I've created two UserControls, the first of which displays a list of objects, the second of which displays details about an object that is selected from the first. I've created a dependency property on the first control and am binding each UserControl to an object declared in my Resources collection. I've seen blog posts describing this, but cannot seem to get it to work. I am getting a XamlParseException. The funny thing is the exception only occurs when I set the binding Mode=TwoWay on my first UserControls. Here's the code...
Page.xaml
<UserControl.Resources>
<local:Item x:Key="SelectedItem" />
</UserControl.Resources>
...
<controls:ItemList
SelectedItem="{Binding Mode=TwoWay, Source={StaticResource SelectedItem}}">
</controls:ItemList >
...
<controls:ItemDetails
DataContext="{Binding Source={StaticResource SelectedItem}}">
</controls:ItemDetails>
ItemList.xaml.cs
public partial class ItemList: UserControl
{
public ItemList()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
public static readonly DependencyProperty SelectedItemProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("SelectedItem", typeof(Item), typeof(ItemList), new PropertyMetadata(new Item()));
public Item SelectedItem
{
get { return (Item )GetValue(SelectedItemProperty ); }
set { SetValue(SelectedItemProperty , value); }
}
Any suggestions are welcome!
Your Xaml is incorrect, from the looks of it. You are missing a property that you need to bind to for two-way. You are saying that you want to bind to object defined in source, but you don't specify a property of that resource to bind to. In this case, the SelectedItem resource is an object of type Item ... you need to bind to property of Item. So if item has a property named value, your Xaml could look like this:
SelectedItem="{Binding Value, Source={StaticResource SelectedItem}, Mode=TwoWay}"
Try this instead:
SelectedItem="{Binding SelectedItem, Mode=TwoWay}"
ib.
Related
I'm building a control that can edit POCOs. There is a descriptor collection for the fields within the POCO that need to be edited and I'm binding a ListBox's ItemsSource to this collection. Amongst other things, the descriptor gives me the ability to select a suitable DataTemplate and the variable name in the POCO that this ListBox item should edit.
My ListBox is built like this:
<ListBox ItemsSource="{Binding ColumnCollection, ElementName=root}">
<ListBox.Resources>
<DataTemplate x:Key="TextTemplate">
<StackPanel>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding DisplayName}" />
<!-- !!! Question about following line !!! -->
<TextBox Text="{Binding ElementName=vm.CurentEditing, Path=PathName}" />
</StackPanel>
</DataTemplate>
<!-- Details omitted for brevity -->
<DataTemplate x:Key="PickListTemplate" />
<DataTemplate x:Key="BooleanTemplate" />
</ListBox.Resources>
<ListBox.ItemTemplateSelector>
<local:DataTypeSelector
TextTemplate="{StaticResource TextTemplate}"
PickListTemplate="{StaticResource PickListTemplate}"
BooleanTemplate="{StaticResource BooleanTemplate}"
/>
</ListBox.ItemTemplateSelector>
</ListBox>
It is the TextBox binding expression in the "TextTemplate" that I am having problems with. The problem is that "PathName" should not be taken as a literal string, but is the name of a string property in the ColumnDescription class (the collection type of ColumnCollection used for ListBox.ItemsSource), which gives the name of the POCO property I want to bind to (the POCO is "vm.CurrentEditing").
Is there some way to use the value of a property in XAML as input to a binding expression, or will I have to resort to code behind?
(Incidentally, specifying the ElementName as "x.y" as I have done above also seems to be invalid. I assume the "y" part should be in Path but that's currently taken up with my property name...!)
So you want to bind TextBox.Text to Property X of Object Y, where X and Y both change at runtime.
It sounds like what you want to do is something analogous to ListBox.DisplayMemberPath: You can bind a string or PropertyPath property to DisplayMemberPath and it'll work. The way I've done stuff like that is to have a dependency property of type String or PropertyPath, and programatically create a binding from that to whatever property.
So, I wrote an attached property which creates a binding.
public class POCOWrangler
{
#region POCOWrangler.BindPropertyToText Attached Property
public static String GetBindPropertyToText(TextBox obj)
{
return (String)obj.GetValue(BindPropertyToTextProperty);
}
public static void SetBindPropertyToText(TextBox obj, PropertyPath value)
{
obj.SetValue(BindPropertyToTextProperty, value);
}
public static readonly DependencyProperty BindPropertyToTextProperty =
DependencyProperty.RegisterAttached("BindPropertyToText", typeof(String), typeof(POCOWrangler),
new PropertyMetadata(null, BindPropertyToText_PropertyChanged));
private static void BindPropertyToText_PropertyChanged(DependencyObject d, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
if (e.NewValue is String && d is TextBox)
{
var tb = d as TextBox;
var binding = new Binding((String)e.NewValue);
// The POCO object we're editing must be the DataContext of the TextBox,
// which is what you've got already -- but don't set Source explicitly
// here. Leave it alone and Binding.Source will be updated as
// TextBox.DataContext changes. If you set it explicitly here, it's
// carved in stone. That's especially a problem if this attached
// property gets initialized before DataContext.
//binding.Source = tb.DataContext;
binding.Mode = BindingMode.TwoWay;
BindingOperations.SetBinding(tb, TextBox.TextProperty, binding);
}
}
#endregion POCOWrangler.BindPropertyToText Attached Property
}
And I wrote a quick example thing: There's a little class named Foo that has a Name property, and a viewmodel with two properties, Foo Foo and String DisplayPathName. It works! Of course, this depends on default TextBox editing behavior for whatever type the property happens to be. I think that will get you the same results as if you'd bound explicitly in XAML, but it sitll won't always necessarily be just what you want. But you could very easily go a little nuts and add some triggers in the DataTemplate to swap in different editors, or write a DataTemplateSelector.
I stuffed ViewModel.Foo in a ContentControl just to get a DataTemplate into the act, so that the TextBox gets his DataContext in the same manner as yours.
Note also that I'm getting DisplayPathName by a relative source from something outside the DataContext object -- it's not a member of Foo, of course, it's a member of the viewmodel.
C#
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
DataContext = new ViewModel {
DisplayPathName = "Name",
Foo = new Foo { Name = "Aloysius" }
};
}
XAML
<ContentControl
Content="{Binding Foo}"
>
<ContentControl.ContentTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<TextBox
local:POCOWrangler.BindPropertyToText="{Binding
DataContext.DisplayPathName,
RelativeSource={RelativeSource AncestorType=ContentControl}}"
/>
</DataTemplate>
</ContentControl.ContentTemplate>
</ContentControl>
That was fun.
I am trying to bind a property of my DataContext to the SelectedItem on a ComboBox like this:
<ComboBox x:Name="ElementSelector"
ItemsSource="{Binding Source={StaticResource Elements}}"
DisplayMemberPath="ElementName"
SelectedItem="{Binding ValueElement, Mode=TwoWay}">
where the Elements resource is a CollectionViewSource (don't know, whether this matters).
When everything is initialized, the property ValueElement of the DataContext is set to the first item in the CollectionViewSource. What I want, is to initialize it the other way around: I would like to set SelectedItem of the ComboBox to the value of the property or null if no matching item is contained.
How can this be done?
EDIT - Additional information:
The ComboBox is part of a DataTemplate:
<DataTemplate x:Key="ReferenceTemplate"
DataType="viewModels:ElementMetaReferenceViewModel">
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal">
<StackPanel.Resources>
<ResourceDictionary>
<views:ElementsForReferenceViewSource x:Key="Elements"
Source="{Binding DataContext.CurrentProject.Elements, ElementName=Root}"
ReferenceToFilterFor="{Binding}"/>
</ResourceDictionary>
</StackPanel.Resources>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding PropertyName}"/>
<ComboBox x:Name="ElementSelector"
ItemsSource="{Binding Source={StaticResource Elements}}"
DisplayMemberPath="ElementName"
SelectedItem=""{Binding ValueElement, Mode=TwoWay}" />
</StackPanel>
</DataTemplate>
The ElementsForReferenceViewSource simply derives from CollectionViewSource and implements an additional DependencyProperty which is used for filtering.
The DataContext of the items in the CollectionViewSource look like this:
public class ElementMetaReferenceViewModel : ViewModelBase<ElementMetaReference, ElementMetaReferenceContext>
{
...
private ElementMetaViewModel _valueElement;
public ElementMetaViewModel ValueElement
{
get { return _valueElement; }
set
{
if (value == null) return;
_valueElement = value;
Model.TargetElement = value.Model;
}
}
...
}
For people encountering the same issue
The above code works as expected. The solution was getting the stuff behind the scenes right. Make sure, that the instance of the ViewModel which is the value of the property you want to bind to is definitely contained in the CollectionViewSource.
In my case the issue was deserializing an object tree incorrectly, so objects were instantiated twice. Then for each object a distinct ViewModel was initialized and then obviously the value of the property was not contained in the list.
Remark
To check whether this is an issue in your case, you can try the following:
Override the ToString() methods of the ViewModels displayed in the ComboBox like this:
public override string ToString()
{
return "VM"+ Model.GetHashCode().ToString();
}
Then you can easily compare the items in the source collection with the value on your property. Not the most professional way, but it did the job for me.
I've got a custom WPF control with a DependencyProperty MyString
I'm using the control within an ItemsControl on my View and want to fish a value out from the ViewModel.
As the DataContext of the control becomes each Item in the ItemsSource of the ItemsControl I thought I'd just be able to use FindAncestor but it dosnt seem to work ... can anyone see where I'm going wrong please?
Heres the XAML on the View ...
<Grid>
<ItemsControl ItemsSource="{Binding MyItems}" >
<ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" Name="myStack">
<ImportExceptions:ControlStrip MyString="{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource Mode=FindAncestor, AncestorType={x:Type ItemsControl}}, Path=DataContext.MyStringOnViewModel}" />
</StackPanel>
</DataTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
</ItemsControl>
</Grid>
and heres the code behind my custom control where I've set up my dependency property ...
public partial class ControlStrip
{
public ControlStrip()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
public string MyString
{
get
{
return GetValue(MyStringProperty).ToString();
}
set
{
SetValue(MyStringProperty, value);
}
}
public static readonly DependencyProperty MyStringProperty =
DependencyProperty.RegisterAttached("MyString", typeof (string), typeof (ControlStrip));
}
The DataContext of the control doesn't change - the DataContext for the ImportExceptions:ControlStrip will be (unless explicitly specified) the next DataContext available as its goes 'up' the visual tree...
I infer from your code that you have set the DataContext of the View to a ViewModel with properties 'MyItems' and 'MyStringOnViewModel' - you should be able to simply bind the MyString property directly to the ViewModel, like
<ImportExceptions:ControlStrip MyString="{Binding Path=MyStringOnViewModel}" />
Your code looks fine. Probably you have made an error in the DataContext reference. In all likeliness the DataContext of the the ItemsControl already is MyStringOnViewModel. So, omit the .MystringOnViewModel after the DataContext in the Path attribute. If not can you give some more code, ore post a simplification of it that mimicks how the DataCon,text(s) is/are set?
I have a ViewModel (AbstractContextMenu) that represents my context menu (IContextMenu), and I bind a real ContextMenu to it with a DataTemplate:
<DataTemplate DataType="{x:Type local:AbstractContextMenu}">
<ContextMenu x:Name="contextMenu"
ItemsSource="{Binding Path=(local:IContextMenu.Items)}"
IsEnabled="{Binding Path=(local:IContextMenu.IsEnabled)}"/>
</DataTemplate>
Then I have a dummy ConcreteContextMenu for testing that just inherits from AbstractContextMenu. AbstractContextMenu just implements this interface:
public interface IContextMenu : IExtension
{
IEnumerable<IMenuItem> Items { get; set; }
bool IsEnabled { get; set; }
}
I'm using it as a property of another ViewModel object:
public IContextMenu ContextMenu
{
get
{
return m_ContextMenu;
}
protected set
{
if (m_ContextMenu != value)
{
m_ContextMenu = value;
NotifyPropertyChanged(m_ContextMenuArgs);
}
}
}
private IContextMenu m_ContextMenu = new ConcreteContextMenu();
static readonly PropertyChangedEventArgs m_ContextMenuArgs =
NotifyPropertyChangedHelper.CreateArgs<AbstractSolutionItem>(o => o.ContextMenu);
Then I bind a StackPanel to that ViewModel and bind the ContextMenu property on the StackPanel to the ContextMenu property of the ViewModel:
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal"
ContextMenu="{Binding Path=(local:AbstractSolutionItem.ContextMenu)}"
ContextMenuOpening="stackPanel_ContextMenuOpening">
<!-- stuff goes in here -->
</StackPanel>
When I run this, the ContextMenuOpening event on the StackPanel is fired, but the ContextMenu is never displayed. I'm not sure if I can even do this (apply a ContextMenu to a ContextMenu ViewModel using a DataTemplate). Anyone know?
What is the type of AbstractSolutionItem.ContextMenu? If it corresponds to the ContextMenu property in your question, then the problem could be that the type is wrong. The ContextMenu property of FrameworkElement is expecting an actual ContextMenu, not an IContextMenu. Try checking the output window while debugging your app - you might get an error message stating that this is the problem.
Instead of using a DataTemplate to define your ContextMenu, just put the contents of the template StackPanel.ContextMenu:
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal"
ContextMenu="{Binding Path=(local:AbstractSolutionItem.ContextMenu)}"
ContextMenuOpening="stackPanel_ContextMenuOpening">
<StackPanel.ContextMenu DataContext="{Binding Path=(local:AbstractSolutionItem.ContextMenu)}">
<ContextMenu x:Name="contextMenu"
ItemsSource="{Binding Path=Items}"
IsEnabled="{Binding Path=IsEnabled}"/>
</StackPanel.ContextMenu>
<!-- stuff goes in here -->
</StackPanel>
That should get you most of the way there. However, there is still a problem since the ContextMenu does not know how to create a MenuItem from an IMenuItem. To solve this, create an ItemTemplate for the ContextMenu, which binds members of IMenuItem to `MenuItem.
Could you shed some light on the syntax used in the ItemsSource property in the DataTemplate ? Using parentheses usually means an attached property. And Items does not seem to be an attached property defined by IContextMenu (as an interface cannot define such a property).
The DataTemplate is linked to an object of type AbstractContextMenu which has a property called Items. So, the DataTemplate could simply reference it like this:
<DataTemplate DataType="{x:Type local:AbstractContextMenu}">
<ContextMenu x:Name="contextMenu"
ItemsSource="{Binding Path=Items)}"
IsEnabled="{Binding Path=IsEnabled}"/>
</DataTemplate>
If the AbstractSolutionItem class is the VM of the StackPanel, you could bind it like this:
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal"
ContextMenu="{Binding Path=ContextMenu}"
ContextMenuOpening="stackPanel_ContextMenuOpening">
<!-- stuff goes in here -->
</StackPanel>
Of course, the DataTemplate must be "accessible" from the StackPanel.
Bind the ContextMenu property of your view (StackPanel in this scenario) to the ContextMenu property of your ViewModel and provide a IValueConverter to the binding that will create the ContextMenu object and set the IContextMenu to it's DataContext.
I'm trying to bind two ListBoxes:
<ListBox SelectionChanged="lbApplications_SelectionChanged"
ItemsSource="{Binding Path=Applications,
UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged, Mode=OneWay}" />
<ListBox DisplayMemberPath="Message"
ItemsSource="{Binding Path=Events,
UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged, Mode=OneWay}" />
Applications and Events are public properties in Window class.
I set DataContext to this to both list boxes and implement INotifyPropertyChanged in Window class:
private void NotifyPropertyChanged(string info)
{
if (PropertyChanged != null)
PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(info));
}
And then after adding new item to Applications or Events I call:
NotifyPropertyChanged("Events");
NotifyPropertyChanged("Applications");
The issue is that ListBox is loaded only one time. What am I doing wrong?
Let's just look at one of the ListBoxes, since they're both the same, basically.
The code we're concerned about is this:
<ListBox ItemsSource="{Binding Path=Applications,
UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged, Mode=OneWay}" />
Since you're new to WPF, let me say you probably don't need UpdateSourceTrigger or Mode in there, which leaves us with this:
<ListBox ItemsSource="{Binding Path=Applications}" />
You mentioned that Applications is a public property in your code-behind. You need it to be a DependencyProperty, and you need it to fire events when it changes -- most people use an ObservableCollection for this.
So your code-behind will have something like this:
public ObservableCollection<string> Applications
{
get { return (ObservableCollection<string>)GetValue(ApplicationsProperty); }
set { SetValue(ApplicationsProperty, value); }
}
public static readonly DependencyProperty ApplicationsProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("Applications",
typeof(ObservableCollection<string>), typeof(Window1),
new UIPropertyMetadata(null));
Then, where you want to add it, you'll do something like this:
this.Applications = new ObservableCollection<string>();
Applications.Add("Whatever");
Finally, for the "simple" binding syntax to work in the XAML, I usually change the DataContext in my Window (or the root Control element for the file, whatever I'm working in) to
<Window DataContext="{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource Self}}" ... >
...
Your Applications box will update automatically.
The problem is that your property value hasn't changed. It's still the same list, same reference.
One solution might be that your collections are of type ObservableCollection. These lists provide events for WPF when you add or remove items.