WPF style applies inconsistently - wpf

I have a targeted WPF style:
<Style x:Key="ImgFadeStyle"
TargetType="Image">
<Style.Triggers>
<Trigger Property="IsEnabled" Value="false">
<Setter Property="Opacity" Value=".5" />
</Trigger>
</Style.Triggers>
</Style>
I apply it to some images:
<Image Name="imgFirst"
Grid.Column="0"
Style="{StaticResource ImgFadeStyle}"
Source="pack://application:,,,/AppGUI;component/Images/Temp/resultset_first.png"
ToolTip="First"
MouseLeftButtonUp="imgFirst_MouseLeftButtonUp" />
<Image Name="imgLast"
Grid.Column="6"
Style="{StaticResource ImgFadeStyle}"
Source="pack://application:,,,/AppGUI;component/Images/Temp/resultset_last.png"
ToolTip="Last"
MouseLeftButtonUp="imgLast_MouseLeftButtonUp" />
In the codebehind, I set the IsEnabled property to "true" or "false". The first image always reacts as expected. The second image does not react to the property change. Does anyone know what is wrong?
Thanks.

This could possibly be an issue caused by Dependency Property value precedence, if you set the Opacity of the last image somewhere explicitly this might override the style's efforts.

Related

ElementName binding doesn't work for IsMouseOver in ControlTemplate?

I have a control template and I want to trigger some actions only if mouse is over a certain part of it. Here is the core of my template (simplified for demonstration):
<ControlTemplate TargetType="{x:Type graphicElements:MyTabItem}">
<Grid x:Name="templateRoot">
<Grid x:Name="templateChild" />
</Grid>
<ControlTemplate.Triggers>
<DataTrigger Binding="{Binding IsMouseOver, ElementName=templateChild}" Value="True">
<Setter Property="Background" TargetName="templateRoot" Value="Red" />
</DataTrigger>
</ControlTemplate.Triggers>
</ControlTemplate>
When I put ElementName as templateRoot it works and turns red. When I put it as templateChild it doesn't work... Why not?
In the simplified version of your code the binding to the templateRoot grid also won't work. The problem is, that WPF needs to perform Hit Tests on the elements to raise certain events or to update the IsMouseOver property. Since you don't have a background brush set for the grids, they will never receive mouse inputs, hence your trigger will never execute. Try this:
<Grid x:Name="templateRoot">
<Grid x:Name="templateChild" Background="Transparent"/>
</Grid>

Binding to the Items properties of an ItemsControl

I'm looking to a way to bind a Button Text or IsEnabled property for example to the IsChecked property in an ItemsControl
Here is my simplified source code :
<StackPanel>
<ItemsControl ItemsSource="{Binding Tasks}">
<ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal">
<TextBlock Margin="10,0,10,0" Text="{Binding Name}"/>
<CheckBox IsChecked="{Binding InProgress}"/>
<CheckBox IsChecked="{Binding Done}"/>
</StackPanel>
</DataTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
</ItemsControl>
<Button/>
</StackPanel>
I would like (for example) if all the "Done" CheckBoxes are Checked, to set Button Text to some value or to enable it. I thought doing this with Data Binding in Xaml using DataTriggers but I don't know how to do it.
Ca anyone give me a full xaml solution ?
New Answer
Sorry, I misunderstood the question. I would expose another property from your DataContext that simply returns true/false if all the items in the collection are checked or not, and base your Button's Text/IsEnabled off that property using a DataTrigger
<Style TargetType="{x:Type Button}">
<Setter Property="IsEnabled" Value="False" />
<Style.Triggers>
<DataTrigger Binding="{Binding IsAllChecked}" Value="True">
<Setter Property="IsEnabled" Value="True" />
</DataTrigger>
</Style.Triggers>
</Style>
Old Answer
DataTriggers simply take a binding, and check if the result is equal to some value.
<Style TargetType="{x:Type TextBox}">
<Setter Property="IsEnabled" Value="False" />
<Style.Triggers>
<DataTrigger Binding="{Binding Done}" Value="True">
<Setter Property="IsEnabled" Value="True" />
</DataTrigger>
</Style.Triggers>
</Style>
If you need to test more than one condition, you need a MultiDataTrigger
<Style TargetType="{x:Type TextBox}">
<Setter Property="IsEnabled" Value="False" />
<Style.Triggers>
<MultiDataTrigger>
<MultiDataTrigger.Conditions>
<Condition Binding="{Binding Path=InProgress}" Value="True" />
<Condition Binding="{Binding Path=Done}" Value="True" />
</MultiDataTrigger.Conditions>
<Setter Property="IsEnabled" Value="True" />
</MultiDataTrigger>
</Style.Triggers>
</Style>
Note that the default value of setter is part of the style. This is important because if you set the default value on the <TextBox> then it has a higher priority than triggered values, so triggered values are unable to change the current value.
You can change this line...
<Button/>
To this
<Button Content={Binding ButtonContent}/>
And set the 'ButtonContent' property in your ViewModel whenever your 'Done' check box gets checked.
Usually, the best way to do that is to synthesize the state you want to apply to your button into a property of your ViewModel.
The WPFy way in that case is for your ViewModel to expose a command that implements the action of your button.
The command in turns can react to changes in your data to signal if it is available or not, and thus will automaticaally disable/enable your button. An added bonus is that you can easily implement a menu for example, that will be properly enabled/disabled at no cost once you have your command.
It's been a long time since I had any chance to touch WPF, so I do not have any really useful links at hand, but if I were you I would learn about commands in WPF, they are a very important part of the MVVM architecture.

Databinding to XML in a DataTrigger in WPF

In a WPF application, I have correctly bound a DataTemplate to an XML node that looks like:
<answer answer="Tree", correct="false" score="10" />
In my application, I have a TextBlock with the answer in it. At first, I want it invisible, but when the correct attribute in the XML file changes to "true", it must become visible.
My DataTemplate is hooked up correctly, because everything else works. For example, if I change the answer attribute in the XML file (just for testing), it changes in my WPF view. But I'm having troubles with the visibility. This is my XAML:
<TextBlock Text="{Binding XPath=#answer}" Visibility="Hidden">
<TextBlock.Style>
<Style>
<Style.Triggers>
<DataTrigger Binding="{Binding XPath=#correct}" Value="true">
<Setter Property="TextBlock.Visibility" Value="Visible" />
</DataTrigger>
</Style.Triggers>
</Style>
</TextBlock.Style>
</TextBlock>
I'm guessing the Databinding in the DataTrigger isn't working correctly. Anyone have a clue?
I have run into the same problem with databound ToggleButtons. Try removing the Visibility="False" and replacing it with another DataTrigger that handles the incorrect case.
I think the issue is that the Visibility property is hard-coded. Try setting the Visibility in the style:
<TextBlock Text="{Binding XPath=#answer}">
<TextBlock.Style>
<Style TargetType="{x:Type TextBlock}">
<Setter Property="Visibility" Value="Hidden"/>
<Style.Triggers>
<DataTrigger Binding="{Binding XPath=#correct}" Value="true">
<Setter Property="TextBlock.Visibility" Value="Visible" />
</DataTrigger>
</Style.Triggers>
</Style>
</TextBlock.Style>
</TextBlock>
Sure, it works if you give a specific else case instead of just false. As in my case, it was {x:Null} and value. So when its value to bind is present, it will be true and TextBlock.Visibilty will be set using setters value and when binding path does not have any value inside it, i.e. null in my case, its simply {x:Null} :)

changing background color of container when textbox is in focus

I have a simple user control with a TextBox. I want to change the color of user control when the TextBox gets the focus. This is what I have:
<UserControl x:Class="OutLookContactList.ContactSearchControl"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
x:Name="root" MinHeight="30" Loaded="UserControl_Loaded">
<UserControl.Resources>
<Style x:Key="searchTextBoxStyle" TargetType="{x:Type TextBox}">
<Style.Triggers>
<Trigger Property="IsFocused" Value="true">
<Setter TargetName="root" Property="Background" Value="{StaticResource OnMouseOverColor}" />
</Trigger>
</Style.Triggers>
</Style>
</UserControl.Resources>
But I get the errot "TargetName property cannot be set on a style Setter". How can I Set the back ground color of user control when text box gets the focus?
Thanks a bunch
Will it work to wrap the contents of your UserControl inside a Border object? If so, you can simply style the Border like so:
<UserControl x:Class="Sample2.ContactSearchControl"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
Height="75" Width="300">
<Border>
<Border.Style>
<Style TargetType="Border">
<Setter Property="Background" Value="White" />
<Style.Triggers>
<DataTrigger Binding="{Binding IsFocused, ElementName=txtSearch}" Value="true">
<Setter Property="Background" Value="Black" />
</DataTrigger>
</Style.Triggers>
</Style>
</Border.Style>
<StackPanel>
<TextBox x:Name="txtSearch" Text="Search" />
<TextBox Text="Other" />
</StackPanel>
</Border>
</UserControl>
Update: (Answering Sheraz' Questions)
I'm not sure why ElementName doesn't work for accessing children within a UserControl. It might have something to do with the way the visual tree is constructed.
As for Trigger vs DataTrigger: Trigger is for dependency properties and DataTrigger is for databound properties (data or other controls). Since you are trying to style the Border, it makes more sense to place the DataTrigger there and have it watch the TextBox than to have the TextBox change the appearance of the Border.
As I understand it, the TargetName property of Setter is only applicable within a DataTemplate or ControlTemplate. (Info from Dr. WPF in this forum post)
If you were changing the background of the text box you need to remove the TargetName property:
<Style x:Key="searchTextBoxStyle" TargetType="{x:Type TextBox}">
<Style.Triggers>
<Trigger Property="IsFocused" Value="true">
<Setter Property="Background" Value="{StaticResource OnMouseOverColor}" />
</Trigger>
</Style.Triggers>
</Style>
and change the TextBox that wants this style to be:
<TextBox Style="{StaticResource searchTextBoxStyle}" .... />
However, as you want to change the value of the parent user control this won't give you want you want.
You could certainly do it in the code behind by adding a GotFocus event handler and putting the code to change the background colour in there.
Here's some XAML that works in Kaxaml:
<Page
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml">
<Page.Style>
<Style TargetType="Page">
<Setter Property="Background" Value="#CCCCD0" />
<Style.Triggers>
<DataTrigger Binding="{Binding ElementName=txtSearch, Path=IsFocused}"
Value="true">
<Setter Property="Background" Value="Black" />
</DataTrigger>
</Style.Triggers>
</Style>
</Page.Style>
<TextBox x:Name="txtSearch" Width="100"
HorizontalAlignment="Center" VerticalAlignment="Center" />
</Page>
You would change the Page object with your UserControl. I find it much easier to test these sorts of things out in a rapid prototyping tool such as Kaxaml before coding up the UserControl in VS.
Note that you have to set the default colour (in this case #CCCCD0) via a property setter and not via an attribute on the Page itself. This is because the attribute would override the value set by the trigger (because it's a style trigger), so even though the trigger would fire, it would always be trumpted by the local attribute specification, meaning that it wouldn't change. I only point this out because it's a fairly common gotcha.

TextBlock Text property can't be set via style trigger if non-empty - why?

The XAML below does not work (the text does not change when mousing over):
<Window.Resources>
<Style TargetType="TextBlock">
<Style.Triggers>
<Trigger Property="IsMouseOver" Value="true">
<Setter Property="Text" Value="hover"/>
</Trigger>
</Style.Triggers>
</Style>
</Window.Resources>
<Grid>
<TextBlock Text="original"/>
</Grid>
But, if the Text attribute is missing:
<Grid>
<TextBlock/>
</Grid>
The text does change on mouse over. Anybody knows the theory behind this?
It's a DependencyProperty precedence issue, when you actually set the property as in:
<TextBlock Text="original"/>
that takes precedence over the value set in the trigger.
see
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms743230.aspx

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