Is there a way to bind to the instance of another control? Something like this:
<Button x:Name="Foo" Content="Foo" />
<local:CustomControl OtherControl="{Binding Foo}" />
I've tried setting DataContext to "this" in the constructor of MainPage but it doesn't seem to work.
CustomControl is defined something like this:
class CustomControl
{
public FrameworkElement OtherControl { get; set; }
}
Not sure what you trying to do but in Silverlight 3 you can use element binding to bind to a property on a control.
<Button x:Name="Foo" Content="Foo" />
<local:CustomControl x:Name="control" Property="{Binding Path=Content, ElementName=Foo}" />
In code you could always analyze the binding and get the element from that?
control.GetBindingExpression(Property).ParentBinding.Source
It is impossible in Silverlight 2:
Silverlight 2 doesn’t allow you to bind one element to another element. Instead, all bindings are to data
objects. (You could get around this using an intermediate object, but the added inconvenience means
it’s rarely worthwhile.)
<Button x:Name="Foo" Content="Foo" />
<local:CustomControl x:Name="control" OtherControl="{Binding ElementName=Foo}" />
Related
I'm totally lost with dependancy objects and binding. I often get things working without understanding why and how, this question is about knowing what should be happening.
I have a tiny user control with the following XAML
<Grid>
<Image Source="{Binding Icon}"></Image>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Title}"></TextBlock>
</Grid>
My code behind has the following
public static readonly DependencyProperty IconProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("Icon", typeof(Image), typeof(MenuItem));
public Image Icon
{
get { return (Image)GetValue(IconProperty); }
set { SetValue(IconProperty, value); }
}
public static readonly DependencyProperty TitleProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("Title", typeof(String), typeof(MenuItem));
public string Title
{
get { return (string)GetValue(IconProperty); }
set { SetValue(IconProperty, value); }
}
My MainWindow is empty, other than a reference to this control and to the ResourceDictionary. In the MainWindow code behind, I set the DataContext in the constructor.
<Window x:Class="AppUi.MainWindow"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:loc="clr-namespace:AppUi.Control"
Title="">
//set up to Resource Dictionary - all binding and styling works fine :)
<loc:MenuItem Icon="{Binding MailIcon}" Title="{Binding MailTitle}"></loc:MenuItem>
In the ModelView for the MainWindow, I have the following 2 properties
private Image_mailIcon;
public Image MailIcon{
//inotifyproperty implementation
}
private string _mailTitle;
public string MailTitle{
//inotifyproperty implementation
}
My question is, in the UserControl, how do I do the binding? Since it's a user control within a MainWindow, and the MainWindow already has a datacontext, I think the UserControl will inherit the DataContext from the parent (From what I have read).
So, in my UserControl XAML, should I be binding to the MainWindow's Code Behind properties OR to the ViewModel properties?
In other words, should my UserControl be
<Grid>
<Image Source="{Binding MailIcon}"></Image>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding MailTitle}"></TextBlock>
</Grid>
OR
<Grid>
<Image Source="{Binding Icon}"></Image>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Title}"></TextBlock>
</Grid>
Or, because I'm using a DataContext and the UserControl inherits, do I even need the Dependancy Properties at all?
You normally don't want to overwrite DataContext passed through visual tree so you can use either ElementName or RelativeSource binding inside UserControl to change binding context. The easiest way to achive this is give UserControl some name and use it ElementName binding
<UserControl ... x:Name="myUserControl">
<!-- ... -->
<Grid>
<Image Source="{Binding Icon, ElementName=myUserControl}"/>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Title, ElementName=myUserControl}"/>
</Grid>
<!-- ... -->
</UserControl>
This way binding is DataContext independent. You can also create UserControl with assumption it will always work with only specific type of DataContext and then you just use Path from that view model type but then DataContext of that UserControl must always be of the view model it's designed for (mostly inherited through visual tree)
<UserControl ...>
<!-- ... -->
<Grid>
<Image Source="{Binding MailIcon}"/>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding MailTitle}"/>
</Grid>
<!-- ... -->
</UserControl>
I would also change type of Icon property from Image to ImageSource for example. You already have Image control inside your UserControl and you just want to bind its Source
in the UserControl, how do I do the binding? ... the UserControl will inherit the DataContext from the parent
That is correct, the UserControl will inherit the DataContext from the parent Window. Therefore you can data bind from the UserControl directly to the parent Window.DataContext. Please note that you would bind to whatever object has been set as the DataContext, regardless of whether that was the code behind or a separate view model class.
However, you don't have to data bind to the parent's DataContext object in this situation... you have other options. You could data bind to your own UserControl DependencyPropertys using a RelativeSource Binding like this:
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Title, RelativeSource={RelativeSource
AncestorType={x:Type YourPrefix:YourUserControl}}}" />
You could also name your UserControl and reference its properties like this:
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Title, ElementName=YourUserControlName}" />
While this example seems to be more concise, don't overlook the first example, as RelativeSource is a useful and powerful friend to have.
should I be binding to the MainWindow's Code Behind properties OR to the ViewModel properties?
That's your choice... what do you want or need to data bind to? you just need to know that a direct data binding will use the auto set DataContext value, so if you don't want to use that, then you can just specify a different data source for the Binding as shown above.
Finally, regarding the need to use DependencyPropertys... you only need to declare them if you are developing a UserControl that needs to provide data binding abilities.
Is there a convention when using MVVM to bind the items of a ListBox to a ViewModel?
In the below XAML, I'm creating a ListBox of buttons. The ListBox is bound to an observable collection from my ViewModel. I then want to bind the button's Command property to an ICommand. The problem is that when I add that binding, I'm binding against the data object, not the ViewModel.
Do I just change the MyListOfDataObjects property to be a list of ViewModels? If so, where do I instantiate those new objects? I'd prefer to use dependency injection since they will have several dependencies. Do I change the GetData lambda?
In general: what's considered good practice here? I wasn't able to find any examples for this situation, although I assume it is rather common.
I'm using the MVVMLight framework, but I'm willing to look at any other frameworks.
<Window x:Class="KeyMaster.MainWindow"
DataContext="{Binding Main, Source={StaticResource Locator}}">
<Window.Resources>
<ResourceDictionary>
<DataTemplate x:Key="MyDataTemplate">
<Button Command="{Binding ButtonPressedCommand}"
CommandParameter="{Binding .}"
Content="{Binding Name}" />
</DataTemplate>
</ResourceDictionary>
</Window.Resources>
<Grid x:Name="LayoutRoot">
<ListBox ItemsSource="{Binding MyListOfDataObjects}"
ItemTemplate="{StaticResource MyDataTemplate}">
<ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
<ItemsPanelTemplate>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal"
IsItemsHost="True" />
</ItemsPanelTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
</ListBox>
</Grid>
</Window>
I'm using the standard MVVMLight ViewModel:
using GalaSoft.MvvmLight;
using KeyMaster.Model;
using System.Collections.ObjectModel;
namespace KeyMaster.ViewModel
{
public class MainViewModel : ViewModelBase
{
private readonly IDataService _dataService;
private ObservableCollection<MyData> _myListOfDataObjects;
public MainViewModel(IDataService dataService)
{
_dataService = dataService;
_dataService.GetData(
(item, error) =>
{
if (error != null)
{
return;
}
MyListOfDataObjects = new ObservableCollection<MyData>(item);
});
}
public ObservableCollection<MyData> MyListOfDataObjects
{
get { return _myListOfDataObjects; }
set
{
if (_myListOfDataObjects == value) return;
_myListOfDataObjects = value;
RaisePropertyChanged(() => MyListOfDataObjects);
}
}
}
}
Thanks.
In MVVM, there is a clear seperation between the raw data (also known as the Model) and the ViewModel. The ViewModel is the one who is in charge of parsing the data and even modifying it to whatever form it wishes, before passing it to the View.
A simple example is having the Model as XML and having the ViewModel parse it, take only a specific property (for example a "Name") from each element and add them to a list. Only this list will be shown in the View.
That said, I guess you can see where I'm going - the Command should be in the ViewModel not in the Model. As you stated by yourself, you should keep as much of the UI logic out of both the VM and the Model.
If you have a specific command that does something specific on a certain type of data, you can want it in a more "general" type of ViewModel, you can use the CanExectue to only allow this command in specific cases. But still, the command should sit in the ViewModel.
In your specific case, I don't see a problem having the command in the ViewModel, and when raised it will do whatever you need on your data. You don't need a list of ViewModels, you need only one.
I would say it'd depend where you want the functionality of the button-press. If it is always related to the MyData object then (if possible) would it be so out of place to put the Command in the MyData object? (ps. I wouldn't call your MyData object ViewModels just because you're adding a command property to them, as they're not associated with a view)
Alternatively if you want the command in the VM then you could try bind the command using the datacontext of the window. ie something like;
<Button Command="{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource Mode=FindAncestor, AncestorType={x:Type Window}}, Path=DataContext.ButtonPressedCommand}"
CommandParameter="{Binding .}"
Content="{Binding Name}" />
Although I've had trouble in the past with that and went with adding the command to the individual objects.
I have a Tree View, I am using a Text block inside my Tree view Item.I can not able to bind text for text block When I used "Data context" for my Treeview Item. Can any one help me in fixing this Issue.
here is my xaml code..
<TreeViewItem ItemsSource="{Binding}" DataContext="{Binding XYZ}">
<TreeViewItem.Header>
<StackPanel>
<Image Source="abc.png" />
<TextBlock Text="{Binding BindContent}"></TextBlock>
</StackPanel>
</TreeViewItem.Header>
</TreeViewItem>
in My View Model, I am using
private string _content;
public string BindContent
{
get{ return _content;}
set{_content= value;}
}
In my constructor I am setting value for Content...
It is working fine when I used static content (or) when I am not using
Data context for Treeview Item. but for some other reasons i need to use Data Context.
How can I bind Content for Text block When I used Data Context for Tree view Item...
Thanks in Advance.
I think the problem could be that you are not implementing the INotifyPropertyChanged or you are not raising the notify property changed event. By default the text is null, then you set it in your ViewModel's constructor, but if it is not INotifyPropertyChanged then the view will not be notified.
Hope this could helps you to solve the problem...
Two things you can do,
Make sure your viewmodel implements INotifyPropertyChanged as suggested by Raul Otario and you raise the event on property change,
Secondly, you can use relative source in your binding something like, UserControl if your xaml is on usercontrol else Window
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Path=DataContext.BindContent,
RelativeSource={RelativeSource FindAncestor,
AncestorType={x:Type UserControl}}}"/>
Hope it helps...
For some reason I am unable to bind to ViewModel properties within DataTemplates on some controls. The result of the binding itself is unpredictable, sometimes it work, sometimes it doesn't. For this reason I am thinking of exposing the ViewModel in some other way besides setting it as DataContext.
First thought was to add ViewModel to Resources collection. I am using TabControls for UI, so whenever a view needs to be displayed, it is done through Data templates.
<DataTemplate DataType="{x:Type vm:SomeViewModel}">
<vw:SomeView />
</DataTemplate>
In this situation the view is instantiated automatically, and its DataContext is set to ViewModel set in template. Is there a way I can make this ViewModel available to View's Resources (ex with key=viewModel), so that I can use it like this:
<TextBlock Text="{Binding SomeProperty, Source={StaticResource viewModel}}" />
I have tried adding it in code, in the Loaded event for the View:
this.Loaded += (s, e) =>
{
this.Resources.Add("viewModel", this.DataContext);
};
Above code is executed before the error pops up that says static resource is not found at run-time, so the resource was added to collection.
Any ideas what can I do?
You can define ViewModel as a resource in XAML like that:
<vm:SomeViewModel x:Key="ViewModel"/>
If you want to Bind to DataContext in a DataTemplate you can use the following:
{Binding Path=DataContext, ElementName=uc}
assuming that your window/usercontrol name is x:Name="uc" , or as #stukselbax wrote:
{Binding Path=DataContext, RelativeSource={RelativeSource Mode=FindAncestor, AncestorType=[UserControl|Window]}}
I have another WPF databinding question... one that I haven't found an answer to anywhere, and this surprises me since it seems like it is very basic.
Essentially, I have a string in code behind that I would like to establish a two-way binding with with a textbox in my GUI. I thought it was a simple matter of creating a DependencyProperty in the code behind, and then tying it to the TextBox via a Source binding. The problem is, I can't get one or both parts right.
Here is my DependencyProperty definition from the code behind:
public static readonly DependencyProperty FilePathProperty = DependencyProperty.Register( "FilePath", typeof(string), typeof(Window1));
public string FilePath
{
get { return (string)GetValue(FilePathProperty); }
set { SetValue( FilePathProperty, value); }
}
And here is my XAML:
<Window
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
Title="ReportingInterface Test Application" Height="300" Width="536">
<Menu DockPanel.Dock="Top">
<MenuItem Name="menu_plugins" Header="File">
<MenuItem Header="Open">
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal">
<Label>File location:</Label>
<TextBox Name="text_filepath" Width="100" Text="{Binding Source=FilePath, Path=FilePath, Mode=TwoWay}"></TextBox>
<Button Margin="3" Width="20">...</Button>
</StackPanel>
</MenuItem>
</MenuItem>
</Menu>
The part I know is obviously wrong is the Binding part... I hate to waste people's time here with this question, but I honestly have come up short with every search (but now at least this request will populate subsequent google searches). :)
Thank you!
When you defined a binding in XAML, it binds to whatever is set as the DataContext for the object (or it's parent).
This typically means you'd set the DataContext of the Window to some class, and then the binding will work:
<TextBox Name="text_filepath" Width="100" Text="{Binding Path=FilePath, Mode=TwoWay}" />
You can fix this by adding, in the Window's constructor:
this.DataContext = this;
That will make the binding work against the window itself.
Alternatively, you can setup the binding to bind against a specific source object. If, in this case, you wanted to be able to use something else as the DataContext, but still want to bind to a Dependency Property defined in your Window, you could do:
<TextBox Name="text_filepath" Width="100" Text="{Binding Path=FilePath, RelativeSource={RelativeSource FindAncestor, AncestorType=Window}}"></TextBox>
This works by telling the binding to find the first ancestor of type "Window", and bind it the "FilePath" property on that object.
For what it's worth, I would recommend looking into the M-V-VM pattern (Model, View, ViewModel)- essentially, what you do is have this class that serves as the DataContext for your XAML, and all your fun exposed properties/commands/what have you are exposed as public members of that class (called a ViewModel).
Here's a good overview webcast:
MVVM video
And here's another from MSDN mag:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/dd419663.aspx