WPF Bind once and never update? - c#

I have a ListView and a GridView that lists users in an application by names. Whenever the user selects an user to edit, I add a new tab to a TabControl, and bind all editable properties to the WPF controls.
However, when the user is editing in the Edit Tab, the information in the List (specifically, the name field) is also being updated.
Currently I'm making a copy of the object to be edited and leaving the original so it doesn't update the ListView, but isn't there a better/easier way to do this?
I've tried setting the Binding Mode=OneWay, didn't work, and also UpdateSourceTrigger=Explicit in the GridView but also didn't work.
Is there any easier way to do this?
Edit: The way I implemented my INotifyPropertyChanged class is part of the issue, since I have this:
public partial class MyTabControl : UserControl
{
public MyTabControl()
{
InitializeComponent();
//Here, DataContext is a List<Users>
//Users being my Model from the Database
//Some of it's properties are bound to a GridView
//User doesn't implement INPC
}
public void OpenTab(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
User original = (sender as Button).DataContext as User;
// - This will create a new ViewModel below with the User I'm sending
MyTabControl.AddTab(original);
}
}
And my ViewModel of Users is:
public class UserViewModel : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public User Original { get; private set; }
public string Name { get { return Original.Name; } set { Original.Name = value; OnPropertyChanged("Name"); } }
public UserViewModel(User original)
{
Original = original ?? new User();
}
// - INPC implementation
}
Since my ViewModel is the one reporting the property changes, I didn't expect my original User to report it as well to the GridView.

The Mode=OneWay causes the information flow to go from the bound data entity to the target UI property only, any change to the UI property will not be bound back.
The reason why the UI content is changing is because the underlying property is read/write (i.e. has a getter and a setter) and is notifying any value change (due to the implementation of the INPC interface).
Presuming that it is a list of User objects you've bound to the GridView, you have two simple options to fix this. Which one is best depends on how much scope for change you have:
change the current Name property on the User object, remove the setter for it. Replace the setter with a method to set the property (i.e. SetUserName(string name)) which then sets the private member variable. Or pass the name as an argument to the constructor of the User entity.
create a new property with only a getter which returns the name and set your binding to that; i.e. public string UserName { get { return Name; }}. As there is only a getter there will be no notification of this property, so if the name does change it won't be propagated via this new property.

Related

Create a custom UserControl using c#

I Created a custom UserControl using Windows Form Control Library.And I want to create a property of UserControlwhich I can add item to it, then I can select item like comboBox.
WinForms allows you to create a rich design-time environment as well as providing for customised editors at runtime for certain properties that you define.
For example, if I plonk a MessageQueue component onto my WinForms form and view the Properties window, I can see a property named Formatter.
Clicking on the Formatter property however displays a drop-down box showing a preset list of values. This is an example of a UI Type Editor.
One way to do this is to define an enum for your supported values (it could be a dynamic list if you wish).
public enum Muppets
{
Kermit,
MissPiggy,
Fozzie
}
...then after defining your own editor derived from UITypeEditor (see MSDN link below)
class MyMuppetEditor : UITypeEditor { ... }
...you attach it to your control's property that you wish to have a drop-down as so:
[Category("Marquee")]
[Browsable(true)]
[EditorAttribute(typeof(MyMuppetEditor),
typeof(System.Drawing.Design.UITypeEditor))]
public Muppets Muppet {get ; set; }
For more detailed information check out the link below.
More
Walkthrough: Implementing a UI Type Editor
Getting the Most Out of the .NET Framework PropertyGrid Control
EDIT: To allow for dynamic list, try making the property a string because that's what the selection will be bound to and during EditValue() when showing your SelectionControl just display a listbox of your dynamic items
You can do this by using the CategoryAttribute class.
Example:
[Description("Description of property here"), Category("Design")]
public bool my_property;
Check out the MSDN page for a more complete reference on how to use it.
EDIT: In the case of wanting to have a bool property, use this example.
private bool my_bool = true; // this is its default value
[PropertyTab("Property Tab Name")]
[Browsable(true)]
[Description("Description of Property"), Category("Data")]
public bool my_property
{
get { return my_bool; }
set { my_bool = value; }
}
I removed my last answer because I misunderstood your point.
An easy solution would require to make a Collection of enum as a property. The Designer property grid will automatically give you the choice among your initialized Collection with a ComboBox. The displayed names will also be the enum's name.
E.g. (something I made for a TextBox that only allows a certain type of value)
The enum :
enum EnumSupportedType
{
Integer = 1,
Double
}
The class where the property is located :
public class NumericTextBox : TextBoxBase, INumericControl
{
private EnumSupportedType _supportedType = EnumSupportedType.Integer;
public EnumSupportedType SupportedType {
get { return _supportedType; }
set { _supportedType = value; }
}
}
Then these items are suggested in a ComboBox (in the Designer property grid) :
Integer
Double
If you can't use enumerations, you can refer to Providing a Custom UI for Your Properties which seems to be a much harder solution to implement but will solve your problem.
I hope it will help you.

C# WPF MVVM ComboBox Binding

First of all, what I'm trying to do is a "simple" binding of a ComboBox to my source.
The structure is something like:
public class Data
{
public ObservableList<string> List {get;set;}
public string Selected {get;set;}
}
Also, it implements INotifyPropertyChanged interface.
My problem is, i found several solutions to do this via XAML, unfortunately i can't do it with XAML since my ComboBoxes have to be generated during runtime.
So my question is, how i can bind my ComboBox to Data.List, and also the selected item (value?) to Data.Selected, and this one should be TwoWay so my Data class knows that something was selected. Keep in mind this has to be through c# code (XAML is no option unfortunately).
Thanks in advance. :)
It's pretty easy. Assuming, that Data has properties instead of fields:
public class Data
{
public Data()
{
List = new ObservableCollection<string>
{
"Apple", "Orange", "Lime"
};
}
public ObservableCollection<string> List { get; private set; }
public string Selected { get; set; }
}
you can write this:
var comboBox = new ComboBox
{
DataContext = new Data()
};
comboBox.SetBinding(ComboBox.ItemsSourceProperty, new Binding("List"));
comboBox.SetBinding(ComboBox.SelectedItemProperty, new Binding("Selected")
{
Mode = BindingMode.TwoWay
});
To add ComboBox into visual tree, just call proper method for the container. E.g., this will work with any ContentControl (like Window):
AddChild(comboBox);
how i can bind my combobox to Data.List, and also the selected item (value?)
Create a custom composite user control which contains the combobox. Map the combobox's properties to two dependencies properties created on the custom control, one to load the data and the other to provide an on demand selected item's data. Any plumbing needs are done inside the codebehind which ultimately provides all the magic.
Then you can create/bind this control dynamically in codebehind as needed in the other page you are working on.
Sounds like a sort of "recursive binding". If your combos are in a container control, what you need is bound the container to a collection of your single combo model, so each view in the ItemsControl will be bound to a single combo model.

How to refresh a window in C#/WPF?

I want to change a value (textBlock) according to an event. Then, I want to refresh my window, but I couldn't. I used invalidateVisual as well as solutions of other posts, but nothing worked.
Thank you in advance
Several solutions (the first and second one does not make use of databinding).
txtMyControl.text = "New value";
If not on the main thread, you could use the dispatcher to update the value.
Application.Current.Dispatcher.BeginInvoke(() => txtMyControl.text == "New Value")
However, the most WPF friendly way to do it is to use the databinding.
Any change made to the value in code will be instantly reflected in the UI.
XAML
<TextBox x:Name="txtExample" Text="{Binding MyTextProperty,Mode=TwoWay}" Height="24" Width="120"/>
In your code, you have to declare a variable that will be persistent.
private ExampleModel _ExampleModel = new ExmampleModel();
When you load your code, you associate that variable to your textbox data context.
txtExample.DataContext = _ExampleModel
Then, you have the class that will contains all the editable properties on screen (textboxes, radio boxes, etc...)
public class ExampleModel : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private string _MyTextProperty = "test";
public string MyTextProperty {
get { return _MyTextProperty; }
set {
if (string.Compare(_MyTextProperty, value) != 0) {
_MyTextProperty = value;
RaisePropertyChanged("MyTextProperty");
}
}
}
public void RaisePropertyChanged(string PropertyName)
{
if (PropertyChanged != null) {
PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(PropertyName));
}
}
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler INotifyPropertyChanged.PropertyChanged;
public delegate void PropertyChangedEventHandler(object sender, PropertyChangedEventArgs e);
}
Whenever you handle your event, you just have to change the value of the property containing the information and the UI will refresh accordingly. Also, since we use a two-way binding, the value from your textbox will always be the same than the one contained by MyTextProperty property in ExampleModel class, which make value retrieval very easy.
ex:
_ExampleModel.MyTextProperty = "New value";
If you were already using databinding, make sure the class used implements INotifyPropertyChanged and that the propertyChanged event is called when the property value change or otherwise it won't update the UI.
The best approach to what you're trying to do would be to use Data Binding.
You need to have a string object that will always hold the value of your textblock. Next you need to bind that object to your textblock and then use the event provided by the INotifyPropertyChanged interface and each time the value changes its representation (the textblock) will change to, no need to refresh the window.
More information here
If your event updates the textblock and the textblock you are using is bound to a string property and that property issues a NotifyPropertyChanged() in it's set method, that will cause the display to refresh as you desire.
There are other ways, but this is the easiest given my understanding of your question.
(this is similar to the other answer, but I tried to word so it is easier to understand/implement.)

Property that changes in constructor or as property

I am working with C# using the MVVM pattern. I have two WPF windows, each with a view model. Basically I need to pass a property of the main view model to the 'child' view model. At the minute, I do this by setting a private variable equal to the new view model in the main view model's constructor, and in doing so passing the property in the constructor of the child view model.
However, there is a dependency property linked to the property as it used as a binding for the selected item in a combobox. Therefore, it is likely to change after the child view model is initialized, but by passing the property in the constructor, the change is not made in my child view model.
So, is there anyway for me to pass the property into the constructor and have it change in the child view model when it does in the main view model? Or would I have to create a property in the child view model which is updated everytime the property in the main view model is set?
Hope that makes sense.
Edit Inside my main view model, I declare the following:
public readonly DependencyProperty CurrentDatabaseManagedProperty = DependencyProperty.Register("CurrentDatabaseManaged", typeof(DatabaseInfo), typeof(MainViewModel));
public DatabaseInfo CurrentDatabaseManaged {
get { return (DatabaseInfo)GetValue(CurrentDatabaseManagedProperty); }
set { SetValue(CurrentDatabaseManagedProperty, value); }
}
public DatabaseInfo CurrentDatabaseManagedSelection {
get { return CurrentDatabaseManaged; }
set {
if (CurrentDatabaseManaged != null &&
(String.Equals(value.Name, CurrentDatabaseManaged.Name, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))) return;
CurrentDatabaseManaged = (value.IsUsable ? value : dbm.ReadDatabase(value.FileName));
}
}
Where CurrentDatabaseManagedSelection is the SelectedItem of the combobox. In the constructor of the main view model, I have the following:
_DatabaseVM = new ChildViewModel(CurrentDatabaseManaged);
And the constructor of ChildViewModel looks like this:
public ChildViewModel( DatabaseInfo SelectedDatabase)
{
if (SelectedDatabase != null)
_SelectedDatabase = SelectedDatabase;
}
}
Basically I would like _SelectedDatabase to be updated whenever CurrentDatabaseManagedSelection is.
You have to change the value later, after bindings are set up in the UI.
Use the Dispatcher.BeginInvoke method to put off updating the property until later on.
public MyClass(object someValue)
{
Dispatcher.BeginInvoke(
(Action)(() => Property = someValue), // the cast may not be required
DispatcherPriority.ApplicationIdle); // runs after everything is loaded
}
It looks like you want to bind to the CurrentDatabaseManagedSelection property. The simplest way to simulate this is to add this to the setter of that property:
_DatabaseVM._SelectedDatabase = value;
To do it with actual bindings, you'd need to
make ChildViewModel._SelectedDatabase a dependency property,
make MainViewModel implement INotifyPropertyChanged, and
call the PropertyChanged event in the setter of CurrentDatabaseManagedSelection.
make ChildViewModel extend DependencyObject
instead of just setting the property, set a binding, e.g.
BindingOperations.SetBinding(this, _SelectedDatabaseProperty,
new Binding("CurrentDatabaseManagedSelection") { Source = mainViewModel });

How to access properties of a usercontrol in C#

I've made a C# usercontrol with one textbox and one richtextbox.
How can I access the properties of the richtextbox from outside the usercontrol.
For example.. if i put it in a form, how can i use the Text propertie of the richtextbox???
thanks
Cleanest way is to expose the desired properties as properties of your usercontrol, e.g:
class MyUserControl
{
// expose the Text of the richtext control (read-only)
public string TextOfRichTextBox
{
get { return richTextBox.Text; }
}
// expose the Checked Property of a checkbox (read/write)
public bool CheckBoxProperty
{
get { return checkBox.Checked; }
set { checkBox.Checked = value; }
}
//...
}
In this way you can control which properties you want to expose and whether they should be read/write or read-only. (of course you should use better names for the properties, depending on their meaning).
Another advantage of this approach is that it hides the internal implementation of your user control. Should you ever want to exchange your richtext control with a different one, you won't break the callers/users of your control.
Change the access modifier ("Modifiers") of the RichTextBox in the property grid to Public.
Add a property to the usercontrol like this
public string TextBoxText
{
get
{
return textBox1.Text;
}
set
{
textBox1.Text = value;
}
}
I recently had some issues doing this with a custom class:
A user control had a public property which was of a custom class type. The designer by default tries to assign some value to it, so in the designer code, the line userControlThing.CustomClassProperty = null was being automatically added.
The intent was to be able to provide the user control with a custom class at any point while running the program (to change values visible to the user). Because the set {} portion did not check for null values, various errors were cropping up.
The solution was to change the property to a private one, and use two public methods to set and get the value. The designer will try to auto-assign properties, but leaves methods alone.
You need to make a public property for the richtextbox, or expose some other property that does the job of setting the richtextbox text like:
private RichTextBox rtb;
public string RichTextBoxText
{
get
{
return rtb.Text;
}
set
{
rtb.Text = value;
}
}

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