Setting the DataContext to the current code-behind object in XAML - c#

I'm trying to set the DataContext for my UserControl to the code-behind class of the UserControl. It's really easy to do from the code-behind side:
public partial class OHMDataPage : UserControl
{
public StringList Stuff { get; set; }
public OHMDataPage ()
{
InitializeComponent();
DataContext = this;
}
}
<UserControl xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
x:Class="LCDHardwareMonitor.Pages.OHMDataPage">
<ScrollViewer>
<ListBox ItemsSource="{Binding Stuff}" />
</ScrollViewer>
</UserControl>
But how can I do this purely from the XAML side and at the UserControl level? It works on child nodes if I do this (and remove DataContext = this; from the code-behind):
<UserControl xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
x:Class="LCDHardwareMonitor.Pages.OHMDataPage">
<ScrollViewer
DataContext="{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource Mode=FindAncestor, AncestorType=UserControl}}">
<ListBox ItemsSource="{Binding Stuff}" />
</ScrollViewer>
</UserControl>
I'd really like to understand how to do this on the UserControl itself. I expected this to work:
<UserControl xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
x:Class="LCDHardwareMonitor.Pages.OHMDataPage"
DataContext="{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource Mode=Self}}">
<ScrollViewer>
<ListBox ItemsSource="{Binding Stuff}" />
</ScrollViewer>
</UserControl>
but it doesn't.

DataContext="{Binding Mode=OneWay, RelativeSource={RelativeSource Self}}"
Should work.
But if your properties are not set before InitializeComponent() is called, the WPF binding mechanism doesn't know that your property's values are changed.
To give you a quick idea:
// the binding should work
public StringList Stuff { get; set; }
public Constructor()
{
Stuff = new StringList { "blah", "blah", "foo", "bar" };
InitializeComponent();
}
// the binding won't work
public StringList Stuff { get; set; }
public Constructor()
{
InitializeComponent();
Stuff = new StringList { "blah", "blah", "foo", "bar" };
}
If you're using a list of strings, consider using an ObservableCollection instead. This will notify the WPF binding mechanism when items are added or removed.

Related

Add TabItems to an existing TabControl WPF/MVVM

I have TabControl that has already define some TabItems on XAML. I need to create new TabItems and add to it.
If I use ItemSource I get an exception Items collection must be empty before using ItemsSource.
The solution I have found so far is to create those TabItems I have already defined on XAML but programmatically on the ViewModel, so I can created the others I really need, but doesn't seems to be a good solution.
Other solution would be to add the TabControl as a property and use the Code-Behind to bind it to the ViewModel, which I would like to avoid.
So, I'm just wondering if there is a way to do this only with XAML and MVVM.
Edit:
ItemSource attempt, which is working.
XAML:
<TabControl Grid.Row="1"
Grid.Column="0"
VerticalAlignment="Stretch"
BorderThickness="0.5"
BorderBrush="Black"
ItemsSource="{Binding Model.TabItems, Mode=TwoWay}">
<!--<TabControl.Items>
</TabControl.Items>-->
</TabControl>
Model
public ObservableCollection<TabItem> TabItems {get;set;}
VM
TabItem tabItem = new TabItem { Content = new DetailedViewModel((MyObject)inCommandParameter) };
Model.TabItems.Add(tabItem);
What you are doing here is NOT MvvM. Idea behind it is to keep parts of the app separate, i.e. Model should NOT return any UI elements. If you want to use this with any other UI framework for example WinForms then it will fail and will require additional work.
What you need is something like this, bear in mind that this is an example and you will need to modify this to comply with your requirements.
Model class:
namespace Model
{
public class Profile
{
public string Name { get; set; }
public static int I { get; set; } = 2;
}
}
After this you will need the ViewModel:
namespace VM
{
public class MainViewModel : BaseViewModel
{
public MainViewModel()
{
ProfilesCollection = new List<Profile>();
for (int i = 0; i < 100; i++)
{
ProfilesCollection.Add(new Profile() {Name = $"Name {i}"});
}
}
private List<Profile> profilesCollection;
public List<Profile> ProfilesCollection
{
get { return profilesCollection; }
set { profilesCollection = value; OnPropertyChanged(); }
}
}
}
Now we have base to work with. After that I assume you know how to add the relevant references in your xaml, but this might be seen by other people so I will include it anyway.
Here is a complete MainWindow.xaml:
<Window x:Class="SO_app.MainWindow"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
xmlns:vm="clr-namespace:VM;assembly=VM"
xmlns:i="clr-namespace:System.Windows.Interactivity;assembly=System.Windows.Interactivity"
xmlns:converter="clr-namespace:SO_app.Converters"
xmlns:validation="clr-namespace:SO_app.Validation"
xmlns:scm="clr-namespace:System.ComponentModel;assembly=WindowsBase"
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:SO_app"
xmlns:sys="clr-namespace:System;assembly=mscorlib"
xmlns:model="clr-namespace:Model;assembly=Model"//reference to my model
mc:Ignorable="d"
Title="MainWindow" Height="452.762" Width="525" Closing="Window_Closing">
<!-- d:DataContext="{d:DesignInstance Type=vm:MainViewModel, IsDesignTimeCreatable=True}" -->
<Window.Resources>
<CollectionViewSource Source="{Binding ProfilesCollection}" x:Key="profiles"/> // this corresponds to our collection in VM
</Window.Resources>
<Window.DataContext>
<vm:MainViewModel/>//Data Context of the Window
</Window.DataContext>
<Window.Background>
<VisualBrush>
<VisualBrush.Visual>
<Rectangle Width="50" Height="50" Fill="ForestGreen"></Rectangle>
</VisualBrush.Visual>
</VisualBrush>
</Window.Background>
<TabControl>
<TabControl.Resources>
<DataTemplate DataType="{x:Type model:Profile}">//this data template will be used by the TabControl
<Grid>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Name}"/>
</Grid>
</DataTemplate>
</TabControl.Resources>
<TabControl.ItemsSource>
<CompositeCollection>
<TabItem Header="First Item"/>
<TabItem Header="SecondItem"/>
<CollectionContainer Collection="{Binding Source={StaticResource profiles}}"/>
</CompositeCollection>
</TabControl.ItemsSource>
</TabControl>
If you want to add more items then just use Command which would be implemented in VM and just add profile to it and enjoy the show.

Wpf binding collection property in UserControl (xaml)

Add collections of buttons in my userControl (Options).
In xaml disigner the are displayed.
Output
When i run my application:
If Options not initialized, then an error XamlObjectWriterException: Property collection "WpfAppUserControl.Buttons"."Options" (null).
If Options = new List(), then window without buttons
MainWindow.xaml
<Window x:Class="WpfAppUserControl.MainWindow"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:WpfAppUserControl"
mc:Ignorable="d"
Title="MainWindow" Height="250" Width="300">
<Grid>
<local:Buttons x:Name="Buttons"
VerticalAlignment="Center"
HorizontalAlignment="Center"
HorizontalContentAlignment="Center">
<local:Buttons.Options>
<Button Content="Agudabi 1" Height="20" Margin="2" />
<Button Content="Agudabi 2" Height="20" Margin="2" />
<Button Content="Agudabi 3" Height="20" Margin="2" />
</local:Buttons.Options>
</local:Buttons>
</Grid>
</Window>
Buttons.xaml
<UserControl x:Class="WpfAppUserControl.Buttons"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:WpfAppUserControl"
mc:Ignorable="d"
d:DesignHeight="300" d:DesignWidth="300">
<Grid>
<WrapPanel x:Name="InternalContainer" Orientation="Horizontal" HorizontalAlignment="Center"/>
</Grid>
</UserControl>
Buttons.xaml.cs
#region Usings
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Collections.ObjectModel;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Controls;
#endregion
namespace WpfAppUserControl
{
public partial class Buttons : UserControl
{
public Buttons()
{
//Options = new ObservableCollection<Button>();
InitializeComponent();
}
public ObservableCollection<Button> Options
{
get { return (ObservableCollection<Button>) GetValue(OptionsProperty); }
set { SetValue(OptionsProperty, value); }
}
public static readonly DependencyProperty OptionsProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register(nameof(Options), typeof(ObservableCollection<Button>), typeof(Buttons),
new PropertyMetadata(/*new ObservableCollection<Button>()*/, PropertyChangedCallback));
private static void PropertyChangedCallback(DependencyObject d, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
var obj = d as Buttons;
foreach (var button in obj.Options)
{
obj.InternalContainer.Children.Add(button);
}
}
}
}
Here is an example of what you should actually do.
Instead of a UserControl with a collection property, use an ItemsControl like this:
<ItemsControl ItemsSource="{Binding Options}">
<ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
<ItemsPanelTemplate>
<WrapPanel/>
</ItemsPanelTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
<ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<Button Content="{Binding Name}" Command="{Binding Command}"
Height="20" Margin="2"/>
</DataTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
</ItemsControl>
Then create a view model with a collection of data items with properties for the Button Content and Command:
public class ViewModel
{
public ObservableCollection<Option> Options { get; }
= new ObservableCollection<Option>();
}
public class Option
{
public string Name { get; set; }
public ICommand Command { get; set; }
}
Initialize it like shown below, where the ICommand implementation is ommited for brevity. Search the web for RelayCommand for a the implementation details.
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
var vm = new ViewModel();
vm.Options.Add(new Option { Name = "Agudabi 1" });
vm.Options.Add(new Option { Name = "Agudabi 2" });
vm.Options.Add(new Option { Name = "Agudabi 3" });
DataContext = vm;
}
first initialize OptionsProperty with an empty ObservableCollection:
public partial class Buttons : UserControl
{
public Buttons()
{
Options = new ObservableCollection<Button>();
InitializeComponent();
}
public ObservableCollection<Button> Options
{
get { return (ObservableCollection<Button>) GetValue(OptionsProperty); }
set { SetValue(OptionsProperty, value); }
}
public static readonly DependencyProperty OptionsProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("Options", typeof(ObservableCollection<Button>), typeof(Buttons));
}
Clemens commented that "Never set the default value of a collection type DP to anything else than null. Otherwise all instances of the UserControl class will operate on the same default collection instance." The same is true about any reference type. So property initialization is done in constructor.
you can do without PropertyChangedCallback, because it is possible to display collection more effectively using ItemsControl:
<UserControl x:Name="myUC" x:Class="WpfAppUserControl.Buttons"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:WpfAppUserControl"
mc:Ignorable="d"
d:DesignHeight="300" d:DesignWidth="300">
<Grid>
<ItemsControl ItemsSource="{Binding Path=Options, ElementName=myUC}">
<ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
<ItemsPanelTemplate>
<WrapPanel x:Name="InternalContainer" Orientation="Horizontal" HorizontalAlignment="Center"/>
</ItemsPanelTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
</ItemsControl>
</Grid>
</UserControl>
note that PropertyChangedCallback is not triggered when you add items to collections because collection property itself hasn't changed, it is the same reference

Expose Parent's DataContext to children through Resource

I have a situation where the parent DataContext is different from the child DataContext, and I would like to access the parent DataContext from a binding in the child. This can be done using a verbose RelativeSource like so:
<Button Content="{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource AncestorType={x:Type local:MainWindow}}, Path=DataContext.Bar}"/>
I would like to find a way to reference the parent's DataContext in a much more concise way. Is there a way, for example, the parent could expose a reference to it's DataContext (or any of it's properties for that matter) through a Resource defined in the parent? Ideally, the child's binding would then look something like the following (forgive me for using StaticResource as an example).
<Button Path=Bar, Content="{StaticResource parentDataContextReference}"/>
Ideally, avoiding code-behind, but open to that solution. A contrived example:
MainWindow.xaml
<Window x:Class="BindingTest.MainWindow"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:BindingTest"
Title="MainWindow" Height="350" Width="525">
<Window.Resources>
<x:ArrayExtension x:Key="children" Type="{x:Type local:ChildViewModel}">
<local:ChildViewModel Name="Child 1"/>
<local:ChildViewModel Name="Child 2"/>
</x:ArrayExtension>
</Window.Resources>
<StackPanel>
<Button Content="{Binding Foo}" Height="20" Width="60"></Button>
<ListView ItemsSource="{StaticResource children}">
<ListView.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<local:ChildView/>
</DataTemplate>
</ListView.ItemTemplate>
</ListView>
</StackPanel>
</Window>
MainWindow.xaml.cs
namespace BindingTest
{
public class MainViewModel
{
public string Foo { get; set; }
public string Bar { get; set; }
public MainViewModel()
{
Foo = "Foo";
Bar = "Bar";
}
}
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
DataContext = new MainViewModel();
}
}
}
ChildView.xaml
<UserControl x:Class="BindingTest.ChildView"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:BindingTest"
mc:Ignorable="d"
d:DesignHeight="300" d:DesignWidth="300">
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal">
<Button Content="{Binding Name}"/>
<Button Content="{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource AncestorType={x:Type local:MainWindow}}, Path=DataContext.Bar}"/>
</StackPanel>
</UserControl>
ChildView.xaml.cs
namespace BindingTest
{
public class ChildViewModel
{
public string Name { get; set; }
public ChildViewModel()
{
Name = "Undefined";
}
}
public partial class ChildView : UserControl
{
public ChildView()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
}
}
to long for a comment... i use RelativeSource Binding too. but i use it with "Marker Interfaces". this means simply empty interfaces which i'm putting on the Views/UserControls.
public interface IMainWindowMarker {}
public Window MainWindow : IMainWindowMarker {}
the binding the looks much the same to yours but its more readable to me.
<Button Content="{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource AncestorType={x:Type local:IMainWindowMarker}}, Path=DataContext.Bar}"/>

Design time ItemsSource on ItemsControl

I'm trying to design the DataTemplate for my ItemsControl and I need some mock data to populate the template. I read using d:DataContext is enough so that I don't have to create a mock class. How can I do this?
The instance you have to use with d:DataContext must be declared in the XAML, with a StaticResource for example.
Here is how you could do it:
<UserControl x:Class="WpfApplication1.UserControl1"
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:WpfApplication1"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
mc:Ignorable="d"
d:DesignHeight="300" d:DesignWidth="300">
<UserControl.Resources>
<local:MyViewModel x:Key="mockViewModel"/>
</UserControl.Resources>
<Grid>
<ItemsControl d:DataContext="{StaticResource mockViewModel}"
ItemsSource="{Binding Items}">
<ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Name}"/>
</DataTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
</ItemsControl>
</Grid>
</UserControl>
The class I used as data context is defined as follows:
namespace WpfApplication1
{
public class Item
{
public Item(string name)
{
Name = name;
}
public string Name { get; private set; }
}
public class MyViewModel
{
public List<Item> Items
{
get
{
return new List<Item>() { new Item("Thing 1"), new Item("Thing 2") };
}
}
}
}
Of course, you can also set the data context on the UserControl or on your Window.
Here's the result:

Resharper dosn't recognize the correct ViewModel Type

We are using Resharper and of course we want to take advantage of Resharper's xaml intellisense.
Our View's Data Context are bound to a CurrentViewmodel property of type ViewModelBase. At runtime this Property is set with a View model inheritating from ViewModelBase.
I already added those lines in the View model to set the correct Type:
xmlns:vms="clr-namespace:PQS.ViewModel.Report"
d:DataContext="{d:DesignInstance vms:ReportFilterViewModel, IsDesignTimeCreatable=False}"
But Resharper still keeps looking in ViewModelbase for the Properties.
What else can i try?
Some more Code:
Setting the DataContext:
<UserControl.DataContext>
<Binding Path="ReportMainViewModel.CurrentVm" Source="{StaticResource Locator}"/>
</UserControl.DataContext>
Binding Something (Products is a Property on ReportFilterViewmodel, r# keeps looking for it in ViewModelBase):
<ListBox ItemsSource="{Binding Products.View}" Background="White" DisplayMemberPath="Name.ActualTranslation">
</ListBox>
R# can't statically find concrete view model type that will be available in runtime, so you need to annotate data context type manually like this:
using System.Collections.Generic;
public partial class MainWindow {
public MainWindow() {
Current = new ConcreteViewModel {
Products = {
new Product(),
new Product()
}
};
InitializeComponent();
}
public ViewModelBase Current { get; set; }
}
public class ViewModelBase { }
public class ConcreteViewModel : ViewModelBase {
public ConcreteViewModel() {
Products = new List<Product>();
}
public List<Product> Products { get; private set; }
}
public class Product {
public string ProductName { get { return "Name1"; } }
}
And XAML part:
<Window x:Class="MainWindow" x:Name="MainWin"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
xmlns:global="clr-namespace:" mc:Ignorable="d"
DataContext="{Binding ElementName=MainWin, Path=Current}">
<!-- here the type of data context is ViewModelBase -->
<Grid d:DataContext="{d:DesignInstance global:ConcreteViewModel}">
<!-- and here is ConcreteViewModel -->
<ListBox ItemsSource="{Binding Path=Products}">
<ListBox.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding ProductName}"/>
</DataTemplate>
</ListBox.ItemTemplate>
</ListBox>
</Grid>
</Window>
Or like this:
<Window x:Class="MainWindow" x:Name="MainWin"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:global="clr-namespace:"
DataContext="{Binding ElementName=MainWin, Path=Current}">
<Grid>
<ListBox ItemsSource="{Binding Path=(global:ConcreteViewModel.Products)}">
<ListBox.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding ProductName}"/>
</DataTemplate>
</ListBox.ItemTemplate>
</ListBox>
</Grid>
</Window>

Categories