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Combobox binding issue

My ComboBox does not get populated with data.
Class Employee set to public, has variables such as:
public int EmployeeID { get; set; }
public string FirstName { get; set; }
public string LastName { get; set; }
Code on UserControl:
public IEnumerable<csEmployee> employeeList;
public ObservableCollection<csEmployee> _employeeSorted { get; set; }
public ucAddClient()
{
InitializeComponent();
//Establish connection
var GetMyData = new DataAccess();
//Get data by procedure
employeeList = GetMyDataPV.ExecuteStoredProc<csEmployee>("procedure", new {KeyDate = Key_to_extract});
employeeList = employeeList.Where(record => record.EmployeeLevelID > 300);
_employeeSorted = new ObservableCollection<csEmployee>(employeeList.Where(record => record != null));
}
And WPF:
<ComboBox x:Name="cbAddManager"
Foreground="#FF4D648B"
FontSize="12"
IsEditable="True"
ItemsSource="{Binding _employeeSorted}"
DisplayMemberPath="FirstName"
PreviewKeyDown="cbAddManager_PreviewKeyDown"
Width="200">
<!--<ComboBox.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal">
<TextBlock Width ="50" Text="{Binding LastName}"/>
<TextBlock Text=", "/>
<TextBlock Width ="50" Text="{Binding FirstName}"/>
</StackPanel>
</DataTemplate>
</ComboBox.ItemTemplate>-->
</ComboBox>
Do you have any idea, why ComboBoxis not populated? When I do this in code (I add it in user control class) it gets data needed.
Im not sure if Im binding it correctly?

That is because you assign a new instance of a collection to your _employeeSorted property after InitializeComponent. At that time, the binding is already set up and does not get notified that you have updated the property from null, because you do not implement INotifyPropertyChanged.
There are multiple ways to solve the issue:
Initialize the collection before InitializeComponent and work on this same collection if you intend to change it, using Clear and Add instead of creating a new instance on changes.
Implement the INotifyPropertyChanged interface and use it to notify changes to your property so that the bindings are updated the the changes are applied in the user interface, e.g.:
public partial class MyUserControl : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
private ObservableCollection<csEmployee> _employeeSortedField;
public ObservableCollection<csEmployee> _employeeSorted
{
get => _employeeSortedField;
set
{
if (_employeeSortedField == value)
return;
_employeeSortedField = value;
OnPropertyChanged();
}
}
protected virtual void OnPropertyChanged([CallerMemberName] string propertyName = null)
{
PropertyChanged?.Invoke(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
}
Expose a depenedency property for the collection instead and bind it to a collection in your view model that is passed as data context of the UserControl, thus moving the data access out it and separating the view from the business logic and data (recommended, see below MVVM).
Another issue might be that you do not set your data context to the UserControl itself in XAML (which is not recommened by the way, although it might solve your issue). In this case, the binding is unable to resolve the property at runtime (a binding error will be shown in the output window).
<UserControl x:Class="YourProject.YourControl"
...
DataContext="{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource Self}}">
As a note, it seems that you mix your business logic with your UserControl (view). Leverage the MVVM design pattern to create view models and seprate both concerns instead. Furthermore, if you set the data context of your UserControl to itself, you break data context inheritance.

C# / WPF Bind in TabControl ItemsSource to property in code behind of List item

In my ViewModel I have a BindingList which holds my Views that should be displayed as tabs in my TabControl. The text for the tab is defined in the code behind of the view. I also defined a simple test class to test the binding which works perfectly. Only the binding to the code behind property does not work.
Xaml code for my TabControl:
<TabControl ItemsSource="{Binding TabControlContentList}">
<TabControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Path=DisplayName, FallbackValue=FallbackValue}" />
</DataTemplate>
</TabControl.ItemTemplate>
</TabControl>
The BindingList which it is bound to:
void RaisePropertyChanged([CallerMemberName] string propertyName = "")
=> PropertyChanged?.Invoke(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
public BindingList<object> TabControlContentList
{
get => tabControlContentList;
set
{
tabControlContentList = value;
RaisePropertyChanged();
}
}
private BindingList<object> tabControlContentList = new BindingList<object>();
Test class:
class ControlTest
{
public string DisplayName { get; private set; } = "";
public ControlTest(string name) => DisplayName = name;
}
Xaml code behind of AnalysisView.xaml.cs:
public partial class AnalysisView
{
public string DisplayName { get; private set; } = "Analysis";
public AnalysisView()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
}
In my ViewModel I have the following code:
public AnalysisView analysisView = new AnalysisView();
TabControlContentList.Clear();
TabControlContentList.Add(new ControlTest("Menu 1"));
TabControlContentList.Add(new ControlTest("Menu 2"));
TabControlContentList.Add(analysisView);
TabControlContentList.Add(new ControlTest("Menu 3"));
TabControlContentList.Add(new ControlTest("Menu 4"));
My TabControl then shows five tabs. First two have the text "Menu 1" and "Menu 2" on them, the third one reads "FallbackValue", followed by "Menu 3" and "Menu 4".
I have no idea anymore why the binding on the property in code behind in AnalysisView.xaml.cs does not work. Is this maybe a general Wpf thing?

Before I present my answer, I highly recommend that you download and learn how to use Snoop for WPF, or use the Visual Studio built-in XAML runtime inspection tools. These allow you to look at bindings, data context, etc.
The main reason why your code doesn't work, is that a UserControl doesn't have a DataContext by default.
So, updating your AnalysisView like so will give it a DataContext pointing to itself:
public AnalysisView()
{
InitializeComponent();
DataContext = this;
}
However, the DataContext in a UserControl won't flow into your DataTemplate like your other objects. To make it work, you need to change your binding like so:
<DataTemplate>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Path=DataContext.DisplayName, FallbackValue=ERROR!, RelativeSource={RelativeSource AncestorType={x:Type TabItem}}}" />
</DataTemplate>
Working with UserControls like this feels like a hack. So you might want to look for ways to design whatever app you're building a little differently.
Also, the code in your sample is not using INotifyPropertyChanged for properties, so you won't be getting any change notifications. You might want to learn more about the MVVM pattern.

UWP Gridview binding to View Model

I'm using a GridView in a UserControl to display a five by four square of graphical buttons that allow selection of a Lesson.
This is in a Windows 8.1 Store App that I'm upgrading to Windows 10 UWP.
I previously used Tap and Right-Tap actions to select a Lesson or activate the CommandBar to perform related actions for a Lesson through the SelectionChanged event. However, there have been changes to how Interactions now work under Windows 10, I have been unable to get the Gridview to work at all with binding the SelectedItem to the selected LessonButton in the view model, nor the SelectionChanged and ItemClick events for such purposes. The Gridview selections behaviour doesn't work, as once an item is selected it is never deselected. So finally, I've taken a different tack and am trying Tap and Right-Tap events for the Gridview Items. However the issue is, that no matter which way I approach it, I can't get Binding to work correctly.
So I have an object called LessonButton:
public class LessonButton : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
//public LessonButton() { }
public LessonButton(SolidColorBrush inBackground, bool inComplete, double inHeight, int inNumber, bool inSelected, bool inStarted,
Status inState, double inWidth)
{
...
Started = inStarted;
...
}
...
private bool _started;
public bool Started
{
get { return _started; }
set { if (_started != value) { _started = value; OnPropertyChanged(); } }
}
...
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
protected void OnPropertyChanged([CallerMemberName] string propertyName = null)
{
var handler = PropertyChanged;
handler?.Invoke(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
}
It is added to an observable collection in the View Model:
public class LessonsViewModel : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public ObservableCollection<LessonButton> Lessons { get; } = new ObservableCollection<LessonButton>();
private LessonButton _selectedLessonButton;
public LessonButton SelectedLessonButton
{
get { return _selectedLessonButton; }
set { if (_selectedLessonButton != value) { _selectedLessonButton = value; OnPropertyChanged(); } }
}
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
protected void OnPropertyChanged([CallerMemberName] string propertyName = null)
{
var handler = PropertyChanged;
handler?.Invoke(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
}
In a user control I set the DataContext with:
<UserControl.DataContext>
<classes:LessonsViewModel/>
</UserControl.DataContext>
..and I then have a GridView defined as:
<GridView x:Name="LessonGridView" ItemContainerStyle="{StaticResource GridViewItemStyle}" ItemsSource="{Binding Lessons}"
SelectionMode="Single" IsItemClickEnabled="False" SelectedItem="{Binding Path=SelectedLessonButton, Mode=TwoWay}">
<GridView.ItemsPanel>
<ItemsPanelTemplate>
<VariableSizedWrapGrid HorizontalChildrenAlignment="Left" MaximumRowsOrColumns="5" Orientation="Horizontal" VerticalChildrenAlignment="Top"/>
</ItemsPanelTemplate>
</GridView.ItemsPanel>
</GridView>
With the GridView item format defined in a ControlTemplate as part of the GridViewItemStyle.
I've tried to access the LessonButton variables in various ways using Binding and xBind, but could only get the program to run with the ControlTemplate using this XAML:
<Image Grid.Row="1" Grid.Column="1" Width="{StaticResource BadgeSize}"
Height="{StaticResource BadgeSize}" HorizontalAlignment="Right" VerticalAlignment="Top"
Opacity="{Binding Started, Converter={StaticResource OpacityConverterTrueValueIsVisible}}"
Source="/Assets/SelectionButtonGroup/square310x310logobw.png" Stretch="Uniform"/>
The Converter simply returns a 1 or 0 depending upon the value of the bool Started.
Although this code work, it is not correct somehow and Visual Studio reports an unknown error and states it cannot find the Started property. In fact it can't find any of the properties of LessonButton and I've been unable to find the correct syntax for exposing them, even with x:Bind code such as:
{x:Bind LessonViewModel.Lessons.LessonButton.Selected}
..or versions thereof, using casting etc.
I'm using Visual Studio 2017 Enterprise, which reports the aforementioned errors and displays wavy lines over the entire ControlTemplate with an error where it cannot find another Converter artefact that isn't even related to this code.. which in itself, I find extremely irritating. Is it me or does the XAML Intellisence in VS seem very flaky, in that it gives up and reports false errors if it can't identify the root cause of a real one?
Ideally I'd like the Gridview SelectedItem to bind with the ViewModel. But even trying actions via Tap events I can't get the binding to correctly expose LessonButton properties in the ControlTemplate XAML.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

You shouldn't be using the ItemContainerStyle to Bind your LessonButton variables to. The ItemContainerStyle is used to style the Item with selection marks, its hover and pressed states etc.
You should instead use a DataTemplate stored inside your UserControl's resources like so:
<Grid>
<Grid.Resources>
<DataTemplate x:Name="GridViewTemplate">
<TextBlock Text="{Binding LessonName}">
</DataTemplate>
</StackPanel.Resources>
<GridView x:Name="GridView"
ItemsSource="{Binding Lessons}"
ItemTemplate="{StaticResource GridViewTemplate}">
</GridView>
</Grid>
Then give your DataTemplate a name (above "GridViewTemplate") and set it as the ItemTemplate of your GridView.

C# MVVM: Binding a RadioButton to a boolean Property

I am quiet new to programming and am currently learning C# and the MVVM pattern.
I need to code a database tool for ChiliPlants for university.
There you should be able to add a new object to an ObservableCollection.
To add a new Item to this ObservableCollection a new Window opens. It looks like this:
Window Add
I now want the two RadioBoxes to be bound to a property called "HybridSeed". Which is defined in the ViewModel:
//Public Property HybridSeed
public bool HybridSeed
{
get { return ChiliModel.HybridSeed; }
set
{
if (ChiliModel.HybridSeed == value)
return;
ChiliModel.HybridSeed = value;
OnPropertyChanged("HybridSeed");
}
}
The RadioBox part of my View looks like this:
<RadioButton Grid.Row="5" Content="Ja" Grid.Column="1" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="10,10,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top"/>
<RadioButton Grid.Row="5" Content="Nein" Grid.Column="1" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="89,10,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top"/>
But how to bind the outcome of a user clicking on these RadioButtons to this HybridSeed Property? Important is that the outcome is a bool.
I looked up almost every entry similar to this topic, but I did not find a simple solution. Or a solution which I was able to understand with my bad coding skills :( ...
I would be very happy if you guys could help me. Please keep it simple for this newbie :)
If there is a simpler solution using a CheckBox or a ComboBox it would also be perfect. The most important thing is to have a nice user interface. Right now it only works with a TextBox where the user always has to write "True" or "False".
Solution:
I added the IsClicked Property in the "Yes" RadioButton to be bound to my boulean property with: IsClicked="{Binding HybridSeed}". Thanks to naslund for his fast answer :)

Just bind HybridSeed to the Yes-radiobutton. It will then either be true if the user has selected that or false if No-radiobutton has been selected (or if nothing has been selected). Binding to both buttons in this case is a bit redundant since the mechanism of radiobuttons takes care of it.
WPF:
<RadioButton Content="Yes" IsChecked="{Binding HybridSeed}" />
<RadioButton Content="No" />
<Label Content="{Binding HybridSeed}" ContentStringFormat="Value is: {0}" />
Logic:
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
DataContext = new ViewModel();
}
}
public class ViewModel : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private bool hybridSeed;
public bool HybridSeed
{
get { return hybridSeed; }
set
{
hybridSeed = value;
OnPropertyChanged(nameof(HybridSeed));
}
}
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
[NotifyPropertyChangedInvocator]
protected virtual void OnPropertyChanged([CallerMemberName] string propertyName = null)
{
PropertyChanged?.Invoke(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
}

How to group checkboxes in treeview wpf mvvm when selection range is [0,1]

I have made a tree View in wpf Using MVVM .
it is working fine but here is one problem that leaf node contains some checkboxes and user have only two options either to select one or none .
So here how i can restricted user to select maximum only one cold drink.
I did one trick but it didn't work that when i have already selected a drink and then i select another one than i set the last selected value in the observable collection to false but it doesn't affect on view and selected check boxes remains selected although in collection only one option's value is true.
I cant use radio button instedof checkbox becasue user can select none of the options and i cant give an additional option for none of the above.
If any one have any solution so please let me know I'll be very thankful.
updated question:
i think i didn't define my problem in a proper way so i am giving my code snipperts here hope by this i'll get the solution o f my problem...
My View Model Class
namespace TestViewModels
{
public class ViewModel :ViewModelBase
{
private ObservableCollection<AvailableProducts> _MyTreeViewProperty
public ObservableCollection<AvailableProducts> MyTreeViewProperty
{
get { return _MyTreeViewProperty
set { _MyTreeViewProperty value;
RaisePropertyChanged("MyTreeViewProperty");}
}
}
public class AvailableProducts
{
private string _BrandName;
public string BrandName
{
get { return _BrandName
set { _BrandName = value; }
}
private bool _IsExpanded;
public bool IsExpanded
{
get
{
return _IsExpanded;
}
set
{
_IsExpanded = value;
}
}
private ObservableCollection<ProductTypes> _MyProductTypes
public ObservableCollection<ProductTypes> MyProductTypes
{
get { return _MyProductTypes}
set { _MyProductTypes= value; }
}
}
public class ProductTypes
{
private string _ProductTypeName;
public string ProductTypeName
{
get { return _ProductTypeName;
set { _ProductTypeNamevalue; }
}
private ObservableCollection<ProductSubTypes> _ProdSubTypes;
public ObservableCollection<ProductSubTypes> ProdSubTypes
{
get { return _ProdSubTypes;}
set { _ProdSubTypes;= value; }
}
}
public class ProductSubTypes
{
private string _ProductSubTypeName;
public string ProductSubTypeName
{
get { return _ProductSubTypeName;
set { _ProductSubTypeName;}
}
private int _ParentID;
public int ParentID
{
get { return _ParentID;}
set { _ParentID;= value; }
}
private bool _IsAssigned;
public bool IsAssigned
{
get { return _IsAssigned; }
set
{
_IsAssigned = value;
if _ParentID;!= 0)
{
//updating data in database
//Calling and setting new collection value in property
//issue : updated collection sets in setter of MyTreeViewProperty but before calling getter
// it comes to IsAssigned getter so view doesnt get updated collection of MyTreeViewProperty
}
RaisePropertyChanged("IsAssigned");
}
}
}
}
View
<Page x:Class="ShiftManagerViews.Pages.ProductTreeSelection
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"
DataContext="{Binding ProductsTree, Source={StaticResource Locator}}"
mc:Ignorable="d" Width="870" Height="665"
>
<TreeView Margin="10,10,0,13" ItemsSource="{Binding MyTreeViewProperty, Mode=TwoWay, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}" HorizontalAlignment="Left"
VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="800" Height="Auto" MinHeight="400" MaxHeight="800">
<TreeView.ItemContainerStyle>
<Style TargetType="{x:Type TreeViewItem}">
<Setter Property="IsExpanded" Value="{Binding IsExpanded, Mode=TwoWay}" />
</Style>
</TreeView.ItemContainerStyle>
<TreeView.Resources>
<HierarchicalDataTemplate DataType="{x:Type local:AvailableProducts}"
ItemsSource="{Binding MyProductTypes}">
<WrapPanel>
<Image Width="20" Height="20" Source="/ShiftManagerViews;component/Images/12.bmp"/>
<Label Content="{Binding BrandName}" FontSize="14"/>
</WrapPanel>
</HierarchicalDataTemplate>
<HierarchicalDataTemplate DataType="{x:Type local:ProductTypes}"
ItemsSource="{Binding ProdSubTypes}">
<WrapPanel>
<Image Width="18" Height="15" Source="/ShiftManagerViews;component/Images/12.bmp"/>
<Label Content="{Binding ProductTypeName}" FontSize="13"/>
</WrapPanel>
</HierarchicalDataTemplate>
<!-- the template for showing the Leaf node's properties-->
<DataTemplate DataType="{x:Type local:ProductSubTypes}">
<StackPanel>
<CheckBox IsChecked="{Binding IsAssigned, Mode=TwoWay}" Content="{Binding ProductSubTypeName}" Height="25">
</CheckBox>
</StackPanel>
</DataTemplate>
</TreeView.Resources>
</TreeView>

What about using a ListBox to display sub-items instead of a TreeView? You can style that so the items contain a CheckBox to show IsSelected instead of highlighting the item.

I'd suggest your user interface is wrong. If the user can only pick one then it would be better to swap these for radio buttons and add a "None of the above" option. That'll then give you the behaviour you want for free and your UI will be more intuitive.
EDIT: Since you say you can't add a "None" option and want to use a checkbox (even though I strongly disagree on checkboxes where a radio button is more appropriate - a common UI error)...
The technical problem you are probably facing is that an ObservableCollection only raises notification events if the collection itself changes. i.e. Only if items are added or removed. It does not raised events when items within the collection change, therefore the changing the status of the checkbox in the code will not raise the event for the UI binding to act on.
One solution to this to write a custom class that extends ObservableCollection that does provide this behaviour
From MSDN:
If you need to know if someone has changed a property of one of the
items within the collection, you'll need to ensure that the items in
the collection implement the INotifyPropertyChanged interface, and
you'll need to manually attach property changed event handlers for
those objects. No matter how you change properties of objects within
the collection, the collection's PropertyChanged event will not fire.
As a matter of fact, the ObservableCollection's PropertyChanged event
handler is protected—you can't even react to it unless you inherit
from the class and expose it yourself. You could, of course, handle
the PropertyChanged event for each item within the collection from
your inherited collection

I upvoted Rachel's answer, it is a common way in WPF to databind sets of radio buttons or check boxes. If you still want to go the tree view way, below code works. All view related code is in the view, so below code follows MVVM principles. If you are a MVVM purist you can put the code behind and a TreeView control in a user control if you do not want any code behind.
XAML:
<TreeView ItemsSource="{Binding Path=Drinks}">
<TreeView.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<CheckBox Content="{Binding .}" Checked="OnCheckBoxChecked" Unchecked="OnCheckBoxUnchecked" Loaded="OnCheckBoxLoaded" />
</DataTemplate>
</TreeView.ItemTemplate>
</TreeView>
Code behind + VM:
public partial class Window1
{
public Window1()
{
InitializeComponent();
DataContext = new VM();
}
private void OnCheckBoxChecked(object sender, System.Windows.RoutedEventArgs e)
{
foreach (CheckBox checkBox in _checkBoxes.Where(cb => cb != sender))
{
checkBox.IsChecked = false;
}
(DataContext as VM).CurrentDrink = (sender as CheckBox).Content.ToString();
}
private void OnCheckBoxUnchecked(object sender, System.Windows.RoutedEventArgs e)
{
(DataContext as VM).CurrentDrink = null;
}
private void OnCheckBoxLoaded(object sender, System.Windows.RoutedEventArgs e)
{
_checkBoxes.Add(sender as CheckBox);
}
private List<CheckBox> _checkBoxes = new List<CheckBox>();
}
public class VM
{
public List<string> Drinks
{
get
{
return new List<string>() { "Coffee", "Tea", "Juice" };
}
}
public string CurrentDrink { get; set; }
}

I did one trick but it didn't work that when i have already selected a
drink and then i select another one than i set the last selected value
in the observable collection to false but it doesn't affect on view
and selected check boxes remains selected although in collection only
one option's value is true.
Make sure that your child objects (AvailableProducts
and SubProductTypes) also implement INotifyPropertyChanged, this will make sure that the UI receives changes when modify the object.
Once all of you objects update the UI properly you will be able to layer in, and test, whatever custom business logic you need.
So if you have a product type that can only have one sub chosen, you could add a property on ProductType called OnlyAllowOneChild. Whenever, a child object raises a IsAssigned changed event, the parent can set false all other children. This of course requires you to have the parent either register for the children's PropertyChangedEvent, or got grab an EventAggregator (MVVMLight Messenger, or PRISM EvenAggregator) and create a messaging system.

Finally i am succeeded to solve my problem.
on Is Assigned property i am updating my database values and calling a method in view using MVVM Light messaging and passing currently selected leaf's parent id in it as a parameter...
Added a property in class Product Types to expand the parent node of the last selected leaf..
In view's method i am refreshing data context's source and passing currently selected leaf's parent id tO the VM to set its Is Expanded property value to true...
By this my view is working perfectly as same as i want...
If any body have solution better than this than I'll be happy to know.