not shown, BindingExpression path error - wpf

I'm working on a new functionality for Visual Studio Add-in. Initially the project's target framework was 3.5. But I was asked to add a Tool Window with quite complicated UI using WPF and switch to 4.0 framework (maybe this is important)
I'm trying to bind hierarchical data to the Tree View inside my Tool Window which is originally a WPF User Control.
But I see the following error:
"System.Windows.Data Error: 40 : BindingExpression path error: 'PoolList' property not found on 'object' ''OpjectPool' (Name='')'. BindingExpression:Path=PoolList; DataItem='OpjectPool' (Name=''); target element is 'TreeView' (Name='treeView1'); target property is 'ItemsSource' (type 'IEnumerable')"
This is a Class which represents data I need to bind to the tree view.
class CodeItem
{
public TextPoint StartPoint { get; set; }
public TextPoint EndPoint { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set; }
public vsCMElement Kind { get; set; }
public CodeElements ChildClasses { get; set; }
public ProjectItem ProjectItem { get; set; }
public List<CodeItem> CodeItems { get; set; }
public string Label { get; set; }
public CodeItem(CodeElement el)
{
StartPoint = el.StartPoint;
EndPoint = el.EndPoint;
Name = el.Name;
Kind = el.Kind;
ChildClasses = el.Children;
ProjectItem = el.ProjectItem;
Label = Kind.ToString();
CodeItems = new List<CodeItem>();
if (ChildClasses.Count != 0)
{
foreach (CodeElement elem in ChildClasses)
{
if (elem.Kind.ToString() == "vsCMElementClass")
{
CodeItems.Add(new CodeItem(elem));
}
}
}
}
}
Here is my UserControl code:
public partial class OpjectPool : UserControl
{
public ObservableCollection<CodeItem> PoolList = new ObservableCollection<CodeItem>();
public OpjectPool()
{
Project pr = ... // getting VS Project we want to work with;
foreach (ProjectItem item in pr.ProjectItems.Item("Objects").ProjectItems)
{
if (item.FileCodeModel != null)
{
CodeItem rootPoolItem = new CodeItem(item.Name);
foreach (CodeElement el in item.FileCodeModel.CodeElements)
{
if (el.Kind.ToString() == "vsCMElementClass" || el.Kind.ToString() == "vsCMElementNamespace")
{
CodeItem ci = new CodeItem(el);
rootPoolItem.CodeItems.Add(ci);
}
}
PoolList.Add(rootPoolItem);
}
}
InitializeComponent();
this.treeView1.DataContext = this;
}
}
And Here is a XAML code:
<UserControl x:Class="******.OpjectPool"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
mc:Ignorable="d"
d:DesignHeight="300" d:DesignWidth="300">
<Grid Height="Auto" Name="maingrid">
<Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<ColumnDefinition Width="1*" />
<ColumnDefinition Width="1*" />
<ColumnDefinition Width="1*" />
</Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<ScrollViewer Grid.Column="0" Height="Auto" HorizontalAlignment="Stretch" Name="scrollViewer1" VerticalAlignment="Stretch" Width="Auto" HorizontalScrollBarVisibility="Visible">
<TreeView Height="Auto" Name="treeView1" Width="Auto" ItemsSource="{Binding PoolList}">
<TreeView.ItemTemplate>
<HierarchicalDataTemplate ItemsSource="{Binding CodeItems}" >
<TreeViewItem Header="{Binding Label}"/>
</HierarchicalDataTemplate >
</TreeView.ItemTemplate>
</TreeView>
</ScrollViewer>
<ScrollViewer Grid.Column="1" Height="Auto" HorizontalAlignment="Stretch" Name="scrollViewer2" VerticalAlignment="Stretch" Width="Auto" HorizontalScrollBarVisibility="Visible" Grid.ColumnSpan="1">
<DataGrid AutoGenerateColumns="False" Height="Auto" Name="dataGrid1" Width="Auto" FrozenColumnCount="3" />
</ScrollViewer>
<ScrollViewer Grid.Column="2" Height="Auto" HorizontalAlignment="Stretch" Name="scrollViewer3" VerticalAlignment="Stretch" Width="Auto" HorizontalScrollBarVisibility="Visible" Grid.ColumnSpan="1">
<DataGrid AutoGenerateColumns="False" Height="Auto" Name="dataGrid2" Width="Auto" />
</ScrollViewer>
<GridSplitter Grid.Column="1" Name="gridSplitter1" ResizeDirection="Columns" BorderBrush="Black" Background="Black" Margin="0,0,0,0" Grid.ColumnSpan="1" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Width="2" />
<GridSplitter Grid.Column="2" Name="gridSplitter2" ResizeDirection="Columns" BorderBrush="Black" Background="Black" Margin="0,0,0,0" Grid.ColumnSpan="1" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Width="2" />
</Grid>
PoolList is not null and contains a full hierarchical structure I need to bind.
Interesting that error message says about real and not null property of the object

As error states:
BindingExpression path error: 'PoolList' PROPERTY not found on 'object' ''OpjectPool' (Name='')'. BindingExpression:Path=PoolList;
PoolList is not a property.

Related

Fill textbox with a property with Binding MVVM

I try to figure out how MVVM works and want to start simple.
I made a Model, a View and a ViewModel. I hooked up the view to a window. this works more or less.
in the view i have a textbox which i want to fill with the value of a property. The textbox keeps empty!?
This is what i have:
Model:
namespace Qbox_0001.Model
{
public class RegistratieModel
{
}
public class Registratie : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
//Fields
private string programmaNaam;
//eventhandler die kijkt of een property wijzigt
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
private void RaisePropertyChanged(string property)
{
if (PropertyChanged != null)
{
PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(property));
}
}
//Properies
public string ProgrammaNaam
{
get { return programmaNaam; }
set
{
if (programmaNaam != value)
{
programmaNaam = value;
RaisePropertyChanged("ProgrammaNaam");
}
}
}
}
}
The View:
<UserControl x:Name="UserControlRegistratie" x:Class="Qbox_0001.Views.RegistratieView"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:Qbox_0001.Views"
mc:Ignorable="d" Height="1000" Width="860" MaxWidth="860" HorizontalContentAlignment="Left" VerticalContentAlignment="Top">
<Grid x:Name="GridRegistratie">
<Grid.RowDefinitions>
<RowDefinition x:Name="RowDef_Menu" Height="21*" MaxHeight="21" MinHeight="21"/>
<RowDefinition x:Name="RowDef_TabControl" Height="500*" MinHeight="500"/>
<RowDefinition x:Name="Rowdef_Bottom" Height="40*" MaxHeight="40" MinHeight="40"/>
</Grid.RowDefinitions>
<Grid x:Name="Grid_Registratie_WorkArea" Grid.Row="1">
<TabControl x:Name="TabControl_Registratie">
<TabItem Header="Registratie">
<Grid x:Name="Grid_Tab_Registratie">
<Border>
<Grid>
<Grid.RowDefinitions>
<RowDefinition x:Name="GridRowDef_Algemeen" MinHeight="68" Height="68*" MaxHeight="68"/>
<RowDefinition x:Name="GridRowDef_Locatie" MinHeight="120" Height="120*" MaxHeight="120"/>
<RowDefinition x:Name="GridRowDef_AantalDagen" MinHeight="105" Height="105*" MaxHeight="105"/>
<RowDefinition x:Name="GridRowDef_MaxDagen" MinHeight="105" Height="105*" MaxHeight="105"/>
<RowDefinition x:Name="GridRowDef_Lokaal" MinHeight="100" Height="100*" MaxHeight="100"/>
<RowDefinition x:Name="GridRowDef_LicBestand" Height="150*" MaxHeight="150" MinHeight="150"/>
</Grid.RowDefinitions>
<GroupBox x:Name="GroupBox_algemeen" Header="Algemeen" Margin="10,4,10,3">
<Grid>
<Label x:Name="Label_Klant" Content="Klant:" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="10,10,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top" Padding="0,5,5,5"/>
<Label x:Name="Label_Programma" Content="Programma:" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="356,10,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top"/>
<Label x:Name="Label_Versie" Content="Versie:" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="645,10,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top"/>
<TextBox x:Name="textBox_KlantNaam" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Height="23" Margin="49,10,0,0" TextWrapping="Wrap" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="288"/>
<!-- the textbox keeps empty -->
<TextBox x:Name="TextBox_ProgrammaNaam" Text="{Binding ElementName=RegistratieViewModel, Path=ProgrammaNaam, Mode=TwoWay, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Height="23" Margin="431,10,0,0" TextWrapping="Wrap" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="190" IsEnabled="False" />
<TextBox x:Name="TextBox_Versie" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Height="23" Margin="695,10,0,0" TextWrapping="Wrap" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="120" IsEnabled="False" />
</Grid>
</GroupBox>
</Grid>
</Border>
</Grid>
</TabItem>
<TabItem Header="Licentie(s)">
<Grid x:Name="Grid_Tab_Licentie" Background="#FFE5E5E5"/>
</TabItem>
</TabControl>
</Grid>
</Grid>
</UserControl>
In the View.cs:
namespace Qbox_0001.Views
{
/// <summary>
/// Interaction logic for RegistratieView.xaml
/// </summary>
public partial class RegistratieView : UserControl
{
public RegistratieView()
{
InitializeComponent();
this.DataContext = new Qbox_0001.ViewModel.RegistratieViewModel();
}
}
}
The ViewModel
using Qbox_0001.Model; //
using System.Collections.ObjectModel; //
namespace Qbox_0001.ViewModel
{
public class RegistratieViewModel
{
public RegistratieViewModel()
{
loadRegistratieOnderdelen();
}
public ObservableCollection<Registratie> RegistratieOnderdelen //Registratie = "public class Registratie : INotifyPropertyChanged" van de Model
{
get;
set;
}
public void loadRegistratieOnderdelen()
{
ObservableCollection<Registratie> regOnderdelen = new ObservableCollection<Registratie>();
regOnderdelen.Add(new Registratie { ProgrammaNaam = "Test" });
}
}
}
I can see a couple of problems with your code.
You are populating a local ObservableCollection (inside your loadRegistratieOnderdelen() method) with data but since its local, it is not a member of the DataContext and hence unavailable to the View. You have to use public properties like RegistratieOnderdelen which you already declared in your RegistratieViewModel.
Next you are using an ObservableCollection whereas you might just want to use a property of type String. Collections are used when you want to represent lists, for example inside a ListView or an ItemsControl. Your view indicates that you want to bind a single text value so a public property of type String makes more sense.
Best, Nico
The DataContext is a RegistratieViewModel. This class has a RegistratieOnderdelen property that returns a collection of Registratie objects.
You could bind to the ProgrammaNaam property of one such item but you need to specify which item to bind to, for example the first one:
<TextBox x:Name="TextBox_ProgrammaNaam" Text="{Binding Path=RegistratieOnderdelen[0].ProgrammaNaam, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}" ... />

How to add controls inside WPF TabControl via XAML

I have the following XAML, a TabControl which binds to an ObservableCollection and creates my tabs just fine.
<Window x:Class="BA_Auditing.AuditWindow"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
Title="BizeAsset - Audit Results" Height="700" Width="1120" WindowStartupLocation="CenterScreen" WindowState="Maximized">
<Grid>
<TabControl Name="ModuleTabControl" HorizontalAlignment="Stretch" VerticalAlignment="Stretch" Margin="5" ItemsSource="{Binding}" >
<TabControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<TextBlock>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding DISPLAY_NAME}"/>
</TextBlock>
</DataTemplate>
</TabControl.ItemTemplate>
<TabControl.ContentTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<Grid>
<Grid.RowDefinitions>
<RowDefinition />
<RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
<RowDefinition />
</Grid.RowDefinitions>
<Grid Grid.Row="0">
<Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<ColumnDefinition />
<ColumnDefinition />
</Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<TextBlock Grid.Column="0" Text="Search:" HorizontalAlignment="Right"/>
<TextBox x:Name="tbxSearch" Grid.Column="1"/>
</Grid>
<TextBlock Grid.Row="2" Text="Items Selected: 0 of 908" />
</Grid>
</DataTemplate>
</TabControl.ContentTemplate>
</TabControl>
</Grid>
</Window>
Next I'd like to populate each tab area with the next level of controls, which will include a Label, TextBox another TabControl and a TextBlock.
I previously wrote this in WinForms and this is what it looks like:
What XAML do I need add to do this?
That is because I am designing it dynamically via binding rather than literally adding a TabItem
[EDIT]
I have tried to enter controls into the TabControl.ContentTemplate however nothing displays in the body of the TabItem.
I think if you had "clicked" on the "WW - Wastewater" tab you would have seen something being generated (the Search box, etc) - that's because the tab wasn't selected by default.
Anyway, here is a bit of code which gets you a bit closer to what you want - it's just to get you started, you'll need to add the other plumbing code (change notification, etc).
I don't know what you intend to have in the "Services" tab, etc...so don't know if you can handle them all in the same way i.e. as "Assets". Also you might want to explicitly define the names of the grid columns rather than have them auto-generated - there are some techniques elsewhere you can find to do that.
<Window x:Class="WpfApp38.MainWindow"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:WpfApp38"
mc:Ignorable="d"
Title="MainWindow" Height="350" Width="525">
<Grid>
<TabControl Name="ModuleTabControl" HorizontalAlignment="Stretch" VerticalAlignment="Stretch" Margin="5" ItemsSource="{Binding}" SelectedIndex="0" >
<TabControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<TextBlock>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding DISPLAY_NAME}"/>
</TextBlock>
</DataTemplate>
</TabControl.ItemTemplate>
<TabControl.ContentTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<Grid>
<Grid.RowDefinitions>
<RowDefinition Height="Auto"/>
<RowDefinition Height="*" />
<RowDefinition Height="Auto"/>
</Grid.RowDefinitions>
<Grid Grid.Row="0">
<Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<ColumnDefinition />
<ColumnDefinition />
</Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<TextBlock Grid.Column="0" Text="Search:" HorizontalAlignment="Right"/>
<TextBox x:Name="tbxSearch" Grid.Column="1"/>
</Grid>
<TabControl Grid.Row="1" ItemsSource="{Binding SubCategories}">
<TabControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding DISPLAY_NAME}"/>
</DataTemplate>
</TabControl.ItemTemplate>
<TabControl.ContentTemplate>
<ItemContainerTemplate>
<DataGrid AutoGenerateColumns="True" ItemsSource="{Binding Assets}">
</DataGrid>
</ItemContainerTemplate>
</TabControl.ContentTemplate>
</TabControl>
<TextBlock Grid.Row="2" Text="Items Selected: 0 of 908" />
</Grid>
</DataTemplate>
</TabControl.ContentTemplate>
</TabControl>
</Grid>
</Window>
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Collections.ObjectModel;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Controls;
using System.Windows.Data;
using System.Windows.Documents;
using System.Windows.Input;
using System.Windows.Media;
using System.Windows.Media.Imaging;
using System.Windows.Navigation;
using System.Windows.Shapes;
namespace WpfApp38
{
public class InfrastructureCateogry
{
public string DISPLAY_NAME { get; set; }
public ObservableCollection<AssetCategory> SubCategories { get; set; }
}
public class AssetCategory
{
public string DISPLAY_NAME { get; set; }
public ObservableCollection<AssetRecord> Assets { get; set; }
}
public class AssetRecord
{
public string AssetID { get; set; } // make it an int
public string AssetType { get; set; }
public string LastUpdateBy { get; set; } // make this a DateTime object
public string LastUpdateDate { get; set; } // make this a DateTime object
}
/// <summary>
/// Interaction logic for MainWindow.xaml
/// </summary>
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
private ObservableCollection<InfrastructureCateogry> infrastructurecategories = new ObservableCollection<InfrastructureCateogry>();
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
var x = new InfrastructureCateogry()
{
DISPLAY_NAME = "AR - Roads and Bridges",
SubCategories = new ObservableCollection<AssetCategory>
{
new AssetCategory
{
DISPLAY_NAME = "Lines",
Assets = new ObservableCollection<AssetRecord>
{
new AssetRecord
{
AssetID = "20040927104600",
AssetType = "Gravity Main",
LastUpdateDate = "07/05/2015 17:01:55 PM"
},
new AssetRecord
{
AssetID = "20150507170116",
AssetType = "Relined",
LastUpdateDate = "07/05/2015 17:01:15 PM"
}
}
},
new AssetCategory
{
DISPLAY_NAME = "Points"
},
new AssetCategory
{
DISPLAY_NAME = "Plant/Components"
},
new AssetCategory
{
DISPLAY_NAME = "Services"
}
}
};
infrastructurecategories.Add(x);
var x2 = new InfrastructureCateogry();
x2.DISPLAY_NAME = "WW - WasteWater";
infrastructurecategories.Add(x2);
this.DataContext = infrastructurecategories;
}
}
}

listBox DataTemplate not picking up values

I am learning to use listBox in WPF with dataTemplate using the examples from MSDN, I can render a listBox bound to an ObservableCollection as a source and by overriding the ToString method.
However, I need to render an image and some texblocks for every item. Here's my XAML:
<Grid x:Class="MyAddin.WPFControls"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
xmlns:c="clr-namespace:MyAddin"
mc:Ignorable="d"
d:DesignHeight="300" d:DesignWidth="300"
Background="Transparent"
HorizontalAlignment="Stretch" Width="auto"
Height="215" VerticalAlignment="Stretch" ShowGridLines="False">
<Grid.Resources>
<c:People x:Key="MyFriends"/>
</Grid.Resources>
<Grid.RowDefinitions>
<RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
<RowDefinition Height="*" />
</Grid.RowDefinitions>
<TextBlock HorizontalAlignment="Left"
IsManipulationEnabled="True"
Height="20" Width="300">Activity Feed</TextBlock>
<ListBox Grid.Row="1" Name="listBox1" IsSynchronizedWithCurrentItem="True"
BorderThickness="0" ScrollViewer.VerticalScrollBarVisibility="Auto"
VerticalContentAlignment="Stretch" Margin="0,0,0,5" Background="Transparent">
<ListBox.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<Grid>
<Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<ColumnDefinition Width="60"/>
<ColumnDefinition Width="*"/>
</Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<Border Margin="5" BorderBrush="Black" BorderThickness="1">
<Image Source="{Binding Path=Avatar}" Stretch="Fill" Width="50" Height="50" />
</Border>
<StackPanel Grid.Column="1" Margin="5">
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" TextBlock.FontWeight="Bold" >
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Path=Firstname }" />
</StackPanel>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Path=Comment}" />
</StackPanel>
</Grid>
</DataTemplate>
</ListBox.ItemTemplate>
</ListBox>
</Grid>
My Collection class is as following:
public class People : ObservableCollection<Person>
{ }
public class Person
{
private string firstName;
private string comment;
private Bitmap avatar;
public Person(string first, string comment, Bitmap avatar)
{
this.firstName = first;
this.comment = comment;
this.avatar = avatar;
}
public string FirstName
{
get { return firstName; }
set { firstName = value; }
}
public string Comment
{
get { return comment; }
set { comment = value; }
}
public Bitmap Avatar
{
get { return avatar;}
set { avatar = value; }
}
public override string ToString()
{
return firstName.ToString();
}
}
Once my addin is loaded, I am downloading my data and setting the itemsSource.
People p = new People();
p.Add(new Person("Willa", "Some Comment", myAvatar));
p.Add(new Person("Isak", "Some Comment", myAvatar));
p.Add(new Person("Victor", "Some Comment", myAvatar));
this.wpfControl.listBox1.ItemsSource = p;
The problem I am facing is that the items are being rendered as empty rows whereas If I remove the dataTemplate, the items are rendered fine with their firstName.
Don't see anything wrong with the bindings themselves, but your avatar type seems off, WPF expects ImageSource (i do not know if there is any implicit convertion between Bitmap and ImageSource, check for binding errors to find out).

How to propagate silverlight usercontrol properties to parent?

I would like to have some of the properties in the custom user control to be available to the parent page. I created a small sample to illustrate what I am looking for.
I am trying to use MVVM pattern and all the binding mechanisms to achieve it.
USERCONTROL XAML
<UserControl x:Class="TestCustomUserControl.MyControls.UserNameControl"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:TestCustomUserControl.ViewModels"
xmlns:i="clr-namespace:System.Windows.Interactivity;assembly=System.Windows.Interactivity"
mc:Ignorable="d"
d:DesignHeight="300" d:DesignWidth="400">
<UserControl.Resources>
<local:UserNameViewModel x:Key="TheViewModel"/>
</UserControl.Resources>
<Grid x:Name="NameCtrlRoot" Background="White" DataContext="{StaticResource TheViewModel}">
<StackPanel>
<Grid>
<Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" />
<ColumnDefinition />
</Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<Grid.RowDefinitions>
<RowDefinition />
<RowDefinition />
<RowDefinition />
<RowDefinition />
<RowDefinition />
</Grid.RowDefinitions>
<TextBlock Grid.Row="0" Grid.Column="0" Text="First Name:" />
<TextBlock Grid.Row="1" Grid.Column="0" Text="Last Name: "/>
<TextBox Grid.Row="0" Grid.Column="1" x:Name="txtFirstName" Text="{Binding FirstName, Mode=TwoWay}">
<i:Interaction.Behaviors>
<!-- This behavior updates the binding after a specified delay
instead of the user having to lose focus on the TextBox. -->
<local:TextChangedDelayedBindingBehavior RefreshTimeMilliseconds="750" />
</i:Interaction.Behaviors>
</TextBox>
<TextBox Grid.Row="1" Grid.Column="1" x:Name="txtLastName" Text="{Binding LastName, Mode=TwoWay}">
<i:Interaction.Behaviors>
<!-- This behavior updates the binding after a specified delay
instead of the user having to lose focus on the TextBox. -->
<local:TextChangedDelayedBindingBehavior RefreshTimeMilliseconds="750" />
</i:Interaction.Behaviors>
</TextBox>
<TextBlock Grid.Row="3" Grid.Column="0" Text="fullname inside control:" />
<TextBlock Grid.Row="3" Grid.Column="1" Text="{Binding FullName}" />
<Border Height="1" Background="Black" Grid.Column="2" Grid.Row="4" />
</Grid>
</StackPanel>
</Grid>
the above Usercontrol is binded to the following VIEWMODEL
public class BaseViewModel : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
protected void NotifyPropertyChanged(string propName)
{
if (PropertyChanged != null)
PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propName));
}
}
public class UserNameViewModel : BaseViewModel
{
private String _firstName;
public String FirstName
{
get { return _firstName; }
set
{
_firstName = value;
NotifyPropertyChanged("FirstName");
OnNameChange();
}
}
private String _lastName;
public String LastName
{
get { return _lastName; }
set
{
_lastName = value;
NotifyPropertyChanged("LastName");
OnNameChange();
}
}
private void OnNameChange()
{
FullName = String.Format("{0} {1}", FirstName, LastName);
}
public String _fullName;
public String FullName
{
get { return _fullName; }
set {
_fullName = value;
NotifyPropertyChanged("FullName");
}
}
}
Consumer Page that uses the above USERCONTROL
<navigation:Page xmlns:my="clr-namespace:TestCustomUserControl.MyControls" x:Class="TestCustomUserControl.Views.ConsumeName"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
mc:Ignorable="d"
xmlns:navigation="clr-namespace:System.Windows.Controls;assembly=System.Windows.Controls.Navigation"
d:DesignWidth="640" d:DesignHeight="480"
Title="ConsumeName Page">
<Grid x:Name="LayoutRoot">
<StackPanel>
<my:UserNameControl x:Name="MyNameControl"/>
<Grid>
<Grid.RowDefinitions>
<RowDefinition Height="10" />
<RowDefinition />
</Grid.RowDefinitions>
<Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<ColumnDefinition Width="Auto"/>
<ColumnDefinition />
</Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<TextBlock Grid.Row="1" Grid.Column="0" Text="Full Name in Parent: " />
<TextBlock Grid.Row="1" Grid.Column="1" Text="{Binding FullName, ElementName=MyNameControl}"/>
</Grid>
</StackPanel>
</Grid>
Here is my question now, If you look at the view model associated with user control, it has a property called FullName and I would like that to be exposed via Usercontrol, so that I can access it from the consuming page. Its like consuming page want to access some of the properties of usercontrol. I am not quite sure as to how that can be acheived. I would like to stick with MVVM pattern.
you have already decalred a StaticResource, so you can use it in both views.
Do this
<UserControl.Resources>
<local:UserNameViewModel x:Key="TheViewModel"/>
</UserControl.Resources>
in the "ConsumeName Page". If yous simply add the DataContext to your Grid
<Grid x:Name="LayoutRoot" DataContext="{StaticResource TheViewModel}">
this should work. (You don't need ElementName=MyNameControl any longer).
The my:UserNameControl should inherit the DataContext. If not, you have to add it here.
<my:UserNameControl DataContext="{StaticResource TheViewModel}"/>
This should work.
Right now the local:UserNameViewModel with the key TheViewModel is only achievable where you defined it. If you define it in your app.xaml you can access it from everywhere in the app.
Hope this hels.
BR,
TJ
I am answering my own question. But before answering my question, just want to clarify somethings. I was trying to create a fully encapsulated UserControl with its own ViewModel. And where ever the usercontrol is consumed, the consumer should know nothing about the usercontrol's internal viewmodel. Only communication option I want the consumer to have is by setting some properties and using binding mechanism.
So the way I resolved my problem is, I created dependency property inside the UserControl and setting it whenever something changes in the usercontrol's viewmodel.
UserNameControl.xaml (usercontrol)
<UserControl x:Class="TestCustomUserControl.MyControls.UserNameControl"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:TestCustomUserControl.ViewModels"
xmlns:i="clr-namespace:System.Windows.Interactivity;assembly=System.Windows.Interactivity"
mc:Ignorable="d"
d:DesignHeight="300" d:DesignWidth="400">
<UserControl.Resources>
<local:UserNameViewModel x:Key="TheViewModel"/>
</UserControl.Resources>
<Grid x:Name="NameCtrlRoot" Background="White" DataContext="{StaticResource TheViewModel}">
<StackPanel>
<Grid>
<Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" />
<ColumnDefinition />
</Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<Grid.RowDefinitions>
<RowDefinition />
<RowDefinition />
<RowDefinition />
<RowDefinition />
<RowDefinition />
</Grid.RowDefinitions>
<TextBlock Grid.Row="0" Grid.Column="0" Text="First Name:" />
<TextBlock Grid.Row="1" Grid.Column="0" Text="Last Name: "/>
<TextBox Grid.Row="0" Grid.Column="1" x:Name="txtFirstName" Text="{Binding FirstName, Mode=TwoWay}">
<i:Interaction.Behaviors>
<!-- This behavior updates the binding after a specified delay
instead of the user having to lose focus on the TextBox. -->
<local:TextChangedDelayedBindingBehavior RefreshTimeMilliseconds="750" />
</i:Interaction.Behaviors>
</TextBox>
<TextBox Grid.Row="1" Grid.Column="1" x:Name="txtLastName" Text="{Binding LastName, Mode=TwoWay}">
<i:Interaction.Behaviors>
<!-- This behavior updates the binding after a specified delay
instead of the user having to lose focus on the TextBox. -->
<local:TextChangedDelayedBindingBehavior RefreshTimeMilliseconds="750" />
</i:Interaction.Behaviors>
</TextBox>
<TextBlock Grid.Row="3" Grid.Column="0" Text="fullname inside control:" />
<TextBlock Grid.Row="3" Grid.Column="1" Text="{Binding FullName}" />
<Border Height="1" Background="Black" Grid.Column="2" Grid.Row="4" />
</Grid>
</StackPanel>
</Grid>
BaseViewModel.cs
public class BaseViewModel : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
#region Implementation of INotifyPropertyChanged
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
#endregion
protected void NotifyPropertyChanged(string propName)
{
if (PropertyChanged != null)
PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propName));
}
}
UserNameViewModel.cs
public class UserNameViewModel : BaseViewModel
{
private String _firstName;
public String FirstName
{
get { return _firstName; }
set
{
_firstName = value;
NotifyPropertyChanged("FirstName");
OnNameChange();
}
}
private String _lastName;
public String LastName
{
get { return _lastName; }
set
{
_lastName = value;
NotifyPropertyChanged("LastName");
OnNameChange();
}
}
public Action NameChanged { get; set; }
private void OnNameChange()
{
FullName = String.Format("{0} {1}", FirstName, LastName);
if(NameChanged != null) NameChanged.Invoke();
}
private String _fullName;
public String FullName
{
get { return _fullName; }
set {
_fullName = value;
NotifyPropertyChanged("FullName");
}
}
}
UserNameControl.xaml.cs (Usercontrol code behind with DependencyProperty declaration)
public partial class UserNameControl : UserControl
{
private UserNameViewModel _TheViewModel;
public UserNameControl()
{
InitializeComponent();
_TheViewModel = Resources["TheViewModel"] as UserNameViewModel;
_TheViewModel.NameChanged = OnNameChanged;
}
public String SelectedFullName
{
get { return (String) GetValue(SelectedFullNameProperty); }
set { SetValue(SelectedFullNameProperty, value); }
}
public static readonly DependencyProperty SelectedFullNameProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("SelectedFullName", typeof (String), typeof (UserNameControl), null);
private void OnNameChanged()
{
SelectedFullName = _TheViewModel.FullName;
}
}
ConsumeName.xaml (Consumer navigation Page, user above usercontrol and pulls SelectedFullName into UserFullName)
<navigation:Page xmlns:my="clr-namespace:TestCustomUserControl.MyControls" x:Class="TestCustomUserControl.Views.ConsumeName"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
mc:Ignorable="d"
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:TestCustomUserControl.ViewModels"
xmlns:navigation="clr-namespace:System.Windows.Controls;assembly=System.Windows.Controls.Navigation"
d:DesignWidth="640" d:DesignHeight="480"
Title="ConsumeName Page">
<navigation:Page.Resources>
<local:ConsumeNameViewModel x:Key="TheConsumeNameViewModel"/>
</navigation:Page.Resources>
<Grid x:Name="LayoutRoot" DataContext="{StaticResource TheConsumeNameViewModel}">
<StackPanel>
<my:UserNameControl x:Name="MyNameControl" SelectedFullName="{Binding UserFullName, Mode=TwoWay}" />
<Grid>
<Grid.RowDefinitions>
<RowDefinition Height="10" />
<RowDefinition />
</Grid.RowDefinitions>
<Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<ColumnDefinition Width="Auto"/>
<ColumnDefinition />
</Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<TextBlock Grid.Row="1" Grid.Column="0" Text="Full Name in Parent: " />
<TextBlock Grid.Row="1" Grid.Column="1" Text="{Binding UserFullName}"/>
</Grid>
</StackPanel>
</Grid>
ConsumeNameViewModel.cs
public class ConsumeNameViewModel : BaseViewModel
{
private string _UserFullName;
public string UserFullName
{
get { return _UserFullName; }
set
{
if (value != _UserFullName)
{
_UserFullName = value;
NotifyPropertyChanged("UserFullName");
}
}
}
}

Silverlight 4: Pattern for displaying data with a bit of logic?

I'm building a wp7 app.
I have a UserControl that displays a news article headline, teaser, and image. The entire class is pretty short:
public partial class StoryControl : UserControl
{
public Story Story { get; private set; }
public StoryControl()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
internal StoryControl(Story story) : this()
{
this.Story = story;
Teaser.Text = story.Teaser;
Headline.Text = story.Title;
if (story.ImageSrc == null)
{
Thumbnail.Visibility = Visibility.Collapsed;
} else
{
Thumbnail.Source = new BitmapImage(story.ImageSrc);
}
}
}
And the corresponding XAML:
<Grid x:Name="LayoutRoot" Background="Transparent" Margin="0,0,0,20">
<Grid.RowDefinitions>
<RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
<RowDefinition Height="*" />
</Grid.RowDefinitions>
<Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" />
<ColumnDefinition Width="*" />
</Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<Image x:Name="Thumbnail" Grid.Column="0" Width="89" HorizontalAlignment="Left" VerticalAlignment="Top" />
<!-- sometimes there's a hanging word in the headline that looks a bit awkward -->
<TextBlock x:Name="Headline" Grid.Column="1" Grid.Row="0" Style="{StaticResource PhoneTextAccentStyle}" TextWrapping="Wrap" HorizontalAlignment="Left" FontSize="23.333" VerticalAlignment="Top" />
<TextBlock x:Name="Teaser" Grid.Column="0" Grid.ColumnSpan="2" Grid.Row="1" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Style="{StaticResource PhoneTextSubtleStyle}" TextWrapping="Wrap" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="384"/>
</Grid>
Is there a way to do with with less code-behind and more XAML? Some way to use binding to bind the text for Headline and Teaser to properties of the Story, while not crashing if Story is null?
About about the image? I've got a bit of logic there; is there some way to automatically do that in XAML, or am I stuck with that in C#?
Looks like a ViewModel is in order:
public class StoryViewModel
{
readonly Story story;
public StoryViewModel(Story story)
{
this.story = story;
}
public string Teaser { get { return story == null ? "" : story.Teaser; } }
public string Title { get { return story == null ? "" : story.Title; } }
public bool IsThumbnailVisible { get { return story != null && story.ImageSrc != null; } }
public BitmapImage Thumbnail { get { return IsThumbnailVisible ? new BitmapImage(story.ImageSrc) : null; } }
}
Making your codebehind nice and simple:
public partial class StoryControl : UserControl
{
public Story Story { get; private set; }
public StoryControl()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
internal StoryControl(Story story)
: this()
{
this.DataContext = new StoryViewModel(story);
}
}
And your XAML becomes a set of bindings:
<Grid x:Name="LayoutRoot" Background="Transparent" Margin="0,0,0,20">
<Grid.Resources>
<BooleanToVisibilityConverter x:Key="booleanToVisiblityConverter"/>
</Grid.Resources>
<Grid.RowDefinitions>
<RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
<RowDefinition Height="*" />
</Grid.RowDefinitions>
<Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" />
<ColumnDefinition Width="*" />
</Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<Image Visibility="{Binding IsThumbnailVisible, Converter={StaticResource booleanToVisiblityConverter}}" Source="{Binding Thumbnail}" Grid.Column="0" Width="89" HorizontalAlignment="Left" VerticalAlignment="Top" />
<!-- sometimes there's a hanging word in the headline that looks a bit awkward -->
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Title}" Grid.Column="1" Grid.Row="0" Style="{StaticResource PhoneTextAccentStyle}" TextWrapping="Wrap" HorizontalAlignment="Left" FontSize="23.333" VerticalAlignment="Top" />
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Teaser}" Grid.Column="0" Grid.ColumnSpan="2" Grid.Row="1" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Style="{StaticResource PhoneTextSubtleStyle}" TextWrapping="Wrap" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="384"/>
</Grid>
Ok, it would probably be possible to do this with just model (story) and view (xaml) via fallbackvalues and more complex converters, but i hope you'll find that viewmodels give you the most power in terms of testable, brick-wall-less, view-specific logic...

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