Is it possible to descend from Silverlight's System.Windows.Controls.Page? - silverlight

I would like to create a descendant of the Silverlight Navigation Framework's Page class, so I can perform common navigation code on all of my pages, but I can't figure out how to do this. When I create a descendant class, how do I reference that from my XAML files?
They currently have the "navigation:page" tag, so how do I replace that with "mypage" instead? Is there an annotation I need to add to my descendant?
Example:
I currently have the following:
<navigation:Page x:Class="Views.About"
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:navigation="clr-namespace:System.Windows.Controls;assembly=System.Windows.Controls.Navigation"
mc:Ignorable="d" d:DesignWidth="640" d:DesignHeight="480"
Title="About"
Style="{StaticResource PageStyle}">
...
</navigation:Page>
Instead, I would like (given a class MyOwnPage : System.Windows.Controls.Page)
<MyOwnPage ...>
...
</MyOwnPage>

I got it. Using the example above, you need to reference that subassembly in the opening tag, like so:
xmlns:views="clr-namespace:Views"
and then declare the root element as
<views:MyOwnPage ...>
...
</views:MyOwnPage>

Related

Can I get rid of xmlns tags (and maybe also resources) from my all user controls by using style/resource?

I would like to get rid of xmlns tags from every UserControl or Window file.
Can I do it by using styles or resources somehow?
Many of my user controls look like this:
<UserControl x:Class="Mst2.View.Controls.Modules.TimerEntryControl"
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:bcp="clr-namespace:ABitOfBinding"
xmlns:dc="clr-namespace:Mst2.Dictionaries"
xmlns:vm="clr-namespace:Mst2.ViewModel"
xmlns:vc="clr-namespace:Mst2.ValueConverters"
xmlns:c="clr-namespace:Mst2.View.Controls"
xmlns:mw="clr-namespace:Mst2.View.Windows"
mc:Ignorable="d"
d:DesignHeight="450" d:DesignWidth="800">
<UserControl.Resources>
<dc:Mst2Dictionaries x:Key="Dictionaries" />
<bcp:ByteBit2Bool x:Key="ByteBit2Bool" />
<BooleanToVisibilityConverter x:Key="BoolToVis" />
<vc:TimerTimeAndRangeConverter x:Key="TimerTimeAndRangeConverter"/>
</UserControl.Resources>
<!-- user control contents here -->
</UserControl>
If you instantiate resources from a specific namespace, it has to be declared. How would the parser know which type you are referring to? However, if these resources are located in a separate assembly, you can create a custom XAML namespace and map all of your CLR namespaces to it. This does not work if the resources and namespaces are defined in the same assembly.
Mapping CLR Namespaces to XML Namespaces in an Assembly
Add an XmlnsDefinition attribute for each CLR namespace with your desired XML namespace.
Specifies a mapping on a per-assembly basis between a XAML namespace and a CLR namespace, which is then used for type resolution by a XAML object writer or XAML schema context.
The XmlnsDefinitionAttribute takes two parameters: the XML/XAML namespace name, and the CLR namespace name. More than one XmlnsDefinitionAttribute can exist to map multiple CLR namespaces to the same XML namespace.
You need to insert the attribute at assembly level, so you have to own or be able to modify it.
This attribute, XmlnsDefinitionAttribute, is placed at the assembly level in the source code that produces the assembly.
For example for your Mst2 assembly, the attributes in AssemblyInfo.cs could look like below. You are free to choose the URI, it does not have a special meaning here beyond being an identifer.
[assembly: XmlnsDefinition("http://schemas.Mst2.com/2021", "Mst2.Dictionaries")]
[assembly: XmlnsDefinition("http://schemas.Mst2.com/2021", "Mst2.ViewModel")]
[assembly: XmlnsDefinition("http://schemas.Mst2.com/2021", "Mst2.ValueConverters")]
[assembly: XmlnsDefinition("http://schemas.Mst2.com/2021", "Mst2.View.Controls")]
[assembly: XmlnsDefinition("http://schemas.Mst2.com/2021", "Mst2.View.Windows")]
Additionally, you could define an XmlPrefix which is a hint to the designer to use this prefix when adding the XAML namespace to your XAML file.
[assembly: XmlnsPrefix("http://schemas.Mst2.com/2021", "mst2")]
Please note that this is respected by designers like in Visual Studio, but others might not.
Identifies a recommended prefix to associate with a XAML namespace for XAML usage, when writing elements and attributes in a XAML file (serialization) or when interacting with a design environment that has XAML editing features.
XAML processors or frameworks that incorporate XAML, or any process that performs XAML serialization, should generally honor the recommended prefix.
When consuming the namespace in your control (in a different assembly), it would look like this.
<UserControl x:Class="Mst2.View.Controls.Modules.TimerEntryControl"
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:mst2="http://schemas.Mst2.com/2021"
xmlns:bcp="clr-namespace:ABitOfBinding"
mc:Ignorable="d"
d:DesignHeight="450" d:DesignWidth="800">
<UserControl.Resources>
<mst2:Mst2Dictionaries x:Key="Dictionaries" />
<mst2:ByteBit2Bool x:Key="ByteBit2Bool" />
<BooleanToVisibilityConverter x:Key="BoolToVis" />
<mst2:TimerTimeAndRangeConverter x:Key="TimerTimeAndRangeConverter"/>
</UserControl.Resources>
<!-- user control contents here -->
</UserControl>
Another thing you could do is to create a resource dictionary for shared resources, e.g.:
<ResourceDictionary xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:bcp="clr-namespace:ABitOfBinding"
xmlns:dc="clr-namespace:Mst2.Dictionaries"
xmlns:vc="clr-namespace:Mst2.ValueConverters">
<dc:Mst2Dictionaries x:Key="Dictionaries" />
<bcp:ByteBit2Bool x:Key="ByteBit2Bool" />
<BooleanToVisibilityConverter x:Key="BoolToVis" />
<vc:TimerTimeAndRangeConverter x:Key="TimerTimeAndRangeConverter"/>
</ResourceDictionary>
Then you can include it everywhere you need it without having to specify the namespace for each resource or redeclaring the resources each time.
<UserControl x:Class="Mst2.View.Controls.Modules.TimerEntryControl"
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:bcp="clr-namespace:ABitOfBinding"
xmlns:vm="clr-namespace:Mst2.ViewModel"
xmlns:mw="clr-namespace:Mst2.View.Windows"
mc:Ignorable="d"
d:DesignHeight="450" d:DesignWidth="800">
<UserControl.Resources>
<ResourceDictionary>
<BooleanToVisibilityConverter x:Key="BoolToVis" />
<ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
<ResourceDictionary Source="MySharedResources.xaml"/>
</ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
</ResourceDictionary>
</UserControl.Resources>
<!-- User control contents here -->
</UserControl>
If these are common resources you could also simply add them to the application resource dictionary, then they would be available in each control, without any further ado.

Can MahApps.Metro be used in MvvmCross?

I was trying to use Mahapps Metro inside a WPF project using MvvmCross mvvm framework.
Both seem to use custom window control. Is there a way to use both in a project?
Metro window:
<mah:MetroWindow x:Class="TipCalc.WPF.MainWindow"
xmlns:mah="http://metro.mahapps.com/winfx/xaml/controls"
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:TipCalc.WPF"
xmlns:views="clr-namespace:MvvmCross.Platforms.Wpf.Views;assembly=MvvmCross.Platforms.Wpf"
mc:Ignorable="d"
Title="MainWindow"
Height="450"
Width="800">
<Grid>
</Grid>
</mah:MetroWindow>
MvvmCross Window:
<views:MvxWindow x:Class="TipCalc.WPF.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:TipCalc.WPF"
xmlns:views="clr-namespace:MvvmCross.Platforms.Wpf.Views;assembly=MvvmCross.Platforms.Wpf"
mc:Ignorable="d"
Title="MainWindow"
Height="450"
Width="800">
<Grid>
</Grid>
</views:MvxWindow>
The application runs either way. But with the Metro window in place, the rest of the application doesn't get set up(ie.-children views). With the MvvmCross window in place, the application works as usual but is not designed or colored.
Since multi inheritance is not supported in C#, this is not possible out of the box.
But a look at the source code of MvxWindow shows it's no big class. So a potential solution could be creation of your own window. This window, let's call it MvxMetroWindow, could collect both functionalities by inheriting from MetroWindow and aditionally all the source code of MvxWindow added (copied from the original source code) by yourself.
This would look like this:
using System;
using System.Windows;
using MahApps.Metro.Controls;
using MvvmCross;
using MvvmCross.Binding.BindingContext;
using MvvmCross.Platforms.Wpf.Views;
using MvvmCross.ViewModels;
using MvxApplication = MvvmCross.Platforms.Wpf.Views.MvxApplication;
namespace TipCalc.WPF
{
public class MvxMetroWindow : MetroWindow, IMvxWindow, IMvxWpfView, IDisposable
{
private IMvxViewModel _viewModel;
private IMvxBindingContext _bindingContext;
private bool _unloaded = false;
//... Further implemenetation of original MvxWindow
}
}
The custom window finally can be used like this:
<local:MvxMetroWindow x:Class="TipCalc.WPF.MainWindow"
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:TipCalc.WPF"
...

XAML Namespace Beginning with a Number

I have inheritted Button and am trying to add it to my main window.
It doesn't show up in the Toolbox. I have tried rebuilding several times.
I have tried adding xmlns:dc="clr-namespace:123Letters and xmlns:dc="clr-namespace:123Letters;assembly=123Letters to my MainWindow.
My MainWindow is:
<Window x:Class="MainWindow"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
x:Name="MainWin"
Title="123 Letters">
</Window>
My WeatherStationButton is:
<Button x:Class="WeatherStationButton"
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>
</Grid>
</Button>
and
Public Class WeatherStationButton
Inherits Button
Public Property WeatherStation As tblWeather
End Class
This is super simple stuff. I believe it's because XAML doesn't allow numbers in the first part of namespaces, but I can not find any reference to that anywhere, so I am asking if I am doing something wrong or is this one of XAML's "features"?
Just realized I could add my answer.
If your project name is 123Letters, you need to add an underscore before the first number when referencing it in XAML like, _123Letters.
Your clr-namespace declaration would then be:
xmlns:dc="clr-namespace:_123Letters"
and you could add your inherited button to your MainWindow like this:
<dc:WeatherStationButton x:Name="btnWS" />

Inconsistency between XAML intellisense and compiler for a control

I am converting some Silverlight XAML into WPF. I currently have a user control (MyControl) that is trying to include a couple of other controls that are custom buttons (MyButton1) that are within the same assembly. I have the following XAML that compiles and works in SL:
MyButton1
<UserControl
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"
x:Class="MyCompany.MyNamespace.MySubnamespace.MyButton1"
d:DesignWidth="640" d:DesignHeight="480">
...
</UserControl>
MyControl
<UserControl
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:somename="clr-namespace:MyCompany.MyNamespace.MySubnamespace;assembly=MyCompany.MyAssemblyName"
mc:Ignorable="d"
x:Class="MyCompany.MyNamespace.MySubnamespace.MyControl"
d:DesignWidth="640" d:DesignHeight="480">
<somename:MyButton1 />
</UserControl>
When I try to compile this code in WPF, I get the following error:
The tag 'MyButton1' does not exist in XML namespace 'clr-namespace:MyCompany.MyNamespace.MySubnamespace;assembly=MyCompany.MyAssemblyName.'
The weird thing is, if I comment out the <somename:MyButton1 /> line of code and compile and then type in <somename: IntelliSense gives me the option to autocomplete MyButton1. Which suggests that the control itself is in the assembly but for some reason it is not being seen when the MyControl XAML is being compiled.
For some context, I took the SL csproj file and made some modifications to it manually to make it a WPF csproj file. If there is a possibility that this caused this funkiness to happen, I'd be glad to share relevant portions of the project file.
Found the answer on an MSDN forum. Turns out that the assembly=MyCompany.MyAssemblyName line in my xmlns was screwing things up. Once I removed that line, I was able to reference the controls.
Related Link: http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en/wpf/thread/807c9b80-81c7-4f75-aa2f-8427e17b1a90
To reference the current assembly you must not type its name but leave it blank, i.e. assembly=, the other option is of course to drop it completely. (MSDN -> Mapping to Current Assemblies)

XAML namespace naming conventions

I have a C# WPF project, namespaced test. How should I name sub-namespaces in XAML?
<Window x:Class="test.MainWindow"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:test"
xmlns:local.c="clr-namespace:test.Converters"
xmlns:local.v="clr-namespace:test.Validators"
Title="MainWindow" Height="360" Width="640"> ....
Here I have a convention of separating the sub-packages with a period.. Is it okay?
Kind regards,
e.
A better practice, if possible, would be to separate the C# namespaces that you use from the WPF namespaces. This will also reduce the number of imports that you have. This can be done thanks to the XmlnsDefinition class.
<Window x:Class="test.MainWindow"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:test="http://whatever.com/test">
In the AssemblyInfo.cs of your libraries, you'll just need to add:
[assembly: XmlnsDefinition("http://whatever.com/test", "test")]
[assembly: XmlnsDefinition("http://whatever.com/test", "test.Converters")]
[assembly: XmlnsDefinition("http://whatever.com/test", "test.Validators")]
[assembly: XmlnsDefinition("http://whatever.com/test", "test.CustomControls")]
Note that this will only work if the classes are in a different assembly to the one you are referencing them from. Within the same assembly, you'll still need to use the C# namespaces.
You can even eliminate the imports altogether by adding your namespaces to the WPF XML namespace:
[assembly: XmlnsDefinition("http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation", "test")]
[assembly: XmlnsDefinition("http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation", "test.Converters")]
[assembly: XmlnsDefinition("http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation", "test.Validators")]
That allows people to write:
<Window x:Class="test.MainWindow"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
>
<!-- Note: no namespace prefix needed! -->
<YourCustomControl />
The typical WPF application really doesn't have a namespace convention for the XAML, other than the default xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml", the Blend design time namespace and xmlns:local which will typically refer to the current namespace.
In the scenario you described above, I've seen/used a few variants, i.e.,
<Window x:Class="test.MainWindow"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:test"
xmlns:c="clr-namespace:test.Converters"
xmlns:v="clr-namespace:test.Validators">
or
<Window x:Class="test.MainWindow"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:test"
xmlns:conv="clr-namespace:test.Converters"
xmlns:val="clr-namespace:test.Validators">
In the end, it's really up to whatever you and your team agree upon.

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