Develop Reference

WPF custom ContentPresenter does not bind properties

I have a custom class derived from ContentPresenter which has a DepenedencyProperty. However, when I attempt to bind it, nothing happens (Source's getter is not called, content is not updated, no errors are logged in Trace):
public class IsReadOnlyCellPresenter : ContentPresenter
{
[Bindable(true)]
public string Text
{
get { return (string)GetValue(TextProperty); }
set { SetValue(TextProperty, value); }
}
public static readonly DependencyProperty TextProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("Text", typeof(string), typeof(IsReadOnlyCellPresenter), new FrameworkPropertyMetadata(null));
}
xaml:
<local:IsReadOnlyCellPresenter Text="{Binding Path=MyProperty, Mode=TwoWay, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}">
<local:IsReadOnlyCellPresenter.ContentTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<TextBox Text="{Binding Text, RelativeSource={RelativeSource Mode=TemplatedParent}}"/>
</DataTemplate>
</local:IsReadOnlyCellPresenter.ContentTemplate>
</local:IsReadOnlyCellPresenter>
If I use static value (e.g. Text="Foo") it works as expected. If I derive from ContentControl (class IsReadOnlyCellPresenter : ContentControl), the Text binding works but not Mode=TemplatedParent which points to nowhere.
What is the issue with ContentPresenter here? Can ContentPresenter be derived from?

How can I bind a WPF checkbox's IsChecked property to a boolean property of an object that is not a window

I found a lot of examples on how to bind the IsChecked property of a WPF checkbox to a boolean property, if both belong to the same Window class. I want to do a different thing:
I have the main window (excerpt):
public partial class MainWindow
{
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
private readonly SoundFx _soundFx = new SoundFx();
private void _StartNewGame()
{
_soundFx.GameStarted();
}
}
Then I have the SoundFx class (excerpt):
public class SoundFx : DependencyObject
{
public void GameStarted()
{
if (Enabled)
{
_PlayGameStartedSound();
}
}
public bool Enabled
{
get { return (bool) GetValue(EnabledProperty); }
set { SetValue(EnabledProperty, value); }
}
public static readonly DependencyProperty EnabledProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("Enabled", typeof(bool),
typeof(SoundFx), new UIPropertyMetadata(false));
}
And I have the XAML (excerpt):
<Grid>
<CheckBox IsChecked="{Binding ElementName=_soundFx, Path=Enabled}" x:Name="checkBoxSoundFx" Content="Sound FX" HorizontalAlignment="Right" Margin="0,0,10,10" VerticalAlignment="Bottom"/>
</Grid>
To be honest, I'm new to WPF and don't know exactly what I'm doing. What I'm trying to achieve is that the value of _soundFx.Enabled be changed when the user clicks on the checkBoxSoundFx element, without using any event handlers like Checked or Unchecked. This should be possible with data binding, shouldn't it?

First you need to create
public SoundFx _soundFx { get; set; }
as public property, because you cannot bind to private field
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
_soundFx = new SoundFx();
}
And from xaml you need to bind like:
<CheckBox IsChecked=
"{Binding RelativeSource=
{RelativeSource Mode=FindAncestor,AncestorType=Window},
Path=_soundFx.Enabled}"}"
x:Name="checkBoxSoundFx"
Content="Sound FX"
HorizontalAlignment="Right"
Margin="0,0,10,10"
VerticalAlignment="Bottom"/>

You were close, you need a property to bind to and you need to set the DataContext if you didn't do it:
public partial class MainWindow
{
public MainWindow()
{
this.DataContext = this;
InitializeComponent();
}
private readonly SoundFx _soundFx = new SoundFx();
public SoundFx {get {return _soundFx;}}
private void _StartNewGame()
{
_soundFx.GameStarted();
}
}
You then need to bind to this property (and set the mode to OneWayToSource if you only need to set the property, never update the CheckBox according to the property value):
<Grid>
<CheckBox IsChecked="{Binding Path=SoundFx.Enabled, Mode=OneWayToSource}" x:Name="checkBoxSoundFx" Content="Sound FX" HorizontalAlignment="Right" Margin="0,0,10,10" VerticalAlignment="Bottom"/>
</Grid>
By the way I'm not sure why you SoundFx is a DependencyObject and why your Enabled property is a DependencyProperty. A simple property would work aswell in this particular example.
DependencyProperties are useful when you want to set them in a Style or animate them with a Storyboard for example, you don't seem to be in this case. I think SoundFx should inherit DependencyObject and Enabled should be a simple property (This is an opinion I make knowing very little about your project though).

As I've managed to grow more experienced in WPF in the meantime, I would now say that my question itself was wrong. In order to avoid confusion in binding and unnecessary dependencies between view and model, I would now always prefer MVVM for cases like this.
Example: https://codereview.stackexchange.com/questions/124361/mvvm-am-i-doing-it-right

TemplateBinding not working for textbox text

I have a custom control called EnhancedTextBox which is a UserControl that has a TextBox and a Button. To the consumer I want it to mostly look like a TextBox, so I did the following:
<UserControl.Template>
<ControlTemplate TargetType="textBoxes:EnhancedTextBox">
...
<TextBox Text="{TemplateBinding Text}"...
And in EnhancedTextBox I have
public static readonly DependencyProperty TextProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("Text", typeof (String), typeof (EnhancedTextBox));
public String Text
{
get { return (String) GetValue(TextProperty); }
set { SetValue(TextProperty, value); }
}
Yet, when I use it as the following:
<EnhancedTextBox Text="{Binding MyText, Mode=TwoWay, NotifyOnSourceUpdated=True, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}}" />
Then, MyText is never updated, as well as I inspect EnhancedTextBox.Text and it is null. What am I missing? I have been staring at this for a bit and can't figure out what is wrong. I even thought it might be the fact that I was using the same name, so create a property called Text1 which did not work....
Also of note, if I use a regular TextBox, then this all works. So, I am fairly certain the problem is with the EnhancedTextBox itself

I figured it out after reading this MSDN about TemplateBinding. Specifically,
A TemplateBinding is an optimized form of a Binding for template scenarios, analogous to a Binding constructed with {Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource TemplatedParent}}.
So, I decided to do this explicitly...which would allow me to set the UpdateSourceTrigger (still not sure why it doesn't default to PropertyChanged)
<TextBox Text="{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource TemplatedParent}, Path=Text, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}"....
And, now it is working. TemplateBinding does not even expose these properties....again, not sure why

You are missing the CallBack when you register the property.
Here's a sample code.
public bool IsSelected
{
get { return (bool)GetValue(IsSelectedProperty); }
set { SetValue(IsSelectedProperty, value); }
}
public void IsSelectedChangedCallback()
{
//actions when property changed
}
private static void OnSelectedChanged(DependencyObject d, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
userControl.IsSelectedChangedCallback();
}
public static readonly DependencyProperty IsSelectedProperty = DependencyProperty.Register("IsSelected", typeof(bool), typeof(MyUserControl), new PropertyMetadata(new PropertyChangedCallback(OnSelectedChanged)));

Issue with binding custom DependencyProperty to ListView.SelectedItem

I'm having an issue with a binding that I'm trying to implement. It will update the DP once, but after that, it's never updated again.
In XAML I have two controls binding to a listview.selected item.
<controls:MapControl DataContext="{Binding ElementName=availableMapsListView, Path=SelectedItem}" MapData="{Binding .}">
and
<TextBlock DataContext="{Binding ElementName=availableMapsListView, Path=SelectedItem}" Text="{Binding Name}" />
The textblock update as expected with each change of the listview's selected item.
My custom control creates the dependency property like so:
public class MapControl : UserControl
{
public MapData MapData
{
get { return (MapData)GetValue(MapDataProperty); }
set { SetValue(MapDataProperty, value); }
}
public static readonly DependencyProperty MapDataProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("MapData", typeof(MapData), typeof(MapControl),
new FrameworkPropertyMetadata(
null,
FrameworkPropertyMetadataOptions.AffectsRender,
new PropertyChangedCallback(OnMapDataPropertyChanged),
new CoerceValueCallback(OnMapCoerceValue)
)
);
private static void OnMapDataPropertyChanged(DependencyObject source, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
if (e.NewValue != null)
{
((MapControl)source).MapData = (MapData)e.NewValue;
}
}
private static object OnMapCoerceValue(DependencyObject dpo, Object obj)
{
return obj;
}
...
}
I'm pretty much at my wits end and not sure what I should do from here. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Not sure exactly what you're trying to achieve or why your code appears so convoluted. If you explain more someone may be able to provide you with a much simpler solution.
That said, by the sounds of it the problem is simply that you're overwriting the binding with a local value. This looks like the culprit:
((MapControl)source).MapData = (MapData)e.NewValue;
When you do this, the MapControl.MapData property will no longer be bound to '.' Instead, it will take on whatever value you've assigned. So your MapControl.DataContext property is likely perfectly correct, but it's not being transferred to the MapData property because you've destroyed the binding.

I had the same error last week. My solution was simple : When you explicitly define a DependencyProperty you must also explicitly define the mode to TwoWay.
<TextBlock DataContext="{Binding ElementName=availableMapsListView,
Path=SelectedItem}"
Text="{Binding Name, Mode=TwoWay}" />

Access codebehind variable in XAML

How can I access the public variable which in Sample.xaml.cs file like asp.net <%=VariableName%>?

There are a few ways to do this.
Add your variable as a resource from codebehind:
myWindow.Resources.Add("myResourceKey", myVariable);
Then you can access it from XAML:
<TextBlock Text="{StaticResource myResourceKey}"/>
If you have to add it after the XAML gets parsed, you can use a DynamicResource above instead of StaticResource.
Make the variable a property of something in your XAML. Usually this works through the DataContext:
myWindow.DataContext = myVariable;
or
myWindow.MyProperty = myVariable;
After this, anything in your XAML can access it through a Binding:
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Path=PropertyOfMyVariable}"/>
or
<TextBlock Text="{Binding ElementName=myWindow, Path=MyProperty}"/>

For binding, if DataContext is not in use, you can simply add this to the constructor of the code behind:
this.DataContext = this;
Using this, every property in the code becomes accessible to binding:
<TextBlock Text="{Binding PropertyName}"/>
Another way is to just give a name to the root element of the XAML:
x:Name="root"
Since the XAML is compiled as a partial class of the code-behind, we can access every property by name:
<TextBlock Text="{Binding ElementName="root" Path=PropertyName}"/>
Note: access is only available to properties; not to fields. set; and get; or {Binding Mode = OneWay} are necessary. If OneWay binding is used, the underlying data should implement INotifyPropertyChanged.

For quick-and-dirty Windows in WPF, I prefer binding the DataContext of the Window to the window itself; this can all be done in XAML.
Window1.xaml
<Window x:Class="WpfApplication1.Window1"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
DataContext="{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource self}}"
Title="Window1" Height="300" Width="300">
<StackPanel>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Path=MyProperty1}" />
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Path=MyProperty2}" />
<Button Content="Set Property Values" Click="Button_Click" />
</StackPanel>
</Window>
Window1.xaml.cs
public partial class Window1 : Window
{
public static readonly DependencyProperty MyProperty2Property =
DependencyProperty.Register("MyProperty2", typeof(string), typeof(Window1), new UIPropertyMetadata(string.Empty));
public static readonly DependencyProperty MyProperty1Property =
DependencyProperty.Register("MyProperty1", typeof(string), typeof(Window1), new UIPropertyMetadata(string.Empty));
public Window1()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
public string MyProperty1
{
get { return (string)GetValue(MyProperty1Property); }
set { SetValue(MyProperty1Property, value); }
}
public string MyProperty2
{
get { return (string)GetValue(MyProperty2Property); }
set { SetValue(MyProperty2Property, value); }
}
private void Button_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
// Set MyProperty1 and 2
this.MyProperty1 = "Hello";
this.MyProperty2 = "World";
}
}
In the above example, note the binding used in the DataContext property on the Window, this says "Set your data context to yourself". The two text blocks are bound to MyProperty1 and MyProperty2, the event handler for the button will set these values, which will automatically propagate to the Text property of the two TextBlocks as the properties are Dependency Properties.

It is also worth noting that a 'Binding' can only be set on a DependencyProperty of a DependencyObject. If you want to set a non DependencyProperty (eg. a normal property) on an object in XAML, then you will have to use Robert's first method of using resources in the code behind.

myWindow.xaml
<Window
...
<TextBlock Text="{ Binding Path=testString }" />
</Window>
myWindow.xaml.cs
public partial class myWindow: Window
{
public string testString { get; set; } = "This is a test string";
public myWindow()
{
DataContext = this;
InitializeComponent();
}
}
Important
Set Datacontext
testString MUST be public
testString MUST be a property (have a get and set)