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SelectedValue not updating when set in code

I can see this question has been asked before but nothing seems to work for me.
I have a wpf desktop app.
i have this comboBox:
<ComboBox ItemsSource="{Binding Users, Mode=TwoWay, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}" DisplayMemberPath="Value.Login"
SelectedValue="{Binding SelectedManagerUser,
Mode=TwoWay,UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}"
SelectedValuePath="Value"
IsSynchronizedWithCurrentItem="True" />
The data source is a dictionary object:
public Dictionary<string,UserRecord> Users
{
get
{
//get data
}
set { _Users = value; RaisePropertyChanged(Constants.VM_Users); }
}
I add a new entry in my MVVM and update the data.
I then set the selected item in my mvvm:
private UserRecord _selectedManagerUser;
public UserRecord SelectedManagerUser
{
get
{
return _selectedManagerUser;
}
set
{
_selectedManagerUser = value;
RaisePropertyChanged("SelectedManagerUser");
}
}
SelectedManagerUser = Users[temp];
public class UserRecord : ViewModelBase
{
private int _Active;
private int _UserRecordId;
private string _UserRef;
private string _FName;
private string _SName;
private string _Login;
private string _Salt;
private int _IsAdmin;
private string _FullName;
private string _Branch;
private string _Position;
private string _Department;
public int Disabled { get { return _Active; } set { _Active = value; RaisePropertyChanged(InformedWorkerCommon.Constants.VM_Active); } }
public int UserRecordId { get { return _UserRecordId; } set { _UserRecordId = value; RaisePropertyChanged("UserRecordId"); } }
public string UserRef { get { return _UserRef; } set { _UserRef = value; RaisePropertyChanged(InformedWorkerCommon.Constants.VM_UserRef); } }
public string FName { get { return _FName; } set { _FName = value; RaisePropertyChanged(InformedWorkerCommon.Constants.VM_FName); } }
public string SName { get { return _SName; } set { _SName = value; RaisePropertyChanged(InformedWorkerCommon.Constants.VM_SName); } }
public string Login { get { return _Login; } set { _Login = value; RaisePropertyChanged(InformedWorkerCommon.Constants.VM_Login); } }
public string Salt { get { return _Salt; } set { _Salt = value; RaisePropertyChanged(InformedWorkerCommon.Constants.VM_Salt); } }
public int IsAdmin { get { return _IsAdmin; } set { _IsAdmin = value; RaisePropertyChanged(InformedWorkerCommon.Constants.VM_IsAdmin); } }
public string Branch { get { return _Branch; } set { _Branch = value; RaisePropertyChanged(InformedWorkerCommon.Constants.VM_Branch); } }
public string Position { get { return _Position; } set { _Position = value; RaisePropertyChanged(InformedWorkerCommon.Constants.VM_Position); } }
public string Department { get { return _Department; } set { _Department = value; RaisePropertyChanged(InformedWorkerCommon.Constants.VM_Department); } }
public string FullName { get { return FName + ", " + SName; } set { _FullName = value; RaisePropertyChanged(InformedWorkerCommon.Constants.VM_Fullname); } }
}
I know the new item has been added because -
I can see it int the dropdown
I set a breakpoint in my code and inspect.
The combo box just displays an empty value.
Anything else I can try?
thanks

Not sure what's going wrong on your side, but it might be helpful to look at a working solution.
XAML:
<ComboBox ItemsSource="{Binding Users}"
DisplayMemberPath="Value.Name"
SelectedValue="{Binding SelectedUser}"
SelectedValuePath="Value" />
Code behind:
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
Loaded += WindowLoaded;
var vm = new ViewModel();
vm.Users.Add("u1", new UserRecord { Name = "User 1" });
vm.Users.Add("u2", new UserRecord { Name = "User 2" });
vm.Users.Add("u3", new UserRecord { Name = "User 3" });
DataContext = vm;
}
private void WindowLoaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
// make sure it works after DataContext was set
var vm = (ViewModel)DataContext;
vm.SelectedUser = vm.Users["u2"];
}
}
public class UserRecord
{
public string Name { get; set; }
}
public class ViewModel : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
public Dictionary<string, UserRecord> Users { get; }
= new Dictionary<string, UserRecord>();
private UserRecord selectedUser;
public UserRecord SelectedUser
{
get { return selectedUser; }
set
{
selectedUser = value;
PropertyChanged?.Invoke(this,
new PropertyChangedEventArgs(nameof(SelectedUser)));
}
}
}

Your SelectedManagerUser property should be changed to this. The SelectedManagerUser property is set with new value but you do not raise that event so the UI will not be updated.
private UserRecord _selectedManagerUser;
public UserRecord SelectedManagerUser
{
get
{
return _selectedManagerUser;
}
set
{
_selectedManagerUser = value;
RaisePropertyChanged("SelectedManagerUser");
}
}

Download Prism from Nuget and inherit your class from BindableBase.
After it use this:
private UserRecord selectedManagerUser;
public UserRecord SelectedManagerUser
{
get { return this.selectedManagerUser; }
set { this.SetProperty(ref this.selectedManagerUser, value); }
}

One of two things can cause this. First, it might be because you're not setting SelectedManagerUser to be an instance of UserRecord that is NOT in the Dictionary, or that Dictionaries still suck for databinding. Lemme cover them both.
When you work with ItemsSource and SelectedItem bindings, if you want SelectedItem changes to be reflected in the UI, you must set it to an instance that can be found within ItemsSource. The control, by default, will look for the item in the source that is referentially equal to the selected item. I'm 99% sure it will use IEquatable<T> instead of reference checking if your items implement it.
If that's not your problem, then it's because Dictionaries suck for databinding.
Dictionaries are TERRIBLE for databinding. Just awful. If you need a keyed collection and you want to bind against it, create a custom collection extending KeyedCollection. With some extra work TItem can implement INPC (make the key read only, tho) and the collection can implement INCC. Works great for binding. Why do I mention this? Read on...
Your problem is that, within the ComboBox, SelectedItem is actually of type KeyValuePair<string,UserRecord>, and NOT UserRecord. So the binding will NOT work. If you grab a copy of Snoop and examine the bindings at runtime, you'll see this.
The problem is that the control doesn't know jack squat about Dictionaries. All it knows is IEnumerable<T>. Dictionary<K,T> implements IEnumerable<KeyValuePair<K,T>>, so the control creates an item for each key value pair. SelectedItem is also a key value pair. So, when you bind that to a property of type UserRecord, yes it is able to use the SelectedValuePath to set the value properly, but it cannot (does not) [ninja edit: unless this behavior has changed over the past few years :/] iterate the enumerable in order to find the correct key value pair when you set the value in your view model.
If UserRecord's key value is a property within the type, then definitely create a KeyedCollection for it. KeyedCollection<Tkey,TItem> implements 'IEnumerable` so it works seamlessly with bindings. If not, wrap it in a proxy, or add the property.
And when I say "wrap it in a proxy", anybody who says "what, like a KeyValuePair?" I'm going to punch you through the internet. The proxy becomes the value you bind against. Don't waste your time with this SelectedValuePath nonsense. Work with the proxies directly. When you need your value, extract it at the last moment, not immediately after the binding executes.

WPF Binding Combobox to LINQ Populated Observable Collection

This is the first experience with WPF so please forgive me, I know this is pretty basic but I can't get it to work. I'm simply trying to bind a combobox to an LINQ to EF populated ObservableCollection. When I step through the code I see that the collection is populated, but the combo box doesn't display the contents of the collection.
Here is my ViewModel:
public class MainWindowViewModel : ViewModelBase
{
# region ObservableCollections
private ObservableCollection<Site> _sitescollection;
public ObservableCollection<Site> SiteCollection
{
get { return _sitescollection;}
set {
if (value == _sitescollection) return;
_sitescollection = value;
RaisePropertyChanged("SiteCollection");
}
}
# endregion
public MainWindowViewModel()
{
this.PopulateSites();
}
// Get a listing of sites from the database
public void PopulateSites()
{
using (var context = new Data_Access.SiteConfiguration_Entities())
{
var query = (from s in context.SITE_LOOKUP
select new Site(){Name = s.SITE_NAME, SeqId = s.SITE_SEQ_ID });
SiteCollection = new ObservableCollection<Site>(query.ToList());
}
}
}
My Site Class:
public class Site : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
#region Properties
string _name;
public string Name
{
get
{
return _name;
}
set
{
if (_name != value)
{
_name = value;
RaisePropertyChanged("Name");
}
}
}
private int _seqid;
public int SeqId
{
get {
return _seqid;
}
set {
if (_seqid != value)
{
_seqid = value;
RaisePropertyChanged("SeqId");
}
}
}
#endregion
#region Constructors
public Site() { }
public Site(string name, int seqid)
{
this.Name = name;
this.SeqId = seqid;
}
#endregion
void RaisePropertyChanged(string prop)
{
if (PropertyChanged != null) { PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(prop)); }
}
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
}
And my XAML Bindings:
<ComboBox Margin="10"
ItemsSource="{Binding Sites}"
DisplayMemberPath="Name"
SelectedValuePath="SeqId" />
What am I doing wrong? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

You bound to path "Sites" but your property name was "SiteCollection".
You bind to properties, so the names have to match. Also make sure your data context is set to your view model object.

Changes in a viewmodel property is not being reflected in the UI

I am new in WPF I have implemented INotifyPropertyChanged interface. I have one viewmodel containing the property "TeamMemberList". The control executes the setter part, changes the property value but the PropertyChanged event remains null.
Here is code:
ViewModelBase:
public class ViewModelBase : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
protected void NotifyPropertyChanged(string propertyName)
{
if (PropertyChanged != null)
{
PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
}
}
ViewModel:(Which inherits the viewmodelbase)
Property is
public List<Employee> TeamMemberList
{
get
{
return _teamMemberList;
}
set
{
_teamMemberList = value;
NotifyPropertyChanged("TeamMemberList");
}
}
Binding
<ListBox Margin="10" ItemsSource="{Binding TeamMemberList, Mode=TwoWay,
UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}" >
when new employee added to the DB, model reads it & creates List for all emplyee then the TeamMeberList property gets updated. This is updation method for TeamMemberList
var qryEmp = from employee in ClientModel.EmployeeList
where employee.ReportingManager == UserProfile.EmployeeId
select new Employee
{
EmployeeId = employee.EmployeeId,
EmployeeName = employee.EmployeeName,
Designation = employee.Designation,
ProfilePic = employee.ProfilePic,
};
TeamMemberList = qryEmp.ToList();
And implementation of Employee
public class Employee : ViewModelBase
{
private string _employeeName;
private string _employeeId;
private string _profilePic;
private string _designation;
private string _reportinManager;
public string EmployeeName
{
get
{
return _employeeName;
}
set
{
_employeeName = value;
NotifyPropertyChanged("EmployeeName");
}
}
public string EmployeeId
{
get
{
return _employeeId;
}
set
{
_employeeId = value;
NotifyPropertyChanged("EmployeeId");
}
}
public string ProfilePic
{
get
{
return _profilePic;
}
set
{
_profilePic = value;
NotifyPropertyChanged("ProfilePic");
}
}
public string Designation
{
get
{
return _designation;
}
set
{
_designation = value;
NotifyPropertyChanged("Designation");
}
}
public string ReportingManager
{
get
{
return _reportinManager;
}
set
{
_reportinManager = value;
NotifyPropertyChanged("ReportingManager");
}
}
}

It's hard to say what the problem is when we don't see more code (eg: how you are setting the DataContext etc...).
But there is an easy way to debug your bindings by adding the following attribute to it:
<ListBox Margin="10" ItemsSource="{Binding TeamMemberList, Mode=TwoWay, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}"
PresentationTraceSources.TraceLevel=High>
Adding this attribute will output the whole binding sequence to the Output window of Visual Studio. That should point out what is going wrong.
If you want to enable this for all bindings, you can also use the Visual Studio options:

Use ObserveableCollection instead of a list

Update the model from the view model

Update the model from the view model
I have read some post about the MVVM but I not sure if understand the
way that the view model is updating the model
Currently I have two text boxes in the UI which is bound to the XAML view and call to the view model when the event was raised .
when should be the place in the view model when I updating the model?
This is the view model
class ViewModel:INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private String _url;
private String _TemplateType;
public string URL
{
get { return _url; }
set
{
if (value != _url)
{
_url= value;
OnPropertyChanged("URL");
}
}
}
public string TemplateType
{
get { return _TemplateType; }
set
{
if (value != _TemplateType)
{
_TemplateType= value;
OnPropertyChanged("URL");
}
}
}
The model
internal class DefineAddinModel
{
public string TemplateType { get; set; }
public String URL { get; set; }
}

The ViewModel usually acts as a wrapper around the Model and contains a reference to the Model which is can update either in response to commands or automatically in property setters.
UPDATE:
Here's an example of having the VM act as a wrapper around the Model. This may seem useless in your example but you will find in many cases the VM's getters/setters need to do some sort of transformation on the values rather than simply passing them through.
class ViewModel:INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private DefineAddinModel model;
public string URL
{
get { return model.URL; }
set
{
if (value != model.URL)
{
model.url = value;
OnPropertyChanged("URL");
}
}
}
public string TemplateType
{
get { return model.TemplateType; }
set
{
if (value != model.TemplateType)
{
model.TemplateType = value;
OnPropertyChanged("TemplateType");
}
}
}

The better way to update your Model Is by using an event, its safer, so choose weather using a button click or lost focus, or whatever you want
void button_click(object sender,eventsarg e)
{
MyObj.URL = App.Locator.MyVM.MyDefineAddinModel.URL;// App.Locator because MVVMLight is tagged
MyObj.TemplateType = App.Locator.MyVM.MyDefineAddinModel.TemplateType ;
}
but personnaly i Use the following steps :
1- In your ViewModel create a CurrentItem object of type DefineAddinModel and without OnPropertyChanged then bind it to the View(UI) DataContext of the RootElement on the View )
2- for the model I use the INotifyPropertyChanged for each propery
3- after binding the datacontext of your root element to the CurrentItem of your ViewModel then bind just URL and TemplateType properties to your Controls, so any thing changes on the textbox will update CurrentItem properties
you can also chose the type of the binding (On LostFocus, or OnPropertyChanged)

You need to bind your TextBoxes to the two properties URL and TemplateType.
Try to use Commands (in the ViewModel)instead of events (in The CodeBehind) since you are in MVVM.
For updating the model : use a button with it's Command property bound to OnSave just like this example:
private String _url;
private String _TemplateType;
private DefineAddinModel _defineAddin;
public DefineAddinModel DefineAddin
{
get {return _defineAddin;}
set
{
_defineAddin = value;
OnPropertyChanged("DefineAddin");
}
}
public string URL
{
get { return _url; }
set
{
if (value != _url)
{
_url= value;
OnPropertyChanged("URL");
}
}
}
public string TemplateType
{
get { return _TemplateType; }
set
{
if (value != _TemplateType)
{
_TemplateType= value;
OnPropertyChanged("URL");
}
}
}
public RelayCommand OnSaved
{
get;
set;
}
public ViewModel()
{
DefineAddin = new DefineAddinModel();
OnSaved = new RelayCommand(()=>
{
DefineAddin.URL = URL ;
DefineAddin.TemplateType = TemplateType;
});
Think about using third parties like MVVMLight it helps you a lot with MVVM and the helpers around it (Commands, Messenger, ViewModelLocator ...)

I think that the correct answer here is 'it depends'.
In most general cases, the advantage of actually using a ViewModel is also to track 'transient state', i.e. the state of an 'edit in progress' operation.
In this particular case, you would not push your changes directly to the Model every time a value is updated, instead you would do this via an 'Update' ICommand implementation that will collect all the data from the ViewModel and push it down to the Model.
This approach gives you many advantages:
The user of the view can change their mind as many times as they want, and only when they are happy will the Model actually get updated with their definitive choices
It greatly reduces the load on your persistence service, since only final changes are pushed through.
It allows you to do final validation on a complete set of values, rather than transient states, and hence reduces programming complexity and overhead.
It also makes your UI far more fluid since all the examples above are pushing updates on the UI Dispatcher, and avoids you having to cater for this via Tasks or other async approaches.
The backing model is never in an inconsistent state, since I would imagine that all values on one View/ViewModel are related, and only make sense when updated together using an ACID approach.
Here's an example of how I'd do it.
public class ViewModel:INotifyPropertyChanged {
private String _url;
private String _TemplateType;
public ViewModel(){
UpdateCommand = new DelegateCommand(OnExecuteUpdate, OnCanExecuteUpdate);
}
public bool OnCanExecuteUpdate(object param){
// insert logic here to return true when one can update
// or false when data is incomplete
}
public void OnExecuteUpdate(object param){
// insert logic here to update your model using data from the view model
}
public ICommand UpdateCommand { get; set;}
public string URL{
get { return _url; }
set {
if (value != _url) {
_url= value;
OnPropertyChanged("URL");
}
}
}
public string TemplateType {
get { return _TemplateType; }
set {
if (value != _TemplateType) {
_TemplateType= value;
OnPropertyChanged("TemplateType");
}
}
}
... etc.
}
public class DelegateCommand : ICommand {
Func<object, bool> canExecute;
Action<object> executeAction;
public DelegateCommand(Action<object> executeAction)
: this(executeAction, null) {}
public DelegateCommand(Action<object> executeAction, Func<object, bool> canExecute) {
if (executeAction == null) {
throw new ArgumentNullException("executeAction");
}
this.executeAction = executeAction;
this.canExecute = canExecute;
}
public bool CanExecute(object parameter) {
bool result = true;
Func<object, bool> canExecuteHandler = this.canExecute;
if (canExecuteHandler != null) {
result = canExecuteHandler(parameter);
}
return result;
}
public event EventHandler CanExecuteChanged;
public void RaiseCanExecuteChanged() {
EventHandler handler = this.CanExecuteChanged;
if (handler != null) {
handler(this, new EventArgs());
}
}
public void Execute(object parameter) {
this.executeAction(parameter);
}
}

ViewModel data not being found

My project ViewModel elements are not being found. I'm trying to implement a ViewModel within my WPF Usercontrol. However, the binding isn't working properly and there appears to be no data. I'm trying to create a ViewModel to interact with, putting generic string arrays into, and various other bits of data.
MainWindow.xaml - (Usercontrol declaration)
<panels:FilterLister Grid.Column="0" x:Name="filter1FilterLister" />
MainWindows.cs - (Within the constructor, call to usercontrol
filter1FilterLister.Initialise(typeof(Genre));
FilterListViewModel.cs
public class FilterListViewModel
{
MyEntities context = new MyEntities();
ObservableCollection<string> entries = new ObservableCollection<string>();
public Type SelectedType;
private string p_TypeName;
public string TypeName
{
get { return p_TypeName; }
set {
//p_TypeName = value;
p_TypeName = SelectedType.Name.ToString();
}
}
public FilterListViewModel() { }
public FilterListViewModel(Type selectedType)
{
if (selectedType == typeof(Artist))
{
returnedArray = Artist.ReturnArtistNames(context);
}
// put together ObservableCollection
foreach (var str in returnedArray)
{
entries.Add(str);
}
SelectedType = selectedType;
}
}
FilterLister.xaml
<Label Name="labelToBind" Content="{Binding TypeName}" Grid.Row="0" />
FilterLister.cs
public partial class FilterLister : UserControl
{
FilterListViewModel filterListViewModel;
private MyEntities context;
public FilterLister()
{
InitializeComponent();
context = new MyEntities();
}
public void Initialise(Type objectType)
{
filterListViewModel = new FilterListViewModel(objectType);
this.DataContext = filterListViewModel;
}
}

Based on your code, TypeName is null so you saw nothing on the Label. From your code, I think you want to describe like:
public string TypeName
{
get{ return SelectedType.Name.ToString();}
}
As deryck suggested, you should add INotifyPropertyChanged interface for notification, but it should not affect binding at first time. If you believe ViewModel's data is correct but not populated on UI, you should check DataContext and Binding.

You've missed implement the INotifyPropertyChanged interface in your ViewModel, it's needed to the binded property can send "refresh message" to a UI.
Here is the interface, and how you can implement this:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.componentmodel.inotifypropertychanged.aspx
public class FilterListViewModel : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
MyEntities context = new MyEntities();
ObservableCollection<string> entries = new ObservableCollection<string>();
public Type SelectedType;
private string p_TypeName;
public string TypeName
{
get { return p_TypeName; }
set {
//p_TypeName = value;
p_TypeName = SelectedType.Name.ToString();
NotifyPropertyChanged();
}
}
public FilterListViewModel() { }
public FilterListViewModel(Type selectedType)
{
if (selectedType == typeof(Artist))
{
returnedArray = Artist.ReturnArtistNames(context);
}
// put together ObservableCollection
foreach (var str in returnedArray)
{
entries.Add(str);
}
SelectedType = selectedType;
}
private void NotifyPropertyChanged([CallerMemberName] String propertyName = "")
{
if (PropertyChanged != null)
{
PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
}
}