I have a user control where the XAML of the control can bind to the appropriate properties from the parent's data context like normal (the data context propagates in xaml).
For example, I have a window whose DataContext I am setting to ObjectA for example. My user control within the window is then try to access the properties within the dataContext
So my window's xaml and code behind can both see a non-null DataContext.
My control that DataContext propagates to can see a non-null DataContext in the Xaml but not in the code behind.
What is the proper way of handling this?
failing that if you need to check whether the DataContext is being set you can use the DataContextChanged
public partial class UserControl1 : UserControl
{
public UserControl1()
{
InitializeComponent();
DataContextChanged += new DependencyPropertyChangedEventHandler(UserControl1_DataContextChanged);
}
void UserControl1_DataContextChanged(object sender, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
// You can also validate the data going into the DataContext using the event args
}
}
Note it wont enter UserControl1_DataContextChanged until DataContext is changed from null to a different value.
Not sure if this answers your question but can be quite handy to use in debugging issues.
I think you are checking the 'DataContext' in the constructor of the UserControl. It will be null at the Constructor since the user control hasnt yet created while execution is in the constructor code. But check the property at Loaded event you will see the object properly.
public partial class UserControl1
{
public UserControl1()
{
this.InitializeComponent();
//DataContext will be null here
this.Loaded += new RoutedEventHandler(UserControl1_Loaded);
}
void UserControl1_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
//Check DataContext Property here - Value is not null
}
}
I would check to see whether you are having a binding error at runtime. Add this namespace to your XAML:
xmlns:debug="clr-namespace:System.Diagnostics;assembly=System"
and check the debugger's Output window for relevant error messages.
Alternatively, can you show us more code?
Related
I have a simple user control that has One Dependency Property (the control is the model of itself)
The property is not directly bound to anything inside the user control, but I need to Bind its value to the Model of the window (or user control or whatever) where I put my user control.
If I set manually the User control Property Value, the property is modified correctly so I can assume the dependency property in the user control is working.
If I set the value to the Property binding it to my window model like this
<lctrl:InfoIconControl Grid.Row="0" Name="InfoIconTest" IconType="{Binding Path=IconTypeValue}"/>
Where IconTypeValue is a property of the window model, when I set the value of the window model property it does not change inside my user control. I presume I did something wrong but at the moment I have no clue.
Two possibilties come to mind as likely:
Your "model" (you mean viewmodel?) does not implement INotifyPropertyChanged and/or you're not firing the PropertyChanged when IconTypeValue changes its value.
You've done something like this.DataContext = this inside your UserControl and now the Binding is not working because it is looking for the IconTypeValue property inside your control, instead of looking for it in the "model".
Solution to option 1 is easy: implement the interface and make sure you fire the event when the property changes.
Solution to option 2 is simply removing any setting of DataContext inside your UserControl, and instead rely on relative Bindings (RelativeSource, ElementName, etc.) in your control's XAML. Or if you gotta set the DataContext of something, do NOT set the UserControl's one. Instead, set the DataContext of a container INSIDE the UserControl.
In your case, since you're using a viewmodel for your UserControl, using it as DataContext makes sense. But if you wanna support binding to the DependencyProperties of your UserControl, you're then gonna have to set your viewmodel as DataContext of something else... For instance, the first Grid in your XAML.
Just name the Grid:
<Grid x:Name="LayoutRoot">
And set your viewmodel as its DataContext:
InfoIconControlModel mModel;
public InfoIconControl()
{
InitializeComponent();
mModel = new InfoIconControlModel();
LayoutRoot.DataContext = mModel; // this.DataContext = mModel; <-- DON'T DO THIS
}
After that, the Bindings will begin to work. But you've made another typical mistake: you're only calling SetIcon from the CLR setter of your propertty.
public InfoIconType IconType
{
get
{
return (InfoIconType)this.GetValue(IconTypeProperty);
}
set
{
this.SetValue(IconTypeProperty, value);
this.SetIcon(); // <-- This won't work with Binding
}
}
Instead, you must also call it from the DependencyPropertyChanged callback (that you had already defined, on the other hand):
/// <summary>
/// Icon Type dependency Property
/// </summary>
public static readonly DependencyProperty IconTypeProperty = DependencyProperty.Register(
FLD_IconType, typeof(InfoIconType), typeof(InfoIconControl), new PropertyMetadata(InfoIconType.ICPlus, IconTypePropertyChanged));
///<summary>
///
///</summary>
private static void IconTypePropertyChanged(DependencyObject sender, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
InfoIconControl ic = sender as InfoIconControl;
ic.SetIcon(); // <-- This will work with Binding
}
How to set the DataContext value later in a WPF application?. Here in the below code I am setting it at the beginning (Startup). Later I would like to set another DataContext value to the view. What is the best way to do it?
public partial class App : Application
{
private void OnStartup(object sender, StartupEventArgs e)
{
MainWindow view = new MainWindow();
MainViewModel mainViewModel = new MainViewModel();
view.DataContext = mainViewModel;
view.Show();
}
}
Simply telling, there is a ObservableCollection inside the MainViewModel and it is assigned when the user do some button press action only. I need that data to be updated in the view. Please let me know if you have any questions
EDIT
::::
I have an additional question too. Do I need to reassign the entire DataContext or Can I do something through INotifyCollectionChanged event? Please clarify
Your mainViewModel is tightly coupled to your class MainViewModel. Try to use interface. you can create IViewModel and implement it to your MainViewModel. This site will help you
dofactory
you can also use some dependency injection like ninject.
I'm working on converting some code to a more proper MVVM implementation using DataTemplates and am having problems with certain kinds of UI validation.
I've got no problems with validation in the View Models -- IDataErrorInfo is implemented and everything is fine. What I've got a problem with is UI binding errors where they might put letters in a TextBox bound to an int.
Previously, I used :
System.Windows.Controls.Validation.AddErrorHandler(userControl, handler)
... and kept a count of errors added and removed to know whether all the form's data was OK.
But now that I'm doing MVVM I don't have access to the userControl to set up this handler. So I don't really have a hook to get this started.
Is there some sort of global DataTemplateApplied event handler available where I could do something like:
void OnDataTemplateApplied(object data, Control template)
{
if (data is MyViewModelBase)
{
Validation.AddErrorHandler(template, handler);
}
}
Alternatively, maybe I can call AddErrorHandler once in the bootstrapper for the outer Shell window, and then each time the event is fired somehow figure out which ViewModel is powering that particular control?
I know some people like making all VM fields strings and doing lots of type conversion in the VM -- that's not going to be realistic for our system for a variety of reasons.
You might be interested in this answer: https://stackoverflow.com/a/13335971/1094526
The main idea is exactly what you said (subscribe to the error handler). As I understand, the problem is you don't have access to the control from the ViewModel, but it isn't hard to solve
In a project I'm working, I exposed two methods from my ViewModel: AddUIError and RemoveUIError. I create an event handler in my View and there I cast the DataContext to the type of my ViewModel and call AddUIError or RemoveUIError depending on what happened.
I am using DataTemplates to associate a View with a ViewModel, so when the template is applied, the DataContext is automatically set to the ViewModel. If you want, you can store your ViewModel in a private field (in the View) and update the reference each time the DataContext changed (there is a DataContextChanged event)
If this will be done in multiple ViewModels, you can put both methods (AddUIError and RemoveUIError) in a class like ViewModelBase and move the ValidationError event handling to a Behavior and use it in each view.
More info about the behavior part:
The Behavior class is part of the Expression Blend SDK, so you will need it if you want to follow this way.
Behaviors are useful to attach some common functionality to many components without creating derived classes, for example.
First, we need to define the AddUIError and RemoveUIError in a class named ViewModelBase (which is, of course, the base class for all other ViewModels):
class ViewModelBase {
public void AddUIError(...) {/* Details ommitted */ }
public void RemoveUIError(...) {/* Details ommitted */ }
}
Then, create a Behavior by subclassing Behavior. We use FrameworkElement as the template argument so this behavior can be attached to any FrameworkElement (or derived class) instance:
class NotifyDataErrorsBehavior : Behavior<FrameworkElement>
{
// Called when the the Behavior is attached
protected override void OnAttached()
{
base.OnAttached();
// Initialize the handler for the Validation Error Event
_handler = new RoutedEventHandler(OnValidationRaised);
// Add the handler to the event from the element which is attaching this behavior
AssociatedObject.AddHandler(System.Windows.Controls.Validation.ErrorEvent, _handler);
}
protected override void OnDetaching()
{
base.OnDetaching();
// Remove the event handler from the associated object
AssociatedObject.RemoveHandler(System.Windows.Controls.Validation.ErrorEvent, _handler);
}
private RoutedEventHandler _handler = null;
private void OnValidationRaised(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
var args = (System.Windows.Controls.ValidationErrorEventArgs)e;
ViewModelBase viewModel = AssociatedObject.DataContext as ViewModelBase;
if (viewModel != null)
{
// You can add only Exception validation errors if you want..
if (args.Action == ValidationErrorEventAction.Added)
viewModel.AddUIValidationError(...);
else if (args.Action == ValidationErrorEventAction.Removed)
viewModel.RemoveUIValidationError(...);
else
throw new NotSupportedException("ValidationErrorEventAction has changed");
}
}
}
And finally just use it in XAML:
1. Add a reference to the namespace where NotifyDataErrorsBehavior is located, and also a reference to System.Windows.Interactivity namespace (from Expression Blend SDK):
<UserControl
...
xmlns:behavior="clr-namespace:MyApp.Behaviors"
xmlns:i="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/2010/interactivity"
...
>
2. Add the behavior (at the same level as the content of your UserControl:
<i:Interaction.Behaviors>
<behavior:NotifyDataErrorsBehavior/>
</i:Interaction.Behaviors>
Ex:
<UserControl
...
xmlns:behavior="clr-namespace:MyApp.Behaviors"
xmlns:i="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/2010/interactivity"
...
>
<i:Interaction.Behaviors>
<behavior:NotifyDataErrorsBehavior/>
</i:Interaction.Behaviors>
<Grid>
...
</Grid>
</UserControl>
New to WPF. I am creating UserControls that need read access to the ViewModel state to do their thing. I currently use the following technique:
public partial class ControlBar : UserControl
{
private static readonly DependencyProperty URLProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("URL", typeof(string), typeof(ControlBar),
new UIPropertyMetadata(null));
public ControlBar()
{
InitializeComponent();
SetBinding(URLProperty, "CurrentPage.URL");
Pin.Click += Pin_Click;
}
private void Pin_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
var URL = (string)GetValue(URLProperty);
}
}
Is this the correct way and is it not overkill to set up a long-term binding for each variable I need access to? Or can you do something like:
GetValue(new Path("CurrentPage.URL.....
I made up the above obviously.
Thanks!
In general data-binding is the way to go. However sometimes when you are creating controls that have view-specific concerns for which data-binding will not be appropriate.
In those cases you will want to be able to interact with the DependencyProperty to set it and know when it changes. I have been following a pattern that I picked up from a Charles Petzold article in MSDN magazine.
My answer to another question shows the pattern for creating a DependencyProperty for a UserControl Stack Overflow: Dependency Property In WPF/SilverLight
Again, data-binding to a view model will likely solve your problem, but a DependencyProperty may come in useful depending on the situation.
Update in response to comment:
In many situations you can data bind your in a UserControl without using a DependencyProperty. For example if you have a TextBlock that displays a name you would put a TextBlock in the XAML of the UserControl
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Path=NameString}" />
In the view model which is present in the DataContext you would have a property NameString and if the TextBlock is to update the display when the NameString property changes the view model should implement INotifyPropertyChanged and the property should fire the PropertyChanged event with the name of the property sent along with the event.
protected string _NameString;
public string NameString
{
get { return _NameString; }
set { _NameString = value: Notify("NameString"); }
}
Where Notify is a method that checks the PropertyChanged event for null and sends the event if not null.
This works well if everywhere that you want to use the UserControl has a view model with a Name property. The great thing is that the UserControl can pick up on the DataContext of wherever it is hosted and bind to an external view model.
When you want to start binding the same UserControl to different properties is one place that you may want to use a DependencyProperty. In that case you could make a UserControl with a DependencyProperty and bind it to different properties
<my:SampleControl NameString="{Binding Path=GivenName}" />
<my:SampleControl NameString="{Binding Path=FamilyName}" />
And then have an internal view model that the DependencyProperty change handler updates when the bound property changes.
Update: No DependencyProperty or binding
You can always add an ordinary C# property to the UserControl and pass the data in that way.
public MyClass Data { get; set; }
Then in the code-behind of the UserControl you can simply use the property:
if (this.Data != null)
{
this.textBox1.Text = Data.NameString;
}
Update in response to comment:
Another way to access the view model in code is to cast the DataContext to your view model type:
MyClass data = this.DataContext as MyClass;
if (data != null)
{
// do something
this.textBox1.Text = data.NameString;
}
Background:
I have WPF application with a main window containing a user control. I want to pass a value from the main window to the user control.
In the Main window's constructor I have code:
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
_vm = new MainWindowViewModel();
this.DataContext = _vm;
ucControl = new UserControl1("NameSet");
}
(ucControl is my user control)
User control has two constructors:
public UserControl1()
{
InitializeComponent();
this.ID = ID.GetNewID;
}
public UserControl1(string name)
{
InitializeComponent();
_vm = new UCViewModel(name);
this.DataContext = _vm;
this.ID = ID.GetNewID;
}
The problem is: although the second constructor (with parameter) is called, it is not loaded in the main window. I checked the ID (this.ID) in the user control's loaded event and I see the ID set in the default constructor and its DataContext is null. Because of this reason, I do not get the "name" string in my user control.
Any help please? Since I am using MVVM pattern I do not want to expose properties in user control (view) to be set from main window just for this.
You are instantiating the UserControl1 object twice:
Once within the XAML. The <uc:UserControl1> element instantiates a UserControl1 object, using the default constructor, and assigns it to the member ucControl.
You instantiate it again within the constructor of the MainWindow object
If you put a break point in the constructor of UserControl, you'll notice it is called twice. I assume WPF instantiate and initialize the XAML's UserControl (#1 from above) after you assign the dynamic UserControl (#2 from above), and this is why you see the former in the logical tree of MainWindow.
You should have only one instance. If you want to parameterized a user control, the canonical paradigm is what you mention that you don't want to do (why??). If you had such a property, you could set it in the XAML: <uc:UserControl1 x:Name="..." YourProperty="NameSet>
exposing such a property is a single line in the UserControl:
public YourProperty { get; set; }
If you insist of not having this line, you should do the following:
Remove the XAML's user control.
In main window, subscribe to the Loaded event
In the handler of the Loaded event, instantiate a new UserControl1 - with whatever constructor parameter that you want.
Manually add it to the Children array of the parent Grid element
Clearly this isn't my recommendation. In addition to the complexity, with the former method you'll also work very well with the Visual Studio designer.