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How to provide values to a template

I'm using the XCeed Extended Toolkit Plus. The charting specifically. However, I don't think question need to be specifically about this control, more about how to pass or share values between controls and templates.
The charts are in a WPF UserControl, but the values are set in the code behind. There is no data binding or MVVM, more of a 'winforms' approach.
The charting works, but I want to alter the way the bar's (in a bar graph) display.
According to the documentation, I can use a Template
<xctk:Chart >
<xctk:Chart.Areas>
<xctk:Area x:Name="MyGraphArea">
<xctk:Area.XAxis>
<xctk:Axis Title="Date"
/>
</xctk:Area.XAxis>
<xctk:Area.YAxis>
<xctk:Axis Title="Position"
/>
</xctk:Area.YAxis>
<xctk:Area.Series>
<xctk:Series Template="{StaticResource SeriesTemplate}" >
<!--done in code behind-->
</xctk:Series>
</xctk:Area.Series>
</xctk:Area>
</xctk:Chart.Areas>
</xctk:Chart>
On the same XAML page, I also have in my Grid.Resources. This is where the problem is
<DataTemplate x:Key="SeriesTemplate">
<Button x:Name="Bar">
<StackPanel>
<DockPanel>
<TextBlock x:Name="seriesTemplateDate" Text="How To I Bind"></TextBlock>
</DockPanel>
<DockPanel>
<TextBlock x:Name="seriesTemplatePosition" Text="What Am I binding too"></TextBlock>
</DockPanel>
</StackPanel>
</Button>
</DataTemplate>
And in my code behind (showing constructor)
public GraphView(IEnumerable<DataPoint> graphData, string title)
{
InitializeComponent();
var series = new Series();
foreach (var dataPoint in graphData)
{
series.DataPoints.Add(dataPoint);
}
series.Title = title;
this.MyGraphArea.Series.Add(series);
}
So, the DataTemplate is where I'm having an issue. I have no idea what to enter the for text value
I don't think I can add the value by name and set it in the code behind because it gets called on each iteration (depending on how many items are in the series).
The only way, in my head, is if it the DataTemplate can inherit some how from the calling control. At this stage, my Google results were providing nothing useful, and I think I'm getting myself muddled!

I have to guess since I do not know the XCeed Extended Toolkit Plus. That being said, the Datacontext of a Datatemplate is usually set to the data object. In this case that should be the series object. This means you can bind directly to properties on the series object like the Title-property. Maybe it also has a Date and Position property?!
series.Title = title;
series.Date = date;
series.Position = position;
<TextBlock x:Name="seriesTemplateTitle" Text="{Binding Title}"></TextBlock>
<TextBlock x:Name="seriesTemplateDate" Text="{Binding Date}"></TextBlock>
<TextBlock x:Name="seriesTemplatePosition" Text="{Binding Position}"></TextBlock>
Good Luck!

Set LongListSelector

I'm developing a Windows Phone app to practice my knowledge within the control LongListSelector. One of the pages in the app, the middle one has this code:
<!--Panorama item two-->
<phone:PanoramaItem x:Name="tasksPage" Header="Tasks">
<!--Double line list with image placeholder and text wrapping using a floating header that scrolls with the content-->
<phone:LongListSelector Margin="0,-38,-22,2" ItemsSource="{Binding Items}" LayoutMode="List">
<phone:LongListSelector.ListHeaderTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<Grid Margin="12,0,0,38">
<Grid.RowDefinitions>
<RowDefinition Height="Auto"/>
<RowDefinition Height="*"/>
</Grid.RowDefinitions>
<TextBlock Text="second item"
Style="{StaticResource PanoramaItemHeaderTextStyle}"
Grid.Row="0"/>
</Grid>
</DataTemplate>
</phone:LongListSelector.ListHeaderTemplate>
<phone:LongListSelector.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" Margin="12,2,0,4" Height="105" Width="432">
<!--Replace rectangle with image-->
<Border BorderThickness="1" Width="99" Height="99" BorderBrush="#FFFFC700" Background="#FFFFC700"/>
<StackPanel Width="311" Margin="8,-7,0,0">
<TextBlock Text="{Binding LineOne}" TextWrapping="Wrap" Margin="10,0" Style="{StaticResource PhoneTextExtraLargeStyle}" FontSize="{StaticResource PhoneFontSizeLarge}" />
<TextBlock Text="{Binding LineTwo}" TextWrapping="Wrap" Margin="10,-2,10,0" Style="{StaticResource PhoneTextSubtleStyle}" />
</StackPanel>
</StackPanel>
</DataTemplate>
</phone:LongListSelector.ItemTemplate>
</phone:LongListSelector>
</phone:PanoramaItem>
Could someone please explain briefly what the DataBindings is and how to use them (I have done some research). Could I for instance bind the LongListSelector to a list in IsolatedStorage?
I have create a ListBox before in another app, loading content from IsolatedStorage into it, but I don't know if this is the right approach. Right now the items in the LongListSelector has a yellow image right left to it - can i do the same if I'm loading the content programatically from IsolatedStorage?
I know this might be a couple or three questions, but I think they're fairly simple to answer for someone experienced.
Thanks!

Your LongListSelector has a number of items inside. They are added there through data binding by binding the ItemsSource to items which are a part of Items collection. This collection can be a List<T> or more often ObservableCollection<T> because that way, if properly implemented, the changes in ObservableCollection will reflect in your LongListSelector. The T is the type of your item - for example, a class called Book. This collection needs to be defined as a part of the DataContext object, which you set on the whole page or a part of page.
Now, as I mentioned, the Items collection is probably full of items - objects defined to have certain properties. In your case, those properties are LineOne and LineTwo, which are probably strings.
You cannot directly bind to items in isolated storage. You first need to load those items into memory. Let's assume you have a list of items serialized to JSON or XML format in your isolated storage, which is one popular way of keeping the list in isolated storage. You need to load them into a collection (deserialize) and then bind to LongListSelector. It is the right approach, yes.
The yellow image/rectangle/border defined on the left is static, but it can be there, of course. It will simply be rendered there as a part of every item you have in your LongListSelector and it will not depend on the object which you bind to.
I suggest you read the following articles/questions and answers which may explain the concept of binding to a list easier for you to understand:
MSDN - Quickstart: Data binding to controls for Windows Phone
Stack Overflow - WP8 working with XML and LongListSelector
GeekChamp - The New LongListSelector control in Windows Phone 8 SDK
in depth

Simplest explanation (overlysimplified!) is that data binding is binding a property of an object to another property a control above, there's:
<TextBlock Text="{Binding LineOne}" ... />
That is functionally equivalent to something like this:
TextBlock t = new TextBlock();
SomeObject o = new SomeObject() { LineOne = "The value of line 1" };
t.Text = o.LineOne;
// and then a propertychange listener to update t.text if o.lineone ever changes
o.PropertyChanged += (s,e) => { if (e.PropertyName == 'LineOne') t.Text = o.LineOne; };
You can't bind directly to something in isolated storage, but you can have an object load its content from isolated storage, expose those items through an Items property and then set that as the data context of the LLS.
In cases like LongListSelector (or other ItemsControl types) the itemscontrol's ItemsSource property is bound to some collection of objects (like an ObservableCollection<T>, which makes its items update whenever the collection updates. And then a template inside the ItemsControl has bindings to the properties of the individual items in the collection.

Using Icons in WPF Database Driven Application Results

I am attempting to make a WPF application. The application needs to use a "list view" to show results of queries to the database. I have been able to successfully create the application (GUI, database, LINQ, etc.), however, the display of my query results appear more "gridlike".
The specifications for the project below show that each record that appears in the results needs to have a green circle icon next to it. I have removed the actual results from the images below to keep the contents of the database private.
I don't have enough Reputation Points to post images, so I posted pictures so a sample/testing domain that I use. You can see screenshots here of the WPF app and code here:
http://digitalworkzone.com/WPF.html
What am I doing incorrectly? Is there something I need to add or modify to my code to be able to get the green circles and more of a "list" style to display my query results?

Understand the WPF content model. http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb613548.aspx
Anything that has a 'Content' property basically behaves in two ways. If the 'Content' is set to something that derives from UIElement, then the class will manage it's own presentation. Anything else, however, will just get .ToString() called, and it's text displayed instead.
What this means in the long run is that everything in WPF can display anything. If you want to show a button in a button, you can. For example:
<Button>
<Button.Content>
<Button Content="This will show as text" />
</Button.Content>
</Button>
The inner button will have text, but the outer button will show a Button because Button derives from UIElement and therefore will handle its own presentation.
In your picture examples above, you have ListBoxes/DataGrids that you want to fill in with graphical information. Try this out:
<ListBox HorizontalContentAlignment="Stretch">
<ListBox.Items>
<Button Content="One"/>
<Button Content="Two"/>
<Button Content="Three"/>
<Button Content="Four"/>
</ListBox.Items>
</ListBox>
Now you have a ListBox that shows Buttons instead of Text. You can take this a step further and contain the items in a stackpanel, for example:
<ListBox HorizontalContentAlignment="Stretch">
<ListBox.Items>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal">
<Button Content="A button"/>
<Label Content="Some text" />
</StackPanel>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal">
<Button Content="A button"/>
<Label Content="Some text" />
</StackPanel>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal">
<Button Content="A button"/>
<Label Content="Some text" />
</StackPanel>
</ListBox.Items>
</ListBox>
Now we have items that contain a layout container (StackPanels, which then contains other elements).
However, if you set the ItemsSource elsewhere, you can actually use a DataTemplate to display the contents. A DataTemplate in effect targets a particular class and lays out it's contents as defined in XAML. Consider:
Code Behind:
public partial class MyWindow : UserControl {
public MyWindow() {
InitializeComponent();
MyListBox.ItemsSource = new List<Person> {
new Person("Sam", "Smith"),
new Person("Jim", "Henson"),
new Person("Betty", "White"),
};
}
XAML:
<ListBox HorizontalContentAlignment="Stretch" x:Name="MyListBox" >
<ListBox.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" >
<Label Content="{Binding FirstName}"/>
<Label Content="{Binding LastName}"/>
</StackPanel>
</DataTemplate>
</ListBox.ItemTemplate>
</ListBox>
Now when the Listbox displays, it will cycle through each of the items in the ItemsSource property, and then lay them out using the DataTemplate. It's possible to have the DataTemplate target specific classes by using the DataType property if you're using polymorphism (as in different types of people such as 'Cusomters' or 'Employees' which all derive from 'Person).
The problem with this approach is that you are setting the value of the items directly, which is bad form. It's better to define a class that handles all of the data for your view separately. Consider:
public class ViewModel {
// WPF will automatically read these properties using reflection.
public List<Person> People {
get {
return new List<Person> {
new Person("Sam", "Smith"),
new Person("Jim", "Henson"),
new Person("Betty", "White")
};
}
}
}
That will hold all the data for the view, now let's add it to the actual window. First we need to reference the namespace ('xmlns' means xml namespace):
<Window x:Class="Sharp.MyWindow"
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:lol="clr-namespace:Sharp">
The namespace is Sharp (the namespace where my stuff lives), and the alias we'll give it is lol. Now we attach our ViewModel class to the window by setting it to the DataContext property, as in:
<Window>
<Window.DataContext>
<lol:ViewModel />
</Window.DataContext>
</Window>
This makes all of the public properties on the ViewModel class available to the Window. This way, if we want to read the Persons information into our ListBox, we simply say:
<ListBox HorizontalContentAlignment="Stretch" ItemsSource="{Binding People}" >
...
</ListBox>
Notice that we say ItemsSource={Binding People}, which means 'scan the ViewModel for any public properties called 'People' and then retrieve those results. This is essentially the fundamentals behind the MVVM approach. You might have all of your business logic in one or many classes which handle the main application operation in a Model, but then you have a ViewModel which interacts with the Model and exposes the results as public properties. WPF automatically binds to those properties and presents them for your. The information just flows, rather than setting the values by force.
To really understand how WPF is supposed to work, you should take some time to understand the basics of MVVM. WPF was really designed with MVVM in mind, and so to really get how WPF is supposed to work, you really should take the time to get your head around it. Take a look at:
http://agilewarrior.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/simple-mvvm-walkthrough-part-i/ .

<ListBox ItemsSource="{Binding QueryResults}">
<ListBox.ItemsTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal">
<Image Source="{Binding ImageSource}"/>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding TextSource}"/>
</StackPanel>
</DataTemplate>
</ListBox.ItemsTemplate>
</ListBox>
Will work if you have a list of objects named QueryResults in your code behind. Each object needs to have an string property named ImageSource and a string property named TextSource.
However, since you only need to display a green circle icon for each of the items, you can hardcode the image source. The above will work if you want to have a different icon for each, though.
Also note that in order for this to work, you need to set the DataContext of the window to DataContext="{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource Self}}"

Correct approach to make a ListBox Page Navigation using MVVM on Windows Phone

I am building an app for Windows Phone, and in this app I have a list of Movies with Title, Plot and Picture.
I have this list bound to a ListBox with a custom DataTemplate for the items showing the data. I also created a second page to show the details of each movie.
My problem now is the navigation between these pages. I'm using MVVM to build the applications and most of the approaches I've found searching on internet is to use the OnSelectionChanged event in the code-behind, but it goes agains what I want, that is to use MVVM.
Other approach I've seen, which is the one I'm trying, is to bind the SelectedItem to a property in the ViewModel, but I can't make it change the property, it seems that I cannot select an item in the listbox. Also, I don't have the visual feedback when I press one of the items in my listbox, like the feedback we have in the settings menu of the phone for example.
The code I'm using in the listbox is:
<ListBox Margin="0,0,-12,0" ItemsSource="{Binding Movies}" SelectedItem="{Binding SelectedMovieItem}" SelectionMode="Single" >
<ListBox.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" Margin="0,0,0,17">
<!--Replace rectangle with image-->
<Rectangle Height="50" Width="50" Fill="#FFE5001b" Margin="12,0,9,0"/>
<StackPanel Width="311">
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Name}" TextWrapping="NoWrap" Style="{StaticResource PhoneTextExtraLargeStyle}" Foreground="#000" />
<!--<TextBlock Text="{Binding LineTwo}" TextWrapping="Wrap" Margin="12,-6,12,0" Style="{StaticResource PhoneTextSubtleStyle}"/>-->
</StackPanel>
</StackPanel>
</DataTemplate>
</ListBox.ItemTemplate>
</ListBox>
Another approach I've seen is to use the INavigationService to achieve this, I found this article: http://windowsphonegeek.com/articles/MVVM-in-real-life-Windows-Phone-applications-Part1
I read the parts one and two, but I couldn't understand this one works.
So, what I want to know is whether the approach I'm using is the correct to make a page navigation, or if there is a better way using MVVM to do this with visual feedback on the listbox.

Why is handling Event in the code behind against MVVM? Handling events interaction is part of the UI. Of course you won't all you code logic there. But you are trying just to go to the next page. I do something like this :
private void MainListBox_SelectionChanged(object sender, SelectionChangedEventArgs e)
{
// If selected index is -1 (no selection) do nothing
if (MainListBox.SelectedIndex == -1)
return;
// Navigate to the new page
NavigationService.Navigate(new Uri("/Views/detailsPage.xaml?selectedItem=" + MainListBox.SelectedIndex, UriKind.Relative));
// Reset selected index to -1 (no selection)
MainListBox.SelectedIndex = -1;
}

Populate WPF DataGrid dynamically

My program needs to take input from a fire alarm panel over a serial connection and populate a list based on it. When a new device is reported from the panel, the statement is parsed and the device is added to the device List.
That part of my program all works fine and dandy. The problem now is displaying the list of fire alarm devices to the user.
I am hoping to do this using a DataGrid (unless there's a better way?) but am not able to find a lot of helpful documentation on WPF DataGrids that is relevant to me. Most of what's out there seems to be displaying data from a database. Mine however, needs to update every time the panel spits out a new device description and the device List in my program is appended.
I see I can set AutoGenerateColumns to true and initially display my list just fine. BUT, I would like to customize the column headers. Also this doesn't update when the List is appended so I'm not sure how to "refresh" it.
When AutoGenerateColumns is false, I get no data displayed. When the program runs it shows me the correct number of rows corresponding to the number of items in my list, but no data. Wondering how/if I need to link each column with its corresponding device data member?
Lastly, how do you format a DataGrid to look pretty through re-sizes? I can set column width and all that, but what I want is a few of the columns to be fixed width, and the middle column to expand to fill remaining available area.
This is my first stab at WPF. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Personaly i dont like DataGrid much. Yes they are easier to bind and they offer built-in resize and sorting options but they are not as flexible as an ItemsControl with a good DataTemplating on your Objects. Let me explain myself.
I tend to populate my ItemsControl with an ObservableCollection. Then, i use a DataTemplate in order to tell my ItemsControl how to display my custom items.
Your CustomObjects can be Modeles objects if your doing MVVM.
If your list is binded to an ObservableCollection, the Added and Removed items will appear dynamicly into your list, which is what i belive your trying to do.
For the column size, you could put a Grid specifying GridColumns width to fixed Width for some columns and * for others so they fill the remaining space.
Here's an alternative to the GridView
I use a ScrollViewer around my ItemControl so if the ItemsControl get too big, you can scroll it.
The ItemsControl's ItemSource is binded to your FireAlarms's ObservableCollection.
The WrapPanel in the ItemsControl will contain each DataTemplate. It's Width is binded to his parent (or ancestor if you will) which is an ItemsControl
<ScrollViewer
Grid.Row="x"
Grid.Column="y"
VerticalScrollBarVisibility="Auto"
Margin="5">
<ItemsControl
BorderBrush="DarkBlue"
BorderThickness="2"
ItemsSource="{Binding Path=FireAlarms}"
ItemTemplate="{StaticResource FireAlarmsTemplate}"
>
<ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
<ItemsPanelTemplate>
<WrapPanel
Orientation="Horizontal"
Width="{Binding RelativeSource=
{RelativeSource FindAncestor,
AncestorType={x:Type ItemsControl}},
Path=ActualWidth}"
>
</WrapPanel>
</ItemsPanelTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
</ItemsControl>
</ScrollViewer>
Ok then you need a DataTemplate. You can put the DataTemplate in your windows's ressource or in a DataDictionnary. Lets say you have a class :
FireAlarm
{
Public String AlarmInfo1;
Public String AlarmInfo2;
Public String AlarmInfo3;
}
Here could be a nice DataTemplate to start with :
<DataTemplate x:Key="FireAlarms">
<Border
BorderBrush="SteelBlue"
Background="LightBlue"
BorderThickness="2"
Margin="10"
Padding="10">
<StackPanel
Orientation="Vertical"
>
<Grid>
<Grid.RowDefinitions>
<RowDefinition></RowDefinition>
<RowDefinition></RowDefinition>
<RowDefinition></RowDefinition>
</Grid.RowDefinitions>
<Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<ColumnDefinition></ColumnDefinition>
<ColumnDefinition Width="5"></ColumnDefinition>
<ColumnDefinition></ColumnDefinition>
</Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<Label
Grid.ColumnSpan="3"
Grid.Row="0"
Content="{Binding Path=AlarmName}"
Margin="5,-5,5,10"
FontWeight="Bold"
FontSize="16"
HorizontalContentAlignment="Center"
HorizontalAlignment="Center">
</Label>
<TextBlock
Text="Alarm information 1" Grid.Row="1" Grid.Column="0" />
<TextBox
Text="{Binding Path=AlarmInfo1}"
Grid.Column="2"
Grid.Row="1"
>
</TextBox>
<TextBlock
Text="Alarm information 2" Grid.Row="2" Grid.Column="0" />
<TextBox
Text="{Binding Path=AlarmInfo2}"
Grid.Column="2"
Grid.Row="2"
>
</TextBox>
<TextBlock
Text="Alarm information 3" Grid.Row="3" Grid.Column="0" />
<TextBox
Text="{Binding Path=AlarmInfo3}"
Grid.Column="2"
Grid.Row="3"
>
</TextBox>
</Grid>
</StackPanel>
</Border>
</DataTemplate>
Ok I hope this is usefull for you. My Template will generate 1 square per alarm. If you'd rather have it in a Table like a GridView, you could modify this using a verticaly oriented stack panel and use a grid with variable // invariable column width but since you asked for anything usefull, i tough i'd guive you something fun to work with!
Enjoy!

Some time back I wrote a post Create DataGrid in WPF using code take a look at it, it will help you in creating data grid in dynamic scenarios like yours

If you a dynamic grid (meaning the number and design of the columns are unknown at design time), I do it with code-behind with binding. I generally use the MVVM pattern (if you not familiar with this, I really recommend reading into it since it is THE pattern when working with WPF).
1) You have to set Auto-Generate columns to false of course and give grid a name (here myDataGrid)
GridViewDataColumn newColumn= new GridViewDataColumn();
myDataGrid.Columns.Add(newColumn)
This will add the column to your grid. Now the column will be empty. Now it depends on your data how to fill it with data. If you bind to a known property on the items, do:
newColumn.Binding = new Binding("knownPropertyName");
In most cases though, you do not know the propertyname and bind to an element in the collection.
Then it would like more:
myDoubleCollection.Add(someDoubleValue); //do this for each item in the itemssource of the grid
int index=myDoubleCollection.Count-1;
newColumn.Binding = new Binding(string.Format("myDoubleCollection[{0}]",index));
So this works also.
Another thing to keep in mind is the deletion of columns. This requires some extra work.

That's a lot of questions rolled into one! I suggest you do a bit more background research before asking questions. I would recommend that your read this codeproject article I wrote about the WPF DataGrid a while back:
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/WPF/WPFDataGridExamples.aspx
It will answer most of your questions for you!

Take a look at the MVVM pattern, it'll be a huge help as you create this application.
What you want is an ObservableCollection in the ViewModel. You'll bind the ItemsSource property of the datagrid to this collection. Then have your columns bind to various properties on to display them. Whenever this ObservableCollection has an item appended, your front end should update automatically.
To have a column autosize, set the Width="*".
Here's a sample of a datagrid with MVVM
<DataGrid ItemsSource="{Binding FireAlarmCollection}" SelectedItem="{Binding SelectedFireAlarm, Mode=TwoWay}" AutoGenerateColumns="True" CanUserSortColumns="True" HorizontalScrollBarVisibility="Visible" CanUserResizeColumns="True">
</DataGrid>
As you continue your effort, post separate questions for each issue.