WPF: Avoid CustomCombobox to fire SelectedItem Binding when changing ItemsSource to CompositeCollection - wpf

I have a Custom Control derived from a ComboBox where I use a CompositeCollection to "merge" the original ItemsSource with additional Objects.
The problem is, that
CompositeCollection comp = new CompositeCollection();
SomeLogic();
ItemsSource = comp;
Setting the ItemsSource to the composed Collection is setting SelectedItem to null and invoke the Binding TwoWay Binding to the ViewModel. The SelectedItem bound property in my ViewModel will then be 'null'.
I am currently workarounding this by restoring the SelectedItem after assigning the ItemsSource:
Object priorSelectedItem = SelectedItem;
ItemsSource = comp;
SelectedItem = priorSelectedItem;
However this just fixes the value of SelectedItem in my ViewModel, a nasty sideeffect is that the when the Object changes some logic is run in the Setter. E.G. setting a
_dataHasChanged = true;
Flag.
So if there is any way I can
a) Prevent the SelectedItem to get reset whilst changing the ItemsSource
or
b) Prevent the SelectedItem-Binding to be Invoked whilst changing the ItemsSource
from within the Custom Control (Don't want to take care of 20 ViewModels because there is a flaw in the Control) I would greatly appreciate any input on how to do so :-)

I've managed to prevent this behavior by saving the SelectedItem-Binding in a private variable in OnApplyTemplate(), then clearing it and Set it back to the variable value after the new ItemsSource has been applied.
private Binding _selectedItemBinding;
public override void OnApplyTemplate()
{
base.OnApplyTemplate();
_selectedItemBinding = BindingOperations.GetBinding(this, ComboBox.SelectedItemProperty);
BindingOperations.ClearBinding(this, ComboBox.SelectedItemProperty);
if (BindingOperations.IsDataBound(this, ComboBox.SelectedItemProperty))
this.SetBinding(ComboBox.SelectedItemProperty, "dummy");
...
}
private void AdaptItemSource()
{
Object priorSelectedItem = SelectedItem;
ItemsSource = comp;
SelectedItem = priorSelectedItem;
BindingOperations.SetBinding(this, ComboBox.SelectedItemProperty, _selectedItemBinding);
}
This did the Trick for me

Related

Bind window model value to User Control Dependency Property

I have a simple user control that has One Dependency Property (the control is the model of itself)
The property is not directly bound to anything inside the user control, but I need to Bind its value to the Model of the window (or user control or whatever) where I put my user control.
If I set manually the User control Property Value, the property is modified correctly so I can assume the dependency property in the user control is working.
If I set the value to the Property binding it to my window model like this
<lctrl:InfoIconControl Grid.Row="0" Name="InfoIconTest" IconType="{Binding Path=IconTypeValue}"/>
Where IconTypeValue is a property of the window model, when I set the value of the window model property it does not change inside my user control. I presume I did something wrong but at the moment I have no clue.
Two possibilties come to mind as likely:
Your "model" (you mean viewmodel?) does not implement INotifyPropertyChanged and/or you're not firing the PropertyChanged when IconTypeValue changes its value.
You've done something like this.DataContext = this inside your UserControl and now the Binding is not working because it is looking for the IconTypeValue property inside your control, instead of looking for it in the "model".
Solution to option 1 is easy: implement the interface and make sure you fire the event when the property changes.
Solution to option 2 is simply removing any setting of DataContext inside your UserControl, and instead rely on relative Bindings (RelativeSource, ElementName, etc.) in your control's XAML. Or if you gotta set the DataContext of something, do NOT set the UserControl's one. Instead, set the DataContext of a container INSIDE the UserControl.
In your case, since you're using a viewmodel for your UserControl, using it as DataContext makes sense. But if you wanna support binding to the DependencyProperties of your UserControl, you're then gonna have to set your viewmodel as DataContext of something else... For instance, the first Grid in your XAML.
Just name the Grid:
<Grid x:Name="LayoutRoot">
And set your viewmodel as its DataContext:
InfoIconControlModel mModel;
public InfoIconControl()
{
InitializeComponent();
mModel = new InfoIconControlModel();
LayoutRoot.DataContext = mModel; // this.DataContext = mModel; <-- DON'T DO THIS
}
After that, the Bindings will begin to work. But you've made another typical mistake: you're only calling SetIcon from the CLR setter of your propertty.
public InfoIconType IconType
{
get
{
return (InfoIconType)this.GetValue(IconTypeProperty);
}
set
{
this.SetValue(IconTypeProperty, value);
this.SetIcon(); // <-- This won't work with Binding
}
}
Instead, you must also call it from the DependencyPropertyChanged callback (that you had already defined, on the other hand):
/// <summary>
/// Icon Type dependency Property
/// </summary>
public static readonly DependencyProperty IconTypeProperty = DependencyProperty.Register(
FLD_IconType, typeof(InfoIconType), typeof(InfoIconControl), new PropertyMetadata(InfoIconType.ICPlus, IconTypePropertyChanged));
///<summary>
///
///</summary>
private static void IconTypePropertyChanged(DependencyObject sender, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
InfoIconControl ic = sender as InfoIconControl;
ic.SetIcon(); // <-- This will work with Binding
}

Breakpoint (and extra code) not being hit in set block of data-bound property, though property value is being updated

I am using a custom control derived from a listbox, but with added features. One of the key features is the addition of a bindable SelectedItems property on the control, so the view model can keep track of the multiple selections made in the control. The binding does work - when you select items in the control, the view model's property is updated. However, I would like to add INotifyDataErrorInfo validation to the view model, so I implemented the interface and added a call to my validation method in the set block of the data-bound property in the viewmodel. For some reason that set block is never being called, even though I am updating the control in the view, and am verifying that the view model's property value is actually being changed correctly to match the control.
I know that when I use binding with standard WPF controls, such as a TextBox, the set block of the source (view model) property is called when the target (view) property changes. Is there a reason it wouldn't be called here?
The custom control I am using is found here. This is my property on the viewmodel (I have the console output there just to ensure the code isn't being called):
private ObservableCollection<Car> _testListSelections;
public ObservableCollection<Car> testListSelections
{
get
{
return _testListSelections;
}
set
{
Console.WriteLine("Value changed.");
_testListSelections = value;
OnPropertyChanged("testListSelections");
Validate();
}
}
This is my XAML (note that I didn't need to use Mode=TwoWay here as I am using an ObservableCollection, but I did try specifying Mode=TwoWay and the set block still didn't get hit):
<src:MultiComboBox SelectionMode="Multiple"
VerticalAlignment="Center"
ItemsSource="{Binding testList}"
SelectedItems="{Binding testListSelections, ValidatesOnNotifyDataErrors=True}"/>
This is the SelectedItems property on the custom control (the author overrode the base read-only SelectedItems property in order to allow binding):
/// <summary>
/// The SelectedItems dependency property. Access to the values of the items that are
/// selected in the selectedItems box. If SelectionMode is Single, this property returns an array
/// of length one.
/// </summary>
public static new readonly DependencyProperty SelectedItemsProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("SelectedItems", typeof(IList), typeof(BindableListBox),
new FrameworkPropertyMetadata(
(d, e) =>
{
// When the property changes, update the selected values in the selectedItems box.
(d as BindableListBox).SetSelectedItemsNew(e.NewValue as IList);
}));
/// <summary>
/// Get or set the selected items.
/// </summary>
public new IList SelectedItems
{
get
{
return GetValue(SelectedItemsProperty) as IList;
}
set { SetValue(SelectedItemsProperty, value); }
}
You should perform the validation in the OnCollectionChanged event of the list.
The SelectedItems list should be set only once, and then changes are made to the same list.
You can then check if the operation is Add, Remove or Reset, and perform validation accordingly.

Databind Combobox in WPF

I'm trying to databind a combobox in WPF for the first time and I can't get it to happen.
The image below shows my code, can you please tell me what I am missing? I only want graphic stuff in the xaml.
private void Window_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
Patient p = new Patient();
this.cbPatient.DataContext = p.SelfListAll();
this.cbPatient.DisplayMemberPath = "Name";
this.cbPatient.SelectedValuePath = "PatientIDInternal";
}
...
Short explanation: Just make the following change to your XAML:
<ComboBox ItemsSource="{Binding Path=patientList}" />
Then, in your Window_Loaded event handler, just add
this.DataContext = this
Then make a new member called patientList of type ObservableCollection<Patient>.
Long explanation:
You don't have a binding set up. You need to create one through XAML like this:
<ComboBox ItemsSource="{Binding Path=patientList}" />
Then, the combobox will look for a member or property called "patientList" on the object that is set as its DataContext. I'd recommend using an ObservableCollection for patientList.
Alternatively, to create one in code, you can follow the examples here:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms752347.aspx#specifying_the_binding_source
Binding myBinding = new Binding("patientList");
myBinding.DataContext = someObject; //whatever object has 'patientList' as a member
mycombobox.SetBinding(ComboBox.ItemsSourceProperty, myBinding);
This will set a binding on the mycombobox ComboBox with a path of patientList and a DataContext of someObject. In other words, mycombobox will show the contents of someObject.patientList (which would ideally be some ObservableCollection, so that updates to the collection notify the binding to update).
You need to actually add the binding, e.g.:
Binding binding = new Binding();
binding.Source = MySourceObject;
binding.Path = new PropertyPath("MyPropertyPath");
binding.Mode = BindingMode.OneWay;
BindingOperations.SetBinding(cbPatient, SomeDependencyProperty, binding);
Ok, here is the answer to how to populate a combobox in WPF. First, thanks to everyone above who made suggestions. The part I was missing was that I was not populating the ItemsSource property but the DataContext property. Again, thanks to everyone for their help.
private void Window_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
Patient p = new Patient();
this.cbPatient.ItemsSource = p.SelfListAll();
this.cbPatient.DisplayMemberPath = "Name";
this.cbPatient.SelectedValuePath = "PatientIDInternal";
this.cbPatient.SelectedIndex = 0;
}
You need to set the ItemsSource property relative to the DataContext:
cbPatient.SetBinding(ItemsSourceProperty, new Binding());
EDIT
The ItemsSource property of the ComboBox is the property that should point to the collection of items to be shown.
The collection you are interested in, is in the DataContext.
The Binding is an object that keeps track of changes of the collection and reports them to the ComboBox and its Path is relative to the object in the DataContext.
Because the Binding also needs to know the ComboBox you use the static SetBinding method that ties the connection between ComboBox and the Binding.
As in your code the collection itself is in the DataContext, the Path is empty.
The ItemsSource property should point to the collection of Patients. Because the collection of Patients is already in the DataContext, the Binding's Path property is empty.
Suppose an class named Hospital has two properties: Patients and Docters (and perhaps more: Rooms, Appointments, ...) and you set the DataContext of the ComboBox to an instance of Hospital. Then you would have to set the Binding's Path Property to "Patients"
Now the ComboBox will display each item (Patient) in the collection. To specify how a single Patient should be displayed you need to set the ItemTemplate property of the ComboBox.

Silverlight DataGrid binding issues after refreshing or setting selectedIndex=-1

I have a datagrid and a combobox on the form. The combobox is bound to the selectedItem of the datagrid.
I load things fine and if i select different rows the combobox is updated correcly.
If however I set datagrid.selectedIndex=-1 after it loads (so that the first row is not selected) the combobox binding no longer works. This is a problem.
I also have another scenario where the exact thing occurs. If i filter the datagrid, the binding to the combobox also stops working.
I am binding the datagrid to a CollectionViewSource like the following where _codes is an ObservableCollection
_ocvsCode = (CollectionViewSource)this.Resources["cvsCode"];
_ocvsCode.Source = _codes;
dataGrid1.ItemsSource = _ocvsCode.View;
I don't know why the binding to the combobox is failing after some operation on the datagrid.
The appropriate solution in this case is to bind the datagrid selecteditem to some variable, and to then bind the other controls to that variable as well. It is generally bad practice to bind UIElement properties directly to other UIElement properties. This will also make debugging the problem you seem to be having with coercing the selecteditem property to the combo-box.
I have come across the same problem, where a ComboBox is bound to a the value of the SelectedItem of a DataGrid.
The ComboBox control breaks when the data it is binding becomes null, and never recovers. I'm not sure why that is, but it seems to me to be a bug. When the DataGrid sorts a column, it first sets its SelectedItem to null, performs the sort, and then resets SelectedItem to the original value. When the SelectedItem becomes null, the ComboBox breaks.
Here's my work around:
Create a SelectedItem property on your class that is being used for the DataContext. Perform a check on the setter that prevents it from being set to null. Bind against this property with your DataGrid and ComboBox.
public YourItem SelectedItem
{
get { return _selectedItem; }
set
{
if (value == _selectedItem || value == null)
return;
_selectedItem = value;
RaisePropertyChanged("SelectedItem");
}
}

Update all bindings in UserControl at once

I need to update all the bindings on my UserControl when its visibility changes to Visible. Pretty much all my bindings are bound to the DataContext property of the user control so I'm trying to update the target of that binding:
BindingOperations.GetBindingExpressionBase(this, UserControl.DataContextProperty).UpdateTarget();
But I get null as the result of GetBindingExpression(..) method and I'm wondering if I'm using this wrong.
Also, is there any other good way to refresh all bindings on the control (which use DataContext as the source).
Well, you could just re-assign the DataContext:
var dataContext = DataContext;
DataContext = null;
DataContext = dataContext;
FYI, resetting the property to its value (i.e.DataContext = DataContext) won't work.
You're using the BindingOperations.GetBindingExpressionBase method on the wrong property. You have to use it on the properties which are binding to the DataContext property, not the DataContext property itself.

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