Table layout in WPF - wpf

I'm very new to WPF, so I've just started making a very simple Memory card game just to learn the syntax and such. The game is where all the cards are facing down, you flip two over and if they match you remove them, otherwise reflip them down and try to remove all the cards in the shortest number of flips. Like I said, very simple... :)
My question is, is there no table element like in HTML so I can easily put the cards in a uniform layout instead of having to mess with margins?

Here's an example with it using the UniformGrid as Matt Hamilton suggested.
First, lets create the classes and data that we will be using.
Each card will be represented by a Card object, and have a Face property:
public class Card
{
public string Face { get; set; }
public Card() { }
}
Next, we will need a class that has our collection of Cards, and also a property that lets us set the number of cards. For the CardCollection we can use an ObservableCollection since that will automaticaly notify the UI when a Card is added or removed. The NumberOfCards property will need it's own method to notify the UI, for this we can implement the INotifyPropertyChanged interface. We'll also want a property that represents the number of Rows/Columns to use, this will just be the square root of our NumberOfCards:
public class Cards : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private int myNumberOfCards;
public int NumberOfCards
{
get { return this.myNumberOfCards; }
set
{
this.myNumberOfCards = value;
NotifyPropertyChanged("NumberOfCards");
// Logic is going in here since this is just an example,
// Though I would not recomend hevily modifying the setters in a finalized app.
while (this.myNumberOfCards > CardCollection.Count)
{
CardCollection.Add(new Card { Face = (CardCollection.Count + 1).ToString() });
}
while (this.myNumberOfCards < CardCollection.Count)
{
CardCollection.RemoveAt(CardCollection.Count - 1);
}
NotifyPropertyChanged("CardColumns");
}
}
public int CardColumns
{
get
{
return (int)Math.Ceiling((Math.Sqrt((double)CardCollection.Count)));
}
}
private ObservableCollection<Card> myCardCollection;
public ObservableCollection<Card> CardCollection
{
get
{
if (this.myCardCollection == null)
{ this.myCardCollection = new ObservableCollection<Card>(); }
return this.myCardCollection;
}
}
public Cards(int initalCards)
{
NumberOfCards = initalCards;
}
#region INotifyPropertyChanged Members
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
private void NotifyPropertyChanged(String info)
{
if (PropertyChanged != null)
{
PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(info));
}
}
#endregion
}
Finally, we can set this as our DataContext in the Window, and bind to our Cards class in the XAML. For the XAML I used a simple ItemsControl, so that it isn't selectable, and I set the DataTemplate to be a button, so that each card can be clicked on, that's all that is needed!
public partial class Window1 : Window
{
public Window1()
{
InitializeComponent();
this.DataContext = new Cards(25);
}
}
<Window x:Class="Sample_BoolAnimation.Window1"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
Title="Window1"
Height="300"
Width="300">
<Grid>
<DockPanel>
<DockPanel DockPanel.Dock="Top">
<TextBlock Text="Number of Cards:" />
<TextBox Text="{Binding NumberOfCards, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}" />
</DockPanel>
<ItemsControl ItemsSource="{Binding CardCollection}">
<ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
<ItemsPanelTemplate>
<UniformGrid Columns="{Binding CardColumns}" />
</ItemsPanelTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
<ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<Button Content="{Binding Face}" HorizontalAlignment="Stretch" VerticalAlignment="Stretch" />
</DataTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
</ItemsControl>
</DockPanel>
</Grid>
</Window>
Another thing that I would recomend looking at is Josh Smith's ContentControl3D implementation. As that can give you the 'flipping' behavior that you are looking for implementing in the Card class quite nicely.

I'd recommend UniformGrid for your scenario. A quick search yielded this article which includes some code and screenshots that might help.

There is a Table in WPF, here's a good article on getting started with it. From experience the Table in WPF is not that easy to use and using a Grid is generally a better option.

Related

WPF: Placing game pieces on board

I'm currently creating a board game in WPF. I'm creating my board in my PlayerViewModel so I have a nice 10x10 board. I also create pieces that the player starts with (4). Here is where I get stuck, because I'm not quite sure if it's possible to just put the player's pieces in my GamePiece.xaml the way I've done it since this is the "component" that creates the whole board for me. The circle/image is the component I want as a player's disc.
I bind this into my GameView.xaml, however the problem is that I want to have circles as my pieces in the game. Obviously here I'm just creating the whole board and so it's also creating the pieces (circles/photos) and I can't seem to manipulate this and decide how many I want to show on the board in the beginning. I have tried different ways, like put the pieces on specific coordinates and just having the color of the square it's taking up on the board change, but it doesn't look very nice.
First, you would create a ListView and configure it to place the items in rows (by using WrapPanel as ItemsPanel and setting the width and height for the ListView), and -as you mentioned- you can use BoardPiece UserControl as ItemTemplate.
Your GameView.xaml can be something similar to this
<UserControl
x:Class="GameView">
<StackPanel Orientation="Vertical">
<ListView
Width="600"
Height="500"
ItemsSource="{Binding BoardPieces}"
ScrollViewer.HorizontalScrollBarVisibility="Disabled">
<ListView.ItemsPanel>
<ItemsPanelTemplate>
<WrapPanel Orientation="Horizontal" />
</ItemsPanelTemplate>
</ListView.ItemsPanel>
<ListView.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<testingThings:BoardPiece Margin="0" />
</DataTemplate>
</ListView.ItemTemplate>
</ListView>
<Button
Width="100"
Margin="8"
Click="ButtonBase_OnClick"
Content="Fill All" />
</StackPanel>
</UserControl>
Then, Configure the ViewModel: create your items and store them in an ObservableCollection to bind them later with the ListView..
public class GameViewViewModel
{
public ObservableCollection<BoardPieceItem> BoardPieces { set; get; } =
new ObservableCollection<BoardPieceItem>();
public GameViewViewModel()
{
for (var i = 0; i < 10; i++)
for (var j = 0; j < 10; j++)
{
// random coloring at initialization, do it as you want..
BoardPieces.Add(new BoardPieceItem
{
Index = (i, j),
RectangleColor = "#00FF00", // green
EllipseColor = (i + j) % 2 == 0
? "#00FFFFFF" // transparent
: "#000000", // Black
});
}
}
}
Now, Bind the ViewModel with the View
public partial class GameView
{
public GameView()
{
InitializeComponent();
DataContext = new GameViewViewModel();
}
private void ButtonBase_OnClick(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
if (sender is Button { DataContext: TestDialogVm vm })
{
foreach (var item in vm.BoardPieces)
{
item.EllipseColor = "#0000FF";
}
}
}
}
In BoardPiece.xaml there is no need to use Converters
<UserControl
x:Class="SharedModule.Views.TestLab.BoardPiece"
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:testLab="clr-namespace:SharedModule.Views.TestLab"
d:DataContext="{d:DesignInstance testLab:BoardPieceItem}"
MouseDown="UIElement_OnMouseDown"
mc:Ignorable="d">
<Grid>
<Rectangle
Width="45"
Height="45"
Fill="{Binding RectangleColor}"
Stroke="Black"
StrokeThickness="1.3" />
<Ellipse
Width="20"
Height="20"
Fill="{Binding EllipseColor}" />
</Grid>
</UserControl>
Finally, Configure the BoardPieceItem to make it possible to update the game board at runtime..
public class BoardPieceItem : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public (int, int) Index { get; set; }
private string _rectangleColor;
public string RectangleColor
{
get => _rectangleColor;
set
{
_rectangleColor = value;
OnPropertyChanged();
}
}
private string _ellipseColor;
public string EllipseColor
{
get => _ellipseColor;
set
{
_ellipseColor = value;
OnPropertyChanged();
}
}
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
protected virtual void OnPropertyChanged([CallerMemberName] string propertyName = null)
{
PropertyChanged?.Invoke(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
}
Now you are all set, see how UIElement_OnMouseDown will update the item's color, and ButtonBase_OnClick will update the cells of the board at all (I could go all the way MVVM, but used some events in a hurry).
This is how the game looks like at my side

Change Binding at runtime and save class instance WPF

I am writing a WPF program write a program on .NET 4.5 which will hold a lot of settings inside and I am faced with several problems.
For example, I have a camera and I need to create another instance of that camera settings at runtime. For XAML page I have a lot of bindings and now for the second instance I need to clear them an use bindings for new instance of that class in which I hold properties for that settings (If I am thinking correctly, of course) So, I have 2 questions:
How do I change my binding so that I can write the minimum amount of code possible (please, keep in mind that I don't know how many instances will be created)?
How I can create second, third, etc. instances of a class and to lose objects in memory because I need to hold every instance of each class during runtime and just change bindings while switching between these instances.
Create a view model that manages and exposes the settings for you. Use an additional property to provide the currently selected settings:
public class CameraSettings
{
public string Title { get; set; }
public bool Grayscale { get; set; }
}
public class CameraViewModel : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private CameraSettings _SelectedSettings;
private List<CameraSettings> _Settings;
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
public IEnumerable<CameraSettings> Settings
{
get { return _Settings; }
}
public CameraSettings SelectedSettings
{
get { return _SelectedSettings; }
set
{
if (_SelectedSettings != value)
{
_SelectedSettings = value;
if (PropertyChanged != null)
{
PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs("SelectedSettings"));
}
}
}
}
public CameraViewModel()
{
_Settings = new List<CameraSettings>()
{
{ new CameraSettings() { Title = "BlackWhite", Grayscale = true } },
{ new CameraSettings() { Title = "TrueColor", Grayscale = false } }
};
}
}
Then you can bind your view to this view model. Example view:
<Window.DataContext>
<local:CameraViewModel />
</Window.DataContext>
<StackPanel>
<ComboBox ItemsSource="{Binding Settings}" SelectedItem="{Binding SelectedSettings, Mode=TwoWay}">
<ComboBox.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<Label Content="{Binding Title}" />
</DataTemplate>
</ComboBox.ItemTemplate>
</ComboBox>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding SelectedSettings.Grayscale}" />
</StackPanel>

How to use CollectionViewSource with design time data in Expression Blend?

I wonder how I can show design time data in Expression Blend that is located inside a SampleData.xaml using a CollectionViewSource? Before changing my code to use the CVS, I used an ObservableCollection. I was in the need to filter and sort the items inside there, thus I changed the code to use the CVS. Now my designer complains about not being able to fill the SampleData's NextItems with a proper structure to show up in Expression Blend. Here is some code I use inside the app:
MainViewModel.cs
class MainViewModel
{
public MainViewModel()
{
AllItems = new ObservableCollection<ItemViewModel>();
NextItems = new CollectionViewSource();
NextItems.Source = AllItems;
}
public CollectionViewSource NextItems
{
get;
private set;
}
public ObservableCollection<ItemViewModel> AllItems
{
get;
private set;
}
some functions to fill, filter, sort etc...
}
MainView.xaml:
<phone:PhoneApplicationPage
... some other stuff ...
d:DesignWidth="480"
d:DesignHeight="728"
d:DataContext="{d:DesignData SampleData/SampleData.xaml}">
<Grid
x:Name="LayoutRoot"
Background="Transparent">
<controls:Panorama>
<controls:PanoramaItem>
<ListBox ItemsSource="{Binding NextItems.View}">
<ListBox.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<StackPanel>
<Image Source="{Binding Image}" />
<StackPanel>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding FullName}" />
</StackPanel>
</StackPanel>
</DataTemplate>
</ListBox.ItemTemplate>
</ListBox>
</controls:PanoramaItem>
</controls:Panorama>
</Grid>
</phone:PhoneApplicationPage>
SampleData.xaml
<local:MainViewModel
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:MyAppNamespace"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:swd="clr-namespace:System.Windows.Data;assembly=System.Windows" >
<local:MainViewModel.AllItems>
<local:ItemModel
FullName="Dummy"
Image="/Images/dummy.png" />
</local:MainViewModel.AllItems>
<local:MainViewModel.NextItems>
How to fill the CollectionViewSource's Source?
</local:MainViewModel.NextItems>
</local:MainViewModel>
So the question I can't find an answer to is how to fill the Source for NextItems in SampleDate.xaml? Any help would be much appreciated.
if you want to show sample data in the designer I would recommend you to do it from code. There are two ways of generating sample data for the Blend Designer or the VStudio designer:
From an XML file as you do.
From a c# class -> Best option
best option.
In WPF, in windows 8 and in WP7.5 and highger, you can access a propertie called:Windows.ApplicationModel.DesignMode.DesignModeEnabled making use of it you can seed your ObservableCollection from your view model:
public class MainViewModel
{
public MainViewModel()
{
AllItems = new ObservableCollection<ItemViewModel>();
if (DesignMode.DesignModeEnabled)
{
AllItems = FakeDataProvider.FakeDataItems;
}
NextItems.Source = AllItems;
}
public CollectionViewSource NextItems
{
get;
private set;
}
public ObservableCollection<ItemViewModel> AllItems
{
get;
private set;
}
}
In this way, if you change the model, you dont' have to regenerate an XML file, it's a little bit cleaner from a C# file. The FakeDataProvider is an static class where all design-time fake data are stored. So in you XAML the only thing you have to do is to bind your Listbox to the collection of your ViewModel.

Adding Caliburn Micro Screen(UserControl) to a Canvas in WPF MVVM?

I am using Caliburn Micro in my Project and i have many UserControls and thier viewmodel inherited from PropertyChangedBase, i want this UserControl to be added to a Canvas in my ShellView. I dont want to use IWindowManager from showing Windows instead i want them to get added in a Canvas.
Please help. How can i do that.
If you use ContentControl within your ShellView you can hook into the View-ViewModel binding process of Caliburn.Micro.
I assume that in your ShellViewModel you have a bunch of properties exposed that are types of ViewModel. If you place a ContentControl in your ShellView (this could be on/as a child of Canvas if that is the container you wish to use to layout your Shell), and then name that control with the name of the property in your ShellViewModel you wish it to be bound to, then Caliburn's ViewModelBinder will do the rest for you.
As an example say you have a VM called FizzViewModel and a matching View called FizzView (which is just a UserControl) and you want FizzView to appear on your ShellView you could do something like the following...
A stripped back ShellViewModel
public class ShellViewModel : Screen, IShell
{
public ShellViewModel(FizzViewModel theFizz)
{
TheFizz = theFizz;
}
public FizzViewModel TheFizz { get; set; }
}
And its matching ShellView
<UserControl x:Class="ANamespace.ShellView">
<Canvas>
<ContentControl x:Name="TheFizz"></ContentControl>
</Canvas>
</UserControl>
Here because the ContentControl is named TheFizz, it will be bound by Caliburn to the property with that name on your VM (the one of type FizzViewModel)
Doing this means you don't have to laydown your UserControl's using their true types on your ShellView, you let Caliburn do the work for you via conventions (which all so means its easy to swap out the type TheFizz if you just add a little more interface indirection).
UPDATE
From the extra information you have provided in the comments, I can now see you are actually looking at a problem that requires an ItemsControl.
The default DataTemplate Caliburn uses looks like the following
<DataTemplate xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:cal="clr-namespace:Caliburn.Micro;assembly=Caliburn.Micro">
<ContentControl cal:View.Model="{Binding}"
VerticalContentAlignment="Stretch"
HorizontalContentAlignment="Stretch" />
</DataTemplate>
You will notice that it uses a ContentControl, which has some advantages as I have discussed above. Basically what this will do is allow Caliburn to provide DataTemplateSelector like behaviour to the items in your ItemsControl. So you can add VMs of different types to the collection your ItemsControl is bound to and this default DataTemplate will resolve the type of View to use to display it. The following demos a very simple example of how you can achieve what you want.
First the ShellViewModel, take note of the BindableCollection named Items
[Export(typeof(IShell))]
public class ShellViewModel : IShell
{
public ShellViewModel()
{
Items = new BindableCollection<Screen>();
_rand = new Random();
}
public BindableCollection<Screen> Items { get; set; }
private Random _rand;
public void AddItem()
{
var next = _rand.Next(3);
var mPosition = System.Windows.Input.Mouse.GetPosition(App.Current.MainWindow);
switch (next)
{
case 0:
{
Items.Add(new BlueViewModel
{
X = mPosition.X,
Y = mPosition.Y,
});
break;
}
case 1:
{
Items.Add(new RedViewModel
{
X = mPosition.X,
Y = mPosition.Y,
});
break;
}
case 2:
{
Items.Add(new GreenViewModel
{
X = mPosition.X,
Y = mPosition.Y,
});
break;
}
default:
break;
}
}
}
And then a few dummy VM types that you want to display in your Shell. These could be/do anything you like:
public abstract class SquareViewModel : Screen
{
public double X { get; set; }
public double Y { get; set; }
}
public class BlueViewModel : SquareViewModel
{
}
public class RedViewModel : SquareViewModel
{
}
public class GreenViewModel : SquareViewModel
{
}
Now a ShellView, note the ItemsControl which binds to the Items property on your ShellViewModel
<Window x:Class="WpfApplication2.ShellView"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:cal="clr-namespace:Caliburn.Micro;assembly=Caliburn.Micro">
<Grid >
<Grid.RowDefinitions>
<RowDefinition></RowDefinition>
</Grid.RowDefinitions>
<ItemsControl x:Name="Items"
HorizontalAlignment="Stretch"
VerticalAlignment="Stretch">
<ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
<ItemsPanelTemplate>
<Canvas cal:Message.Attach="[Event MouseLeftButtonUp] = [Action AddItem()]"
Background="Transparent"></Canvas>
</ItemsPanelTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
<ItemsControl.ItemContainerStyle>
<Style TargetType="ContentPresenter">
<Setter Property="Canvas.Left" Value="{Binding Path=X}" />
<Setter Property="Canvas.Top" Value="{Binding Path=Y}" />
</Style>
</ItemsControl.ItemContainerStyle>
</ItemsControl>
</Grid>
</Window>
And an example of a UserControl that will be used to display the GreenViewModel, create 2 more of these, changing the names to RedView and BlueView and set the backgrounds appropriately to get the demo to work.
<UserControl x:Class="WpfApplication2.GreenView"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
Width="30"
Height="30">
<Grid Background="Green"></Grid>
</UserControl>
What this example does when put together is creates colored squares on the Canvas of your shell based on the location of the mouse click. I think you should be able to take this and extend it to your needs.

Generating grid dynamically in MVVM pattern

I am writing a WPF application where where i need to display custom file iformation which consists of field name & its value. I generate a grid rumtime with label & textboxes. I display the field name in label & field value in textbox(i want it to be editable). & each time file selection changes, number of field change & so the grid columns & rows. Right now I am generating this grid in code behind . Is there any way i can do it in XAml with view model.
This is pretty easy to do with an ItemsControl. If you ViewModel exposes a list of metadata objects, say a class like this:
public class FileMetaData : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private string name;
private string value;
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged = (o, e) => { };
public string Name
{
get { return name; }
set
{
name = value;
PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs("Name"));
}
}
public string Value
{
get { return value; }
set
{
this.value = value;
PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs("Value"));
}
}
}
Then, your ViewModel would expose it as an ObservableCollection (so WPF knows when new items are added or removed):
public class MyViewModel
{
...
public ObservableCollection<FileMetaData> Files { get; private set; }
...
}
Then, your view would use an ItemsControl with an ItemTemplate to display it:
<ItemsControl ItemsSource="{Binding Files}" Grid.IsSharedSizeScope="True">
<ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<Grid>
<Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" SharedSizeGroup="one" />
<ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" SharedSizeGroup="two" />
</Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Name}" />
<TextBox Grid.Column="1" Text="{Binding Value}" />
</Grid>
</DataTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
</ItemsControl>
Note that I'm setting Grid.IsSharedSizeScope to true on the ItemsControl, so the columns will align. If you have a lot of data, you'll probably want to wrap this in a ScrollViewer (or better retemplate the ItemsControl to have one).
I'm not sure why you're creating this grid at runtime. You should look into using a standard presentation method such as a <ListBox> with a custom item template. Always look to use declaritive definition of your UI (within the XAML) instead of the codebehind.
I've got a blog post on creating a checked listbox that shows some of the details, but you should be able to find other good examples out there as well.

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