MVVM Invoke Method in View (from ControlTemplate via ViewModel) - wpf

Question

I would like to know how the following problem can be solved WITHOUT using Event Aggregation. This is for WPF 3.5 SP1, so the CallMethodBehavior is not available.
Simple Scenario: A click on a button inside a ControlTemplate needs to be triggered to the VM. I used CaliburnMicro's ActionMessage which worked fine. Inside the ViewModel I want to trigger a method inside the View, which only starts a custom transition (no real logic). I tried many things, but I did not work out.
I created a Property in my view, which could call the method but I am not able to use Triggers to set a new value for the property, because I can't tell the setter to target a property outside the controltemplate.
So in essence I want to update a Property in the viewmodel and trigger a set-property in the view class. Or if you have any idea how to get around this at all: I am open to new ideas! :D
Regards
Gope

Answer 1

i think the most simple way is to expose an event from your vm and subscribe to it in your view?
i used this for dialogs to send DialogResult from vm

Answer 2

I found a solution I can live with: I ported the CallMethodAction to 3.5 and wrote my own PropertyChangedTrigger. It's pretty simple to call a method inside the view via a PropertyChange in the viewmodel - Kids: don't try this at home. It's only for special scenarios! :D
Find my code below:
usage:
xmlns:i="clr-namespace:System.Windows.Interactivity;assembly=System.Windows.Interactivity"
<i:Interaction.Triggers >
<Framework:PropertyChangedTrigger Binding="{Binding StartTransition}" Value="True">
<Framework:CallMethodAction MethodName="ApplyTransition" />
</Framework:PropertyChangedTrigger>
</i:Interaction.Triggers>
PropertyChangedTrigger:
public class PropertyChangedTrigger : TriggerBase<DependencyObject>
{
public static readonly DependencyProperty BindingProperty = DependencyProperty.Register("Binding", typeof(object), typeof(PropertyChangedTrigger), new PropertyMetadata(new PropertyChangedCallback(OnBindingChanged)));
public static readonly DependencyProperty ValueProperty = DependencyProperty.Register("Value", typeof(object), typeof(PropertyChangedTrigger), new PropertyMetadata(null));
public object Binding
{
get
{
return base.GetValue(BindingProperty);
}
set
{
base.SetValue(BindingProperty, value);
}
}
public object Value
{
get
{
return base.GetValue(ValueProperty);
}
set
{
base.SetValue(ValueProperty, value);
}
}
protected virtual void EvaluateBindingChange(object args)
{
var propertyChangedArgs = (DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs)args;
string newValue = propertyChangedArgs.NewValue.ToString();
bool equal = string.Equals(newValue, Value.ToString(),StringComparison.InvariantCultureIgnoreCase);
if(equal)
{
InvokeActions(args);
}
}
private static void OnBindingChanged(DependencyObject sender, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs args)
{
((PropertyChangedTrigger)sender).EvaluateBindingChange(args);
}
}
CallMethodAction:
public class CallMethodAction : TargetedTriggerAction<FrameworkElement>
{
private List<MethodDescriptor> methodDescriptors = new List<MethodDescriptor>();
public static readonly DependencyProperty MethodNameProperty = DependencyProperty.Register("MethodName", typeof(string), typeof(CallMethodAction), new PropertyMetadata(new PropertyChangedCallback(OnMethodNameChanged)));
public static readonly DependencyProperty TargetObjectProperty = DependencyProperty.Register("TargetObject", typeof(object), typeof(CallMethodAction), new PropertyMetadata(new PropertyChangedCallback(OnTargetObjectChanged)));
protected override void OnAttached()
{
base.OnAttached();
this.UpdateMethodInfo();
}
protected override void OnDetaching()
{
this.methodDescriptors.Clear();
base.OnDetaching();
}
private static void OnMethodNameChanged(DependencyObject sender, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs args)
{
((CallMethodAction)sender).UpdateMethodInfo();
}
private static void OnTargetObjectChanged(DependencyObject sender, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs args)
{
((CallMethodAction)sender).UpdateMethodInfo();
}
private static bool AreMethodParamsValid(ParameterInfo[] methodParams)
{
if (methodParams.Length == 2)
{
if (methodParams[0].ParameterType != typeof(object))
{
return false;
}
if (!typeof(EventArgs).IsAssignableFrom(methodParams[1].ParameterType))
{
return false;
}
}
else if (methodParams.Length != 0)
{
return false;
}
return true;
}
protected override void Invoke(object parameter)
{
if (base.AssociatedObject != null)
{
MethodDescriptor descriptor = this.FindBestMethod(parameter);
if (descriptor != null)
{
ParameterInfo[] parameters = descriptor.Parameters;
if (parameters.Length == 0)
{
descriptor.MethodInfo.Invoke(this.Target, null);
}
else if ((((parameters.Length == 2) && (base.AssociatedObject != null)) && ((parameter != null) && parameters[0].ParameterType.IsAssignableFrom(base.AssociatedObject.GetType()))) && parameters[1].ParameterType.IsAssignableFrom(parameter.GetType()))
{
descriptor.MethodInfo.Invoke(this.Target, new object[] { base.AssociatedObject, parameter });
}
}
else if (this.TargetObject != null)
{
throw new ArgumentException(string.Format(CultureInfo.CurrentCulture, "No valid method found.", new object[] { this.MethodName, this.TargetObject.GetType().Name }));
}
}
}
private MethodDescriptor FindBestMethod(object parameter)
{
if (parameter != null)
{
parameter.GetType();
}
return this.methodDescriptors.FirstOrDefault(methodDescriptor => (!methodDescriptor.HasParameters || ((parameter != null) && methodDescriptor.SecondParameterType.IsAssignableFrom(parameter.GetType()))));
}
private void UpdateMethodInfo()
{
this.methodDescriptors.Clear();
if ((this.Target != null) && !string.IsNullOrEmpty(this.MethodName))
{
foreach (MethodInfo info in this.Target.GetType().GetMethods(BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Instance))
{
if (this.IsMethodValid(info))
{
ParameterInfo[] parameters = info.GetParameters();
if (AreMethodParamsValid(parameters))
{
this.methodDescriptors.Add(new MethodDescriptor(info, parameters));
}
}
}
this.methodDescriptors = this.methodDescriptors.OrderByDescending<MethodDescriptor, int>(delegate(MethodDescriptor methodDescriptor)
{
int num = 0;
if (methodDescriptor.HasParameters)
{
for (Type type = methodDescriptor.SecondParameterType; type != typeof(EventArgs); type = type.BaseType)
{
num++;
}
}
return (methodDescriptor.ParameterCount + num);
}).ToList<MethodDescriptor>();
}
}
private bool IsMethodValid(MethodInfo method)
{
if (!string.Equals(method.Name, this.MethodName, StringComparison.Ordinal))
{
return false;
}
if (method.ReturnType != typeof(void))
{
return false;
}
return true;
}
public void InvokeInternal()
{
if (AssociatedObject != null)
{
foreach (
MethodInfo info in AssociatedObject.GetType().GetMethods(BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Instance))
{
if (IsMethodValid(info))
{
info.Invoke(AssociatedObject, new object[0]);
}
}
}
}
public string MethodName
{
get
{
return (string)base.GetValue(MethodNameProperty);
}
set
{
base.SetValue(MethodNameProperty, value);
}
}
private object Target
{
get
{
return (TargetObject ?? base.AssociatedObject);
}
}
public object TargetObject
{
get
{
return base.GetValue(TargetObjectProperty);
}
set
{
base.SetValue(TargetObjectProperty, value);
}
}
private class MethodDescriptor
{
public MethodDescriptor(MethodInfo methodInfo, ParameterInfo[] methodParams)
{
MethodInfo = methodInfo;
Parameters = methodParams;
}
public bool HasParameters
{
get
{
return (Parameters.Length > 0);
}
}
public MethodInfo MethodInfo { get; private set; }
public int ParameterCount
{
get
{
return Parameters.Length;
}
}
public ParameterInfo[] Parameters { get; private set; }
public Type SecondParameterType
{
get
{
if (Parameters.Length >= 2)
{
return Parameters[1].ParameterType;
}
return null;
}
}
}
}
Hope this helps anybode. All questions are welcome! Remeber: all this can be found in the Expression Blend SDK 4. This code is only for people who are forced to work with older versions like 3.5
Regards
Gope
Gope