Binding to interface only if it is the needed type (use fallback otherwise)? - c#

I have the following property in my ViewModel
public IEquipment Equipment
{
get
{
return equipment;
}
set
{
if (equipment != value)
{
equipment = value;
InvokePropertyChanged("Equipment");
}
}
}
This item itself has a bool property, which is bound to an Ellipse in my View, which I want to use as a indicator item:
<Ellipse Width="10" Height="10" Fill="{Binding Equipment.IsAvailable, Converter={StaticResource BoolToColorConverter}, FallbackValue=DarkGray}" Margin="1"/>
The BoolToColorConverter simply converts the color to either green (true) or red (false). During runtime Equipment can be an instance of one of two class types which inherit from IEquipment. Only one of them has the IsAvailable property. In practice this works fine, I get eighter my red or green color...or a gray one, in case the other type of equipment is active.
Problem is, that each time the GUI updates, the following warning gets output:
System.Windows.Data Warning: 40 : BindingExpression path error: 'IsAvailable' property not found on 'object'
How can I avoid this issue? Basically I want to bind to this property only if it is of the correct type.
I can think of two solutions, which I'm not particularly fond of:
Simply add the IsAvailable property to the other type and set it to null (BoolToColorConverter can handle null values and returns dark grey): This might be ok for a simple bool, but in my actual case there are other items, which are quite class specific.
Do the databinding in the code-behind: This might work. Using an event like Loaded on startup to set the binding manually at runtime based on the type. However, this might be troublesome for debugging later, because all other Bindings in the project happen directly in the xaml file. Additionally, Equipment might change during the lifetime of the ViewModel, so I would have to somehow track it.

Xaml doesn't bind to interfaces, it binds to concrete types.
If your types have different properties, then you need different xaml to bind them.
Use DataTemplates to specify different xaml for displaying each type.

If the properties on your derivatives of IEquipment (here Equipment and OtherEquipment as examples) differ a lot and do not share a common interface, they most likely differ in their appearance. In this case you would need different DataTemplates for each type. This is an example for a ContentControl, but it works the same fot ItemsContols with implicit data templates (no x:Key, but a DataType) that are applied automatically.
<ContentControl Content="{Binding Equipment}">
<ContentControl.Resources>
<DataTemplate DataType="{x:Type local:Equipment}">
<Ellipse Width="10" Height="10" Fill="{Binding IsAvailable, Converter={StaticResource BoolToColorConverter}, FallbackValue=DarkGray}" Margin="1"/>
</DataTemplate>
<DataTemplate DataType="{x:Type local:OtherEquipment}">
<Ellipse Width="10" Height="10" Fill="DarkGray" Margin="1"/>
</DataTemplate>
</ContentControl.Resources>
</ContentControl>
A workaround for your specific issue could be writing a custom, specialized value converter.
public class EquipmentAvailabilityToColorConverter : IValueConverter
{
public object Convert(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
{
if (value is Equipment equipment)
return equipment.IsAvailable ? Brushes.Green : Brushes.Red;
return (Brush)parameter;
}
public object ConvertBack(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
{
throw new InvalidOperationException();
}
}
<Ellipse Width="10" Height="10" Fill="{Binding Equipment, Converter={StaticResource EquipmentAvailabilityToColorConverter}, ConverterParameter={x:Static Brushes.DarkGray}}" Margin="1"/>

Related

C# WPF math expressions on variables in XAML

I digged out the internet in order to find a solution, and didn't found any clear solution and none of them working.
I'm looking for a specific solution, but if someone here have better solution it will be great..
In general, I'm trying to make controls that based on the Width and Height of the monitor.
- The easy way is put values that matches with my monitor and change them from CodeBehind.
Here's how it going:
- Create two variables in XAML (let's say the type is Double)
- Create third variables also in XAML. His value will be the difference of the
other two variables (in absolute)
- Create 3 control, the width of those controls is the value of the variables
<Window xmlns:sys="clr-namespace:System;assembly=mscorlib >
<sys:Double x:Key="size1">290</sys:Double>
<sys:Double x:Key="size2">450</sys:Double>
<sys:Double x:Key="size3"> Maybe something here? </sys:Double>
<StackPanel>
<Button Name="Button1" Width="{Binding Source={StaticResource size3}}"
Height="50" />
</StackPanel>
</Window>
I'm new in WPF, I do know C# pretty well but XAML is new for me (few months).
Basically I want to know if its possible to use undefined variables, such as 10% of the screen width.
Thanks.
You can use a Converter to achieve that.
public class WidthConverter : IValueConverter
{
public object Convert(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
{
return (double)value / 10;
}
public object ConvertBack(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
}
in Xaml
<StackPanel>
<StackPanel.Resources>
<local:WidthConverter x:Key="WidthConverter" />
</StackPanel.Resources>
<Button Name="Button1"
Width="{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource AncestorType={x:Type Window}}, Path=ActualWidth, Converter={StaticResource WidthConverter}}"
Height="50" />
</StackPanel>

How to show XAML as text in WPF application

We're in the process of updating our gallery WPF application which contains our custom styled controls. The design is to have a toggle to show the XAML behind those custom controls, for easy reference and a guide for new colleagues.
The way I've currently implemented this is by creating two .xaml files, one containing just the controls, one with the controls and a textblock with the XAML coded used to implement those controls.
This is not something that's easily maintainable, since the quotes, >,< and other characters are not escaped in XAML strings. For reference this is what I have now in one of the 'Show code' views:
<TextBlock Visibility="Collapsed" Margin="5" Text="<controls:AutoCompleteTagBox
Name="AutoCompleteTagBoxWithStrings"
Margin="5"
ItemsSource="{Binding Names}"
FilterMode="Contains" />
<ListBox
ItemsSource="{Binding ElementName=AutoCompleteTagBoxWithStrings, Path=SelectedItems}"
Grid.Column="1"
BorderBrush="{StaticResource Blue}" BorderThickness="1" />"/>
As you can see, it doesn't look nice and once you update one of the controls you now have three places you need to change the XAML.
The next step is just to bind the TextBlock visibility and toggle it from 'Collapsed' to 'Visible'. But I want to know if there is a way to show the XAML in a textblock without having to hand write the string.
Thanks in advance for your advice!
Following from XAMIMAX's comment you could use an easy converter to save the xaml to a string using XamlWriter and strip the xmlns namespaces for brevity.
public class XamlConverter : IValueConverter
{
public readonly Regex xmlnsRegex = new Regex("xmlns=\".+\"");
public object Convert(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, System.Globalization.CultureInfo culture)
{
var source = value as FrameworkElement;
if (source != null)
{
//Save xaml and strip xmlns namespaces
var xaml = xmlnsRegex.Replace(System.Windows.Markup.XamlWriter.Save(source), "");
return xaml;
}
return null;
}
public object ConvertBack(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, System.Globalization.CultureInfo culture)
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
}
Example usage
<StackPanel>
<StackPanel.Resources>
<converters:XamlConverter x:Key="Converter_Xaml"/>
</StackPanel.Resources>
<Button x:Name="SourceButton" Content="Click Me" Margin="10"/>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding ElementName=SourceButton, Converter={StaticResource Converter_Xaml}}" TextWrapping="Wrap"/>
</StackPanel>

Avoiding infinite loop in ItemsControl having radiobutton value set by Converters

I have this code in WPF
Every new form gets added by clicking on "Add New" to the Itemscontrol.
Event is a CSLA call.
<Menu Grid.Row="0">
<MenuItem Header="Add New"
csla:InvokeMethod.MethodName="AddNew"
csla:InvokeMethod.TriggerEvent="Click" />
</Menu></ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
<ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate >
<DataTemplate.Resources>
<FrameworkElement x:Key="ReqProxyElement" DataContext="{Binding}" />
</DataTemplate.Resources>
<Grid>
<ContentControl Visibility="Collapsed" Content="{StaticResource ReqProxyElement}" />
<Grid>
<Grid.DataContext>
<formviewmodels:ReqViewModel Model="{Binding Source={StaticResource ReqProxyElement}, Path=DataContext}" />
</Grid.DataContext>
<formviews:ReqView />
</Grid>
</Grid>
</DataTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
</ItemsControl>
Now inside the form ReqView, I have converter call for radio button.
<Label Grid.Row="10" Grid.Column="0" Content="required" />
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" Grid.Row="10" Grid.Column="1" >
<!--<RadioButton Content="Yes" GroupName="Required" IsChecked="{Binding Model.Required, Converter={StaticResource NullableBooleanToFalseConverter}}"></RadioButton>
<RadioButton Content="No" GroupName="Required" IsChecked="{Binding Model.Required, Converter={StaticResource ReverseBoolean}}"></RadioButton>-->
<RadioButton Content="Yes" GroupName="GRequired" ></RadioButton>
<RadioButton Content="No" GroupName="GRequired" ></RadioButton>
</StackPanel>
In this scenario when I click on add New , the ItemsControl as is the nature of the beast tries to bind back to the Form and goes into an infinite loop in the converter call.
The converter code is given below.
public class ReverseBooleanConverter : IValueConverter
{
public object Convert(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
{
if (value is bool)
{
return (!((bool)value));
}
return false;
}
public object ConvertBack(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
{
if (value is bool)
{
return (!((bool)value));
}
return value;
}
}
public class NullableBooleanToFalseConverter : IValueConverter
{
public object Convert(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
{
if (value == null)
{
return false;
}
return value;
}
public object ConvertBack(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
{
return value;
}
}
Can any one come up with a solution where the convereter don't kick the code into infinite loop.
What happens is when a Add New is clicked, if there is already a form in the Itemscontrol, it tries to bind back to the form again before creating a new empty form.
The binding back sets the radio button true say if true is selected but then setting it to trus starts a tennis match between the two converters one converts it the other converts it back and the model says No way the value is true and so on it goes until application hits stackoverflow...
Interesting situation I have hit into with WPF and MVVM pattern.I am looking for a solution without breaking the MVVM paradigm. If converters can be done away with that will work too.
The backend calls are CSLA reistered properties.
Thanks
Dhiren
You can bind only the Yes radio. Since it's IsChecked property is bound to your bool, the bool would turn to false when you check the other radio. You don't even need the ReverseConverter here.
UPDATE:
Only bind the Yes radio to your field. RadioButton are mutually exclusive when they are in the same group (which they are). When you select one, you change the other. If you select the No radio, yes would be unchecked, and so Required would be false.
As for the initial values, if you set No to false, it would be selected. And since Yes is bound to Required, it'll save your value. Do something like this:
<RadioButton Content="Yes" GroupName="GRequired" IsChecked="{Binding Required}"/>
<RadioButton Content="No" GroupName="GRequired" IsChecked="False"/>
UPDATE II:
The binding mechanism in WPF ties two values together, so when one changes the other does too, and it can work both ways. RadioButton.IsCheck is just a bool property, so when it's value change it changes the value it's bound to (in this case Required). When you check No, you also uncheck Yes, it's IsChecked property changes. and that changes Required.
For more on Data binding see: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms752347.aspx.
So, you see, you don't need the ReverseConverter, because you don't need to bind No to anything. As a matter of fact, you don't even need NullBooleanConverter, since WPF already knows how to convert bool? to bool.
Regards,
Yoni

Override style of a specific dataItem

I am working on my first Windows 8 RT application and started with the sample grid application. My goal is to change the style of one of these grid items.
I have been able to 'find' this item by using this:
if (dataItem.UniqueId.StartsWith("Group-1-Item-1"))
Then I created this style in C# (just as an example);
Style style = new Style (typeof(SampleDataItem));
Thickness thick = new Thickness(4,4,4,4);
style.Setters.Add(new Setter(Border.BorderThicknessProperty, new Thickness(100)));
However, now I have to apply this style to the specific data item - I have tried a lot of things, but I don't take they make much sense now that I look at them.
The data template for the dataItems for the Grid App project template is found in StandardStyles.xaml, and is referred to by the key "Standard250x250ItemTemplate".
If the idea is to vary the styling based on the content of the item, one approach might be to use a Binding.Converter, as shown here, to convert the value of the content in question to the desired style or style property.
For example, If I wanted to make any items in the default Grid App template have a green background if the item number was less than or equal to 3, and red if it was higher than 3, I would create the following converter class (in my case, I just added the class to the GroupedItemsPage.xaml.cs, just before the GroupedItemsPage partial class):
// Custom class implements the IValueConverter interface.
public class StyleConverter : IValueConverter
{
#region IValueConverter Members
// Define the Convert method to change a title ending with > 3
// to a red background, otherwise, green.
public object Convert(object value, Type targetType,
object parameter, string language)
{
// The value parameter is the data from the source object.
string title = (string)value;
int lastNum = (int.Parse(title.Substring(title.Length - 1)));
if (lastNum > 3)
{
return "Red";
}
else
{
return "Green";
}
}
// ConvertBack is not implemented for a OneWay binding.
public object ConvertBack(object value, Type targetType,
object parameter, string language)
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
#endregion
}
Once the class is defined, along with the desired Convert method, I add an instance to it in my App.xaml file, so it will be available to the item template in StandardStyles.xaml:
<!-- Application-specific resources -->
<local:StyleConverter x:Key="StyleConverter"/>
In StandardStyles.xaml, I made a copy of the Standard250x250ItemTemplate that binds from the Title property of the item, to my converter class, like so:
<DataTemplate x:Key="Standard250x250ItemTemplate_Convert">
<Grid HorizontalAlignment="Left" Width="250" Height="250">
<Border Background="{Binding Title,
Converter={StaticResource StyleConverter}}">
</Border>
<StackPanel VerticalAlignment="Bottom"
Background="{StaticResource ListViewItemOverlayBackgroundThemeBrush}">
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Title}" Foreground="{StaticResource ListViewItemOverlayForegroundThemeBrush}" Style="{StaticResource TitleTextStyle}" Height="60" Margin="15,0,15,0"/>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Subtitle}" Foreground="{StaticResource ListViewItemOverlaySecondaryForegroundThemeBrush}" Style="{StaticResource CaptionTextStyle}" TextWrapping="NoWrap" Margin="15,0,15,10"/>
</StackPanel>
</Grid>
</DataTemplate>
the key piece being the binding of the Border element's Background property to the Title, with the Converter={StaticResource StyleConverter}, which wires the item template up to my converter. Note that in addition to binding the Background property, I also removed the nested Image element from the original version of the item template.
Finally, in GroupedItemsPage.xaml, I change the item template to my customized version:
<!-- Horizontal scrolling grid used in most view states -->
<GridView
x:Name="itemGridView"
...
Padding="116,137,40,46"
ItemsSource="{Binding Source={StaticResource groupedItemsViewSource}}"
ItemTemplate="{StaticResource Standard250x250ItemTemplate_Convert}"
...
ItemClick="ItemView_ItemClick">
Once that's done, I can run the project, and here's what I see:
Hope that helps!
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Binding to instance of ItemsSource

I have a ListBox on a WPF User Control that is defined as
<ListBox Grid.Row="1" ScrollViewer.CanContentScroll="False" Background="#00000000" BorderThickness="0" ItemsSource="{Binding BuyItNowOptions}"
ItemTemplate="{DynamicResource BuyItNowDataTemplate}" IsSynchronizedWithCurrentItem="True"
Style="{DynamicResource InheritEmptyListStyle}" SelectedItem="{Binding SelectedResearch}" ItemContainerStyle="{DynamicResource ListBoxItemStyle}"/>
BuyItNowOptions is a public property on the ViewModel that is of type ObservableCollection
In the BuyItNowDataTemplate I have a label that needs to have some logic performed before displaying a price.
<Label Padding="1" HorizontalContentAlignment="Stretch" Grid.Column="2" Grid.Row="2" Margin="1">
<TextBlock Text="{Binding ExchangePrice, StringFormat=C}"
Visibility="{Binding ReturnRequired, Converter={StaticResource BooleanToVisibilityConverter}}"/>
</Label>
The binding here indicates that it will use the ExchangePrice property of the instance of AutoResearchProxy that it is on like BuyItNowOptions[CurrentIndex].ExchangePrice.
What I would like to know is it possible to create the binding in such a way that it references the whole instance of the AutoResearchProxy so that I can pass it to a converter and manipulate several properties of the AutoResearchProxy and return a calculated price?
I would envision my converter looking like this.
public class PriceConverter : IValueConverter
{
public object Convert(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, System.Globalization.CultureInfo culture)
{
if (value is AutoResearchProxy)
{
var research = value as AutoResearchProxy;
//Some logic to figure out actual price
}
else
return String.Empty;
}
Hopefully this makes sense.
You can pass the whole datacontext-object to a Binding by not specifying a Path or by setting it to ., that however will result in the binding not updating if any of the relevant properties of that object change.
I would recommend you use a MultiBinding instead, that way you can target the necessary properties and the binding will update if any of those change. (For usage examples see the respective section on MSDN)
MyProperty="{Binding Converter={StaticResource ObjectToDerivedValueConverter}
That should do it.

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