Develop Reference

How to change the value of MVVM property in CodeBehind

I have been trying to solve the following problem for a very long time but unfortunately, I am unable to get it fixed.
I have a button which I want to disable it in another page .cd
This is how my code looks like:
<StackLayout>
<Button Text="Click" IsEnabled="{Binding IsButtonEnabled}" Command="{Binding OnEnabledButtonClicked}"/>
</StackLayout>
public class MainPageViewModel : BaseViewModel
{
bool _isButtonEnabled;
public bool IsButtonEnabled
{
get => _isButtonEnabled;
set
{
_isButtonEnabled = value;
OnPropertyChanged(nameof(IsButtonEnabled));
}
}
public Command OnEnabledButtonClicked
{
get
{
return new Command( () =>
{
IsButtonEnabled = true;
}
}
}
}
And this is the class where I want to change the value of VM's button.
public class Page1 {
class page1() {
InitializeComponent();
}
public void OnDisabledButtonClicked(object sender, EventArgs e) {
/// IsButtonEnabled = false;
}
}
I have already tried different ways but still no result.
It would be a big help for me if someone provides me a solution for it.
Thanks in advance

Before I gave you an answer, I would like to point out few things.
It's common to suffix your command with Command : EnabledButtonCommand.
I can see that your command is async while you don't await anything. It's bad.
Why would you want to set IsButtonEnabled in the code behind instead of in the method executed by the command (in the ViewModel) ?
Where do you set the DataContext ? Do you use Prism or anything else to associate the ViewModel to your page's DataContext ? If you don't, you need to do this :
public class MyPage()
{
private MyViewModel _viewModel = new MyViewModel();
public MyPage()
{
InitializeComponent();
DataContext = _viewModel;
}
public void OnDisabledButtonClicked(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
_viewModel.IsButtonEnabled = false;
}
}
If your ViewModel was set in Xaml or elsewhere (while navigating, with Prism, etc)
public class MyPage()
{
private MyViewModel _viewModel;
public MyPage()
{
InitializeComponent();
_viewModel = DataContext as MyViewModel;
}
public void OnDisabledButtonClicked(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
_myViewModel.IsButtonEnabled = false;
}
}
A last word : if a button is not enabled, the command/click event won't be available to user until the button is enabled again.
You can test that with a button with its command binded to the given command and another button with IsEnabled binded to your boolean.
The code I gave may have things wrong as I answer in browser without using an EDI.

Handling Backend Events in UI class

EDIT: I have updated this with the two methods recommended
I am writing a simple custom PI (OSISoft) data viewer. I have two classes, one for the UI and one for the PI server interactions/program logic. The property for the data to be displayed has an event that fires when the property is changed. How do I get that change to propagate over to the UI class so the associated text box will automatically refresh?
Original code:
namespace PIViewer {
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
ProgLogic logic;
public MainWindow() {
InitializeComponent();
logic = new ProgLogic();
InitializeValues();
}
private void InitializeValues() {
logic.SomeValue = logic.GetValFromServer(valueTag);
}
private void TextBoxSomeValue(object sender, TextChangedEventArgs e) {
// ??? something happens here?
}
}
public class ProgLogic {
private int someValue;
public event System.EventHandler SomeValueChanged;
protected void OnSomeValueChanged()
{
SomeValueChanged?.Invoke(this, EventHandlerArgs e);
}
public int SomeValue {
get => someValue;
set {
someValue = value;
OnSomeValueChanged();
}
}
public int GetValFromServer(string valueTag) {
int piValue;
piValue = PISDKMethodToGetServerValue(valueTag);
return piValue;
}
}
}
Method 1: Events
namespace PIViewer {
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
ProgLogic logic;
public MainWindow() {
InitializeComponent();
logic = new ProgLogic();
logic.SomeValueChanged += Logic_SomeValueChanged;
InitializeValues();
}
private void Logic_SomeValueChanged(int obj) {
TextBoxSomeValue.Text = obj.toString();
}
private void InitializeValues() {
logic.SomeValue = logic.GetValFromServer(valueTag);
}
private void TextBoxSomeValue_TextChanged(object sender, TextChangedEventArgs e) {
}
private void Window_Closing(object sender, System.ComponentModel.CancelEventArgs e) {
logic.SomeValueChanged -= Logic_SomeValueChanged;
}
}
public class ProgLogic {
private int someValue;
public event Action<int> SomeValueChanged;
public virtual void OnSomeValueChanged(int newValue) {
SomeValueChanged?.Invoke(newValue);
}
public int SomeValue {
get => someValue;
set {
someValue = value;
OnSomeValueChanged(value);
}
}
public int GetValFromServer(string valueTag) {
int piValue;
piValue = PISDKMethodToGetServerValue(valueTag);
return piValue;
}
}
}
Method 2: MVVM pattern
MainWindow.xaml:
<Window
Closing="Window_Closing"
Title="My App">
<TextBox x:name="TextBoxSomeValue" text="{binding SomeValue, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}" />
</Window>
The important part here is the binding parameter in the text field of the TextBox definition, which points to the PropertyChangedEventHandler.
C# code:
namespace PIViewer {
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
ProgLogic logic;
public MainWindow() {
InitializeComponent();
logic = new ProgLogic();
InitializeValues();
}
private void InitializeValues() {
logic.SomeValue = logic.GetValFromServer(valueTag);
}
private void TextBoxSomeValue_TextChanged(object sender, TextChangedEventArgs e) {
// run some other code when the text box updates
}
}
public class ProgLogic : INotifyPropertyChanged {
private int someValue;
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
protected void OnPropertyChange(string propertyName)
{
PropertyChanged?.Invoke(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
public int SomeValue {
get => someValue;
set {
someValue = value;
OnPropertyChange("SomeValue")
}
}
public int GetValFromServer(string valueTag) {
int piValue;
piValue = PISDKMethodToGetServerValue(valueTag);
return piValue;
}
}
}
ProgLogic now implements INotifyPropertyChanged, which notifies the View of property changes, so that Bindings are updated.

I see you are heading the right way with C# event system. One thing I would change is event type from System.EventHandler to System.Action<int>. Even though people tend to propagate extending System.EventArgs class and writing custom delegates for handling events, using System.Action<T> is much easier to grasp for beginner.
So let's go with System.Action<int> example now. First, let's change ProgLogic class to be more like this:
public class ProgLogic
{
public event Action<int> SomeValueChanged;
//
// your other code goes here
//
private void OnSomeValueChanged(int newValue)
{
SomeValueChanged?.Invoke(newValue);
}
}
Now, you need to subscribe to the earlier written event in MainWindow class. So we do that as early as possible - in the constructor of MainWindow:
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
logic = new ProgLogic();
logic.SomeValueChanged += OnSomeValueChanged;
InitializeValues();
}
Then, you describe your logic in the OnSomeValueChanged callback method, like:
private void OnSomeValueChanged(int newValue)
{
TextBoxSomeValue.text = newValue.ToString();
}
Make sure you unsubscribe from the event once MainWindow is getting destroyed to prevent memory leakage. This is just bare-bones for whole logic. I've left some space for interpretation. ;)

I'm not sure if I'm understanding the main point of your question but if you want to create a new value and have that value saved as the default value then you should create a string in your application setting and call on it on text changed.
At the top of your visual2019, in the menu options. open the debug menu and at the bottom you will see ("Your project name" + properties)
2.You will be brought into a new window with menu options on the left, go to the settings.
3.Create a string and set the value to "Some random text"
Note: In the example I placed one text box in front of the other, though this in not a great method it will prevent the text from appearing as a double or drawing a blank
Settings String Example
xaml
<Window x:Class="SaveNewText.MainWindow"
Title="MainWindow" Height="450" Width="800">
<Grid>
<TextBox x:Name="DefaultText" Height="250" Width="250"
Background="Transparent"
Foreground="Black" MouseDown="TextBlock_MouseDown" IsReadOnly="True"/>
<TextBox x:Name="NewText" Height="250" Width="250" Background="Transparent"
Foreground="Black" TextChanged="NewText_TextChanged"/>
</Grid>
</Window>
xaml.cs
namespace SaveNewText
{
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
DefaultText.Text = Properties.Settings.Default.TextString;
}
private void TextBlock_MouseDown(object sender, MouseButtonEventArgs e)
{
NewText.Focus();
}
private void NewText_TextChanged(object sender, TextChangedEventArgs e)
{
Properties.Settings.Default.TextString = NewText.Text;
Properties.Settings.Default.Save();
DefaultText.Text = Properties.Settings.Default.TextString;
}
}
}

best practice to pass parameters between open pages

I'm developing a Windows application (UWP) that has two pages, I want the best practice to pass parameters between pages.
it's my scenario:
We have two pages, each open and remain at the middle of the screen and a Button on each page, which send the message to the other page when we click on it.
I also want to pass information continuously and repeatedly.
in Page1.cs:
Page2 page2;
public Page1()
{
this.InitializeComponent();
CreatPage2();
}
// creat page 2
private async void CreatPage2()
{
var NewWindow = CoreApplication.CreateNewView();
int NewWindowid = 0;
await NewWindow.Dispatcher.RunAsync(CoreDispatcherPriority.High, () =>
{
Frame newframe = new Frame();
newframe.Navigate(typeof(Page2), this);
Window.Current.Content = newframe;
Window.Current.Activate();
ApplicationView.GetForCurrentView().Title = "page2";
NewWindowid = ApplicationView.GetForCurrentView().Id;
});
await Windows.UI.ViewManagement.ApplicationViewSwitcher.TryShowAsStandaloneAsync(NewWindowid);
}
//Button
private void ChangeP2_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
// send a message to the texblock in the page2
page2.TexBlock2.Text=$"From page1 :{e.ToString()}";
// change text color of the texblock in the page2
page2.Foreground= new SolidColorBrush(Windows.UI.Colors.Red);
}
in Page2.cs:
Page1 page1;
protected override void OnNavigatedTo(NavigationEventArgs e)
{
page1 = e.Parameter as Page1;
base.OnNavigatedTo(e);
}
public Page2()
{
this.InitializeComponent();
}
//Button
private void ChangeP1_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
// send a message to the texblock in the page1
page1.TexBlock1.Text=$"From page2 :{e.ToString()}";
// change text color of the texblock in the page1
page1.Foreground= new SolidColorBrush(Windows.UI.Colors.Red);
}
the above code just work for the page2 to the page1. (it can change the textblock of pagea).
Please help me, I can't find a solution that work on two pages

Naah… the best way is to use a standard pattern that consist of an app ViewModel class, which contains all the common app data that you want to use in the logic layer.
I always do it like this:
1) I use the MainPage automatically created as the "shell" of the app, with a property that is the AppViewModel.
The MainPage (and thus the AppViewModel) can be accessed from everywhere in the app, by setting itself as a static field in its own class.
This is the code, simpler than you think:
public sealed partial class MainPage : Page
{
public AppViewModel ViewModel { get; set; } = new AppViewModel();
public static MainPage Current { get; set; }
public MainPage()
{
this.InitializeComponent();
Current = this;
}
}
2) The AppViewModel itself is a class that must implement the INotifyPropertyChanged interface, in order to enable bindable properties and functions.
It is common, among developers, to create a base class that implements it and then derive all the classes that needs bindable properties from it.
Here it is:
public class BaseBind : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
public void OnPropertyChanged([CallerMemberName] string propertyName = null) =>
PropertyChanged?.Invoke(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
protected bool SetProperty<T>(ref T storage, T value,
[CallerMemberName] String propertyName = null)
{
if (object.Equals(storage, value)) return false;
storage = value;
OnPropertyChanged(propertyName);
return true;
}
}
Then you derive AppViewModel class (and all the other model and viewmodel classes) from it… populating it with all the common properties that you need to share across pages.
I have even added a derived property, in order to show how you can share even multiple data types at once, and a function:
public class AppViewModel : BaseBind
{
public AppViewModel()
{
// ...
}
// All common app data
private string sampleCommonString;
public String SampleCommonString
{
get { return sampleCommonString; }
set { SetProperty(ref sampleCommonString, value); OnPropertyChanged(nameof(SampleDerivedProperty1)); OnPropertyChanged(nameof(SampleDerivedProperty2)); }
}
public String SampleDerivedProperty1 => "return something based on SampleCommonString";
public String SampleDerivedProperty2
{
get
{
<<evaluate SampleCommonString>>
return "Same thing as SampleDerivedProperty1, but more explicit";
}
}
// This is a property that you can use for functions and internal logic… but it CAN'T be binded
public String SampleNOTBindableProperty { get; set; }
public void SampleFunction()
{
// Insert code here.
// The function has to be with NO parameters, in order to work with simple {x:Bind} markup.
// If your function has to access some specific data, you can create a new bindable (or non) property, just as the ones above, and memorize the data there.
}
}
3) Then, in order to access all this from another Page, just create an AppViewModel field in that page, as seen below:
public sealed partial class SecondPage : Page
{
public AppViewModel ViewModel => MainPage.Current.ViewModel;
public SecondPage()
{
this.InitializeComponent();
}
}
...and you can easily bind XAML controls properties to the AppViewModel itself:
<TextBlock Text="{x:Bind ViewModel.SampleCommonString, Mode=OneWay}"/>
<Button Content="Sample content" Click="{x:Bind ViewModel.SampleFunction}"/>
(Mode=OneWay is for real-time binding, in order that the property is immediately updated even in the UI, while Mode=TwoWay is used for those properties that can be edited from the control itself, by the user, in order to interact with app logic).
Hope this helped.
Best regards and happy new year.

MVVM pattern: an intermediate View between Command binding and ViewModel execute

Scenario
Some date are loaded into a program (e.g., evaluation of students in a class where each student is a distinct entity with his/her evaluation data) and a summary of them is shown on a datagrid. The user selects selects some of the students, and performs an analysis on their evaluation. The analysis process requires some parameters, therefore before analysis a window pops-up and lets user to specify his preferred parameters; then the analysis process executes.
Implementation summary
The datagrid is defined as following and binded to a ViewModel:
<DataGrid x:Name="CachedSamplesDG" ItemsSource="{Binding cachedDataSummary}">
<DataGrid.Columns>
<DataGridTextColumn Header="name" Binding="{Binding name}"/>
<DataGridTextColumn Header="score" Binding="{Binding score}"/>
</DataGrid.Columns>
</DataGrid>
The button that starts the process is defined as following:
<Button x:Name="AnalysisBT" Content="Analyze" Command="{Binding AnalyzeCommand}" CommandParameter="{Binding ElementName=CachedSamplesDG, Path=SelectedItems}"/>
The ViewModel is pretty basic and summarized as following:
internal class CachedDataSummaryViewModel
{
public CachedDataSummaryViewModel()
{
_cachedDataSummary = new ObservableCollection<CachedDataSummary>();
AnalyzeCommand = new SamplesAnalyzeCommand(this);
}
private ObservableCollection<CachedDataSummary> _cachedDataSummary;
public ObservableCollection<CachedDataSummary> cachedDataSummary { get { return _cachedDataSummary; } }
public ICommand AnalyzeCommand { get; private set; }
}
And here is the definition of analysis command:
internal class SamplesAnalyzeCommand : ICommand
{
public SamplesAnalyzeCommand(CachedDataSummaryViewModel viewModel)
{
_viewModel = viewModel;
}
private CachedDataSummaryViewModel _viewModel;
public event EventHandler CanExecuteChanged
{
add { CommandManager.RequerySuggested += value; }
remove { CommandManager.RequerySuggested -= value; }
}
public bool CanExecute(object parameter)
{
// canExecute logic
}
public void Execute(object parameter)
{
// process mess ...
// Here I need the selected rows of datagird, which "parameter" delegates them.
// I also need some other parameters for analysis which user can set through another view
}
}
An this is a diagram of my current process and what I would like to do next
Question
When the button is clicked
Apply some UI changes on MainWindow
Pop-up ProcessOptionsWindow
Get set parameters from ProcessOptionsWindow
Pass the selected datagrid rows and user specified parameters to SamplesAnalyzeCommand
What would be the best way to achieve this requirement ?

simply use a dialogservice like Good or bad practice for Dialogs in wpf with MVVM?.
then you can do something like this in your ViewModel
var result = this.uiDialogService.ShowDialog("Prozess Options Window", prozessOptionVM);
...
var parameter1 = prozessOptionVM.Parameter1;

You can define another Model and ViewModel for Process Options, and then in the SamplesAnalyzeCommand, display the ProcessOptionsView. When user is done with the ProcessOptionsView, the main ViewModel gets notified (e.g by an event handler) and completes the Process.
Something like this:
internal class SamplesAnalyzeCommand : ICommand {
...
public void Execute(object parameter)
{
this._viewModel.ShowProcessOptions(parameter);
}
}
internal class CachedDataSummaryViewModel {
public string Status {
get {
return this.status;
}
set {
if (!string.Equals(this.status, value)) {
this.status = value;
// Notify property change to UI
}
}
}
...
internal void ShowProcessOptions(object paramter) {
// Model
var processOptions = new ProcessOptionsModel() {
otherInfo = parameter
};
// View-Model
var processOptionsViewModel = new ProcessOptionsViewModel();
processOptionsViewModel.Model = processOptions;
// View
var processOptionsView = new ProcessOptionsView(
processOptionsViewModel
);
// Edit2: Update status
this.Status = "Selecting process options...";
// You can use the event handler or dialog result
processOptionsViewModel.OK += this.PerformProcess;
processOptionsView.ShowDialog();
}
private void PerformProcess(object sender, EventArgs e) {
var processOptionsView = sender as ProcessOptionsView;
var processOptionsModel = processOptionsView.Model;
var processOptions = processOptionsModel.Model;
// Edit2: Update status
this.Status = "Performing process...";
// use processOptions.OtherInfo for initial info
// use processOptions.* for process options info
// and perform the process here
// Edit2: Update status
this.Status = "Process Done.";
}
...
}
class ProcessOptionsModel {
public object OtherInfo {
get;
set;
public int Parameter1 {
get;
set;
}
public IList<ProcessItem> SelectedItems {
get;
set;
}
...
}
class ProcessOptionsViewModel {
public event EventHandler OK;
private SamplesAnalyzeCommand model;
private ICommand okCommand;
public ProcessOptionsViewModel() {
this.okCommand = new OKCommand(this.OnOK);
}
public SamplesAnalyzeCommand Model {
get {
return model;
}
set {
this.model = value;
// Property changed stuff here
}
}
private void OnOK(object parameter) {
if (this.OK != null) {
this.OK = value;
}
}
}
class ProcessOptionsView {
// Interacts with it's view-model and performs OK command if
// user pressed OK or something
}
Hope it helps.
Edit (1):
As blindmeis suggested, you may use some Dialog Service to make the connection between the views.
Edit (2):
Immidiate UI changes after button click can be done in ShowProcessOptions method of the ShowProcessOptions. I don't think you want reflect ui changes of the options window while user works with it, to the main window. UI changes after user closes options window can be done in PerformProcess.
If you want to make an abstraction for options selection (e.g reading from a file) as you mentioned in the comment below, you may define an IOptionsProvider interface, and put ProcessOptionsView and View-Model behind that but still you use the same model.
interface IOptionsProvider {
ProcessOptionsModel GetProcessOptions();
}
class ProcessOptionsView : IOptionsProvider {
public ProcessOptionsModel GetProcessOptions() {
if (this.ShowDialog()) {
return this.ModelView.Model;
}
return null;
}
}
class ProcessOptionsFromFile : IOptionsProvider {
public ProcessOptionsModel GetProcessOptions() {
// Create an instance of ProcessOptionsModel from File
}
}
Note that in this case I removed the OK event since the GetProcessOptions is supposed to block until user closes the main window. If you want a responsive approach in the FromFile case, you may need to work on the async stuff, maybe define GetProcessOptionsAsync instead.
In this case things may get a little bit complicated but I guess it is achievable in this way.

How to bring window to front with wpf and using mvvm

I have a window that essentially runs a timer. When the timer hits 0 I want to bring the window to the front so that it is visible and not hidden behind some other application.
From what I can gather I would simply call window.activate() to accomplish this but with mvvm my view model doesn't have a reference to window.

A "purist" MVVM solution is to use a behavior. Below is a behavior for a Window with an Activated property. Setting the property to true will activate the window (and restore it if it is minimized):
public class ActivateBehavior : Behavior<Window> {
Boolean isActivated;
public static readonly DependencyProperty ActivatedProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register(
"Activated",
typeof(Boolean),
typeof(ActivateBehavior),
new PropertyMetadata(OnActivatedChanged)
);
public Boolean Activated {
get { return (Boolean) GetValue(ActivatedProperty); }
set { SetValue(ActivatedProperty, value); }
}
static void OnActivatedChanged(DependencyObject dependencyObject, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e) {
var behavior = (ActivateBehavior) dependencyObject;
if (!behavior.Activated || behavior.isActivated)
return;
// The Activated property is set to true but the Activated event (tracked by the
// isActivated field) hasn't been fired. Go ahead and activate the window.
if (behavior.AssociatedObject.WindowState == WindowState.Minimized)
behavior.AssociatedObject.WindowState = WindowState.Normal;
behavior.AssociatedObject.Activate();
}
protected override void OnAttached() {
AssociatedObject.Activated += OnActivated;
AssociatedObject.Deactivated += OnDeactivated;
}
protected override void OnDetaching() {
AssociatedObject.Activated -= OnActivated;
AssociatedObject.Deactivated -= OnDeactivated;
}
void OnActivated(Object sender, EventArgs eventArgs) {
this.isActivated = true;
Activated = true;
}
void OnDeactivated(Object sender, EventArgs eventArgs) {
this.isActivated = false;
Activated = false;
}
}
The behavior requires a reference to System.Windows.Interactivity.dll. Fortunately, this is now available on NuGet in the Blend.Interactivity.Wpf package.
The behavior is attached to a Window in XAML like this:
<Window ...>
<i:Interaction.Behaviors>
<Behaviors:ActivateBehavior Activated="{Binding Activated, Mode=TwoWay}"/>
</i:Interaction.Behaviors>
The view-model should expose a boolean Activated property. Setting this property to true will activate the window (unless it is already activated). As an added bonus it will also restore a minimized window.

You could go about it in a couple of ways - adding a reference to the window could work since the viewmodel is not coupled with the view but related to it, but I don't really like that approach since it pretty much does couple your view to your viewmodel - which is not really the point of MVVM
A better approach may be to have your viewmodel raise an event or a command which the view can handle. This way the view gets to decide what UI action is associated with the command/event
e.g. simply
class SomeView
{
void HandleSomeCommandOrEvent()
{
this.Activate();
}
}
Of course how you wire this up is up to you but I'd probably try and get routed commands happening
Edit: You can't really 'bind' a simple event, since it's invoked from the viewmodel.
A simple event based example is just to add the event to the viewmodel and handle it directly ... e.g. imagine the following MainWindow with a ViewModel property
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
MainWindowViewModel ViewModel { get; set; }
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
ViewModel = new MainWindowViewModel();
ViewModel.ShowMessage += ViewModel_ShowMessage;
this.DataContext = ViewModel;
}
void ViewModel_ShowMessage(object sender, ShowMessageEventArgs e)
{
MessageBox.Show(e.Message, "Some caption", MessageBoxButton.OK);
}
}
Then the ViewModel can just fire the event:
// The view model
public class MainWindowViewModel
{
// The button click command
public RelayCommand ButtonClickCommand { get; set; }
// The event to fire
public event EventHandler<ShowMessageEventArgs> ShowMessage;
public MainWindowViewModel()
{
ButtonClickCommand = new RelayCommand(ButtonClicked);
}
void ButtonClicked(object param)
{
// This button is wired up in the view as normal and fires the event
OnShowMessage("You clicked the button");
}
// Fire the event - it's up to the view to decide how to implement this event and show a message
void OnShowMessage(string message)
{
if (ShowMessage != null) ShowMessage(this, new ShowMessageEventArgs(message));
}
}
public class ShowMessageEventArgs : EventArgs
{
public string Message { get; private set; }
public ShowMessageEventArgs(string message)
{
Message = message;
}
}
The XAML would be:
<Button Command="{Binding ButtonClickCommand}">Click me!</Button>
So the button invokes the command, which in turn fires the event which the view (MainWindow) handles and shows a messagebox. This way the view/UI decides on the course of action based on the type of event raised. Of course it could be your timer which fired the event
You can always go down the more involved route such as some of the answers on this question...
How should the ViewModel close the form?
but to be honest, it depends if you really need it - a simple event works well - some people overcomplicate things for the sake of elegance, but at the detriment of simplicity and productivity!

I would go this way:
using GalaSoft.MvvmLight;
using GalaSoft.MvvmLight.Command;
using GalaSoft.MvvmLight.Messaging;
// View
public partial class TestActivateWindow : Window
{
public TestActivateWindow() {
InitializeComponent();
Messenger.Default.Register<ActivateWindowMsg>(this, (msg) => Activate());
}
}
// View Model
public class MainViewModel: ViewModelBase
{
ICommand _activateChildWindowCommand;
public ICommand ActivateChildWindowCommand {
get {
return _activateChildWindowCommand?? (_activateChildWindowCommand = new RelayCommand(() => {
Messenger.Default.Send(new ActivateWindowMsg());
}));
}
}
}
public class ActivateWindowMsg
{
}