Develop Reference

Binding to SelectedItem of ComboBox in UserControl

I have a UserControl consisting of a ComboBox with a Label. I am looking to update a screen with an instance of this ComboBox and dynamically create UserControls in a StackPanel, based on the SelectedItem value.
I currently have a screen with an instance of this ComboBox and have it binding the following way:
Pseudocode Example (removing unrelated code):
<!-- MyComboBoxExample.xaml -->
<ComboBox x:Name="myComboBox" SelectedValuePath="Key" DisplayMemberPath="Value" ItemsSource="{Binding MyBoxItems}/>
/* MyComboBoxExample.xaml.cs */
public static readonly DependencyProperty MyBoxItemsProperty = DependencyProperty.Register("MyBoxItems", typeof(Dictionary<string, string>),
typeof(MyComboBoxExample), new PropertyMetadata(null));
<!-- MyScreen.xaml -->
<local:MyComboBoxExample x:Name="MyComboBoxExampleInstance" MyBoxItems="{Binding Descriptions}"/>
I am new to WPF and databinding, so not sure the best way to implement this. Basically, on the screen: when MyComboBoxExampleInstance selection changes, dynamically set the controls of a StackPanel on the screen. I am not sure how to properly hook in to the SelectionChanged event of a child object of a UserControl.
Any thoughts, corrections, and (constructive) criticism is appreciated. Thanks for any help in advance.

There are several ways to go about this. Here's one way. It's not necessarily the best way but it's easy to understand.
First, the user control xaml. Note the binding of the ItemsSource property on the user control, which specifies MyComboBoxItems as the items source. More on where that comes from in a bit.
<UserControl x:Class="WpfApp1.MyUserControl"
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:WpfApp1"
mc:Ignorable="d"
d:DesignHeight="450" d:DesignWidth="800">
<Grid>
<ComboBox Height="Auto" ItemsSource="{Binding MyComboBoxItems}" SelectionChanged="OnSelectionChanged">
<ComboBox.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Text}"/>
</DataTemplate>
</ComboBox.ItemTemplate>
</ComboBox>
</Grid>
</UserControl>
Now the code-behind, MyUserControl.xaml.cs. We provide an combobox selection changed event handler that in turn raises a custom event, MyComboBoxSelectionChanged, which is defined by the event argument class and delegate handler at the bottom of the code. Our OnSelectionChanged method simply forwards the selection change event via the custom event we've defined.
using System;
using System.Windows.Controls;
namespace WpfApp1
{
/// <summary>
/// Interaction logic for MyUserControl.xaml
/// </summary>
public partial class MyUserControl : UserControl
{
public event MyComboBoxSelectionChangedEventHandler MyComboBoxSelectionChanged;
public MyUserControl()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
private void OnSelectionChanged(object sender, SelectionChangedEventArgs e)
{
if (e.AddedItems.Count > 0)
{
MyComboBoxSelectionChanged?.Invoke(this,
new MyComboBoxSelectionChangedEventArgs() {MyComboBoxItem = e.AddedItems[0]});
}
}
}
public class MyComboBoxSelectionChangedEventArgs : EventArgs
{
public object MyComboBoxItem { get; set; }
}
public delegate void MyComboBoxSelectionChangedEventHandler(object sender, MyComboBoxSelectionChangedEventArgs e);
}
Now we go to our MainWindow.xaml, where we define an instance of MyUserControl and set a handler for the custom event we defined. We also provide a StackPanel to host the items that will be created on a selection changed event.
<Window x:Class="WpfApp1.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:WpfApp1"
mc:Ignorable="d"
Title="MainWindow"
Height="450"
Width="800">
<Grid>
<Grid.RowDefinitions>
<RowDefinition />
<RowDefinition />
</Grid.RowDefinitions>
<local:MyUserControl Width="140" Height="32" DataContext="{Binding}" Grid.Row="0" MyComboBoxSelectionChanged="OnSelectionChanged"></local:MyUserControl>
<StackPanel Grid.Row="1" x:Name="MyUserControls"/>
</Grid>
</Window>
Now the code-behind for MainWindow.xaml. Here we define a public property containing a list of objects of type MyComboBoxItem (defined at the bottom of the file), and we initialize the array with some values.
Recall that we set the ItemsSource property of the ComboBox inside MyUserControl to "{Binding MyComboBoxItems}", so the question is, how does the property defined in the MainWindow magically become available in MyUserControl?
In WPF, DataContext values are inherited from parent controls if they aren't explicitly set, and since we did not specify a data context for the control, the instance of MyUserControl inherits the DataContext of the parent window. In the constructor we set the MainWindow data context to refer to itself, so the MyComboBoxItems list is available to any child controls (and their children, and so on.)
Typically we'd go ahead and add a dependency property for the user control called ItemsSource and in the user control we'd bind the ComboBox's ItemsSource property to the dependency property rather than to MyComboxItems.
MainWindow.xaml would then bind it's collection directly to the dependency property on the user control. This helps make the user control more re-usable since it wouldn't depend on specific properties defined in an inherited data context.
Finally, in the event handler for the user control's custom event we obtain the value selected by the user and create a UserControl populated with a text box (all with various properties set to make the items interesting visually) and we directly add them to the Children property of the StackPanel.
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Controls;
using System.Windows.Media;
namespace WpfApp1
{
/// <summary>
/// Interaction logic for MainWindow.xaml
/// </summary>
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
public List<MyComboBoxItem> MyComboBoxItems { get; set; } = new List<MyComboBoxItem>()
{
new MyComboBoxItem() {Text = "Item1"},
new MyComboBoxItem() {Text = "Item2"},
new MyComboBoxItem() {Text = "Item3"},
};
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
DataContext = this;
}
private void OnSelectionChanged(object sender, MyComboBoxSelectionChangedEventArgs e)
{
if (e.MyComboBoxItem is MyComboBoxItem item)
{
MyUserControls.Children.Add(
new UserControl()
{
Margin = new Thickness(2),
Background = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.LightGray),
Content = new TextBlock()
{
Margin = new Thickness(4),
VerticalAlignment = VerticalAlignment.Center,
HorizontalAlignment = HorizontalAlignment.Center,
FontSize = 48,
FontWeight = FontWeights.Bold,
Foreground = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.DarkGreen),
Text = item.Text
}
});
}
}
}
public class MyComboBoxItem
{
public string Text { get; set; }
}
}
Finally, I'd consider using an ItemsControl or a ListBox bound to an ObservableCollection rather than sticking things into a StackPanel. You could define a nice data template for the user control to display and maybe a DataTemplateSelector to use different user controls based on settings in the data item. This would allow me to simply add the reference to the MyComboBoxItem obtained in the selection changed handler to that collection, and the binding machinery would automatically generate a new item using the data template I defined and create the necessary visual elements to display it.
So given all that, here are the changes to do all that.
First, we modify our data item to add a color property. We'll use that property to determine how we display the selected item:
public class MyComboBoxItem
{
public string Color { get; set; }
public string Text { get; set; }
}
Now we implement INotifyPropertyChanged in MainWindow.xaml.cs to let the WPF binding engine update the UI when we change properties. This is the event handler and a helper method, OnPropertyChanged.
We also modify the combo box initializer to add a value for the Color property. We'll leave on blank for fun.
We then add a new ObservableCollect, "ActiveUserControls" to store the MyComboBoxItem received in the combo box selection changed event. We do that instead of creating user controls on the fly in code.
public partial class MainWindow : Window, INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
protected virtual void OnPropertyChanged([CallerMemberName] string propertyName = null)
{
PropertyChanged?.Invoke(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
public List<MyComboBoxItem> MyComboBoxItems { get; set; } = new List<MyComboBoxItem>()
{
new MyComboBoxItem() {Text = "Item1", Color = "Red"},
new MyComboBoxItem() {Text = "Item2", Color = "Green"},
new MyComboBoxItem() {Text = "Item3"},
};
private ObservableCollection<MyComboBoxItem> _activeUserControls;
public ObservableCollection<MyComboBoxItem> ActiveUserControls
{
get => _activeUserControls;
set { _activeUserControls = value; OnPropertyChanged(); }
}
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
DataContext = this;
}
private void OnSelectionChanged(object sender, MyComboBoxSelectionChangedEventArgs e)
{
if (e.MyComboBoxItem is MyComboBoxItem item)
{
if (ActiveUserControls == null)
{
ActiveUserControls = new ObservableCollection<MyComboBoxItem>();
}
ActiveUserControls.Add(item);
}
}
}
Now let's look at some changes we made to MyUserControl. We've modified the combo box ItemsSource to point at a property, ItemsSource defined in MyUserControl, and we also map the ItemTemplate to an ItemTemplate property in MyUserControl.
<UserControl x:Class="WpfApp1.MyUserControl"
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:WpfApp1"
mc:Ignorable="d"
d:DesignHeight="450"
d:DesignWidth="800">
<Grid>
<ComboBox Height="Auto"
ItemsSource="{Binding ItemsSource, RelativeSource={RelativeSource FindAncestor, AncestorType={x:Type local:MyUserControl}}}"
ItemTemplate="{Binding ItemTemplate, RelativeSource={RelativeSource FindAncestor, AncestorType={x:Type local:MyUserControl}}}"
SelectionChanged="OnSelectionChanged">
</ComboBox>
</Grid>
</UserControl>
Here's were we define those new properties in MyUserControl.cs.
public partial class MyUserControl : UserControl
{
public event MyComboBoxSelectionChangedEventHandler MyComboBoxSelectionChanged;
public MyUserControl()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
public static readonly DependencyProperty ItemsSourceProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("ItemsSource",
typeof(System.Collections.IEnumerable),
typeof(MyUserControl),
new PropertyMetadata(null));
public System.Collections.IEnumerable ItemsSource
{
get => GetValue(ItemsSourceProperty) as IEnumerable;
set => SetValue(ItemsSourceProperty, (IEnumerable)value);
}
public static readonly DependencyProperty ItemTemplateProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("ItemTemplate",
typeof(DataTemplate),
typeof(MyUserControl),
new PropertyMetadata(null));
public DataTemplate ItemTemplate
{
get => GetValue(ItemTemplateProperty) as DataTemplate;
set => SetValue(ItemTemplateProperty, (DataTemplate)value);
}
private void OnSelectionChanged(object sender, SelectionChangedEventArgs e)
{
if (e.AddedItems.Count > 0)
{
MyComboBoxSelectionChanged?.Invoke(this,
new MyComboBoxSelectionChangedEventArgs() {MyComboBoxItem = e.AddedItems[0]});
}
}
}
Let's look at how we bind to those in MainWindow.xaml:
<local:MyUserControl Width="140"
Height="32"
Grid.Row="0"
MyComboBoxSelectionChanged="OnSelectionChanged"
ItemsSource="{Binding MyComboBoxItems}"
ItemTemplate="{StaticResource ComboBoxItemDataTemplate}" />
So now we can bind our items directly and provide our own data template to specify how the combobox should display the item.
Finally, I want to replace the StackPanel with an ItemsControl. This is like a ListBox without scrolling or item selection support. In fact, ListBox is derived from ItemsControl. I also want to use a different user control in the list based on the value of the Color property. To do that, we define some data templates for each value in MainWindow.Xaml:
<DataTemplate x:Key="ComboBoxItemDataTemplate"
DataType="local:MyComboBoxItem">
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal">
<TextBlock Margin="4"
Text="{Binding Text}" />
<TextBlock Margin="4"
Text="{Binding Color}" />
</StackPanel>
</DataTemplate>
<DataTemplate x:Key="GreenUserControlDataTemplate"
DataType="local:MyComboBoxItem">
<local:GreenUserControl DataContext="{Binding}" />
</DataTemplate>
<DataTemplate x:Key="RedUserControlDataTemplate"
DataType="local:MyComboBoxItem">
<local:RedUserControl DataContext="{Binding}" />
</DataTemplate>
<DataTemplate x:Key="UnspecifiedUserControlDataTemplate"
DataType="local:MyComboBoxItem">
<TextBlock Margin="4"
Text="{Binding Text}" />
</DataTemplate>
Here's RedUserControl. Green is the same with a different foreground color.
<UserControl x:Class="WpfApp1.RedUserControl"
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:WpfApp1"
mc:Ignorable="d"
d:DesignHeight="450"
d:DesignWidth="800">
<Grid Background="LightGray"
Margin="2">
<TextBlock Margin="4"
Foreground="DarkRed"
TextWrapping="Wrap"
Text="{Binding Text}"
FontSize="24"
FontWeight="Bold" />
</Grid>
</UserControl>
Now the trick is to use the right data template based on the color value. For that we create a DataTemplateSelector. This is called by WPF for each item to be displayed. We can examine the data context object a choose which data template to use:
public class UserControlDataTemplateSelector : DataTemplateSelector
{
public override DataTemplate SelectTemplate(object item, DependencyObject container)
{
if (container is FrameworkElement fe)
{
if (item is MyComboBoxItem cbItem)
{
if (cbItem.Color == "Red")
{
return fe.FindResource("RedUserControlDataTemplate") as DataTemplate;
}
if (cbItem.Color == "Green")
{
return fe.FindResource("GreenUserControlDataTemplate") as DataTemplate;
}
return fe.FindResource("UnspecifiedUserControlDataTemplate") as DataTemplate;
}
}
return null;
}
}
We create an instance of our data template selector in xaml in MainWindow.xaml:
<Window.Resources>
<local:UserControlDataTemplateSelector x:Key="UserControlDataTemplateSelector" />
...
Finally we replace our stack panel with an Items control:
<ItemsControl Grid.Row="1"
x:Name="MyUserControls"
ItemsSource="{Binding ActiveUserControls}"
ItemTemplateSelector="{StaticResource UserControlDataTemplateSelector}" />

WPF UserControl DependencyProperty use in XAML or by binding

I want a universal UserControl where i can set a property either by setting its value in XAML directly or by binding it to some model property.
Just like TextBlock Text property works.
Right now i just have the bare simple UserControl, it has a single DependencyProperty TxT and a TextBlock Text property bound to it. No other code present.
If i set TxT in XAML on main window it wont work, binding works.
If i add PropertyChangedCallback to that DependencyProperty it works also in XAML.
So the question, is it mandatory to have PropertyChangedCallback for each property if i want to be able to set it directly in XAML?
This is not clear to me, most don't mention about it, but it also forces me to adding internal control names to change their value in PropertyChangedCallback.
The code is below.
Can it be done some other way?
MainWindow
<Window
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:WpfAppDpBare" xmlns:Model="clr-namespace:WpfAppDpBare.Model" x:Class="WpfAppDpBare.MainWindow"
Background="CadetBlue"
mc:Ignorable="d"
Title="MainWindow" Height="450" Width="800" ResizeMode="NoResize" WindowStartupLocation="CenterScreen">
<Window.DataContext>
<Model:MainModel/>
</Window.DataContext>
<Grid>
<local:UserControlSample TxT="DIRECT TXT" HorizontalAlignment="Center" VerticalAlignment="Center" Height="125" Width="125" Margin="10,34,659,262"/>
<TextBlock HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="10,10,0,0" TextWrapping="Wrap" Text="Direct" VerticalAlignment="Top" FontSize="14" FontWeight="Bold"/>
<TextBlock HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="203,10,0,0" TextWrapping="Wrap" Text="Binding" VerticalAlignment="Top" FontSize="14" FontWeight="Bold"/>
<local:UserControlSample DataContext="{Binding UCData}" HorizontalAlignment="Center" VerticalAlignment="Center" Height="125" Width="125" Margin="203,34,466,262"/>
</Grid>
public partial class MainWindow:Window {
public MainWindow() {
InitializeComponent();
}
}
UserControl
<UserControl x:Class="WpfAppDpBare.UserControlSample"
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:WpfAppDpBare"
mc:Ignorable="d"
d:DesignHeight="450" d:DesignWidth="800" Background="White">
<Grid>
<TextBlock TextWrapping="Wrap" Text="{Binding TxT,FallbackValue=...,TargetNullValue=...}" TextAlignment="Center" HorizontalAlignment="Center" VerticalAlignment="Center" FontSize="20" FontWeight="Bold"/>
</Grid>
public partial class UserControlSample:UserControl {
public UserControlSample() {
InitializeComponent();
}
public string TxT {
get { return (string)GetValue(TxTProperty); }
set { SetValue(TxTProperty, value); }
}
// Using a DependencyProperty as the backing store for TxT. This enables animation, styling, binding, etc...
public static readonly DependencyProperty TxTProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("TxT", typeof(string), typeof(UserControlSample), new PropertyMetadata());
}
Models
public class MainModel:ViewModelBase {
/// <summary>
/// The <see cref="UCData" /> property's name.
/// </summary>
public const string UCDataPropertyName = "UCData";
private UCModel uCModel = null;
/// <summary>
/// Sets and gets the UCData property.
/// Changes to that property's value raise the PropertyChanged event.
/// </summary>
public UCModel UCData {
get {
return uCModel;
}
set {
if(uCModel == value) {
return;
}
uCModel = value;
RaisePropertyChanged(UCDataPropertyName);
}
}
public MainModel() {
UCData = new UCModel() { TxT = "BINDING TXT" };
}
}
public class UCModel:ViewModelBase {
/// <summary>
/// The <see cref="TxT" /> property's name.
/// </summary>
public const string TxTPropertyName = "TxT";
private string _TxT = null;
/// <summary>
/// Sets and gets the TxT property.
/// Changes to that property's value raise the PropertyChanged event.
/// </summary>
public string TxT {
get {
return _TxT;
}
set {
if(_TxT == value) {
return;
}
_TxT = value;
RaisePropertyChanged(TxTPropertyName);
}
}
}
Full bare project https://wetransfer.com/downloads/199f3db5d183e64cf9f20db4225d4c9820180702001102/f4f61b
As u can see in the project binding works, direct property text not.
I want it all contained in the usercontrol, so i either set usercontrol property value in xaml or bind to it, without another addition in the mainwindow xaml or code.

You are not binding the TextBlock's Text property to the TxT property of the UserControl.
Set the Binding's RelativeSource
<TextBlock Text="{Binding TxT,
RelativeSource={RelativeSource AncestorType=UserControl}, ...}" .../>
or assign a x:Name to the UserControl and use an ElementName Binding.
Then, instead of setting the UserControl's DataContext by
<local:UserControlSample DataContext="{Binding UCData}" .../>
bind its TxT property:
<local:UserControlSample TxT="{Binding UCData.TxT}" .../>
EDIT: In order to bind directly to the properties of the object in its DataContext, as intended with
<local:UserControlSample DataContext="{Binding UCData}" .../>
you do not need to declare any properties at all in the UserControl. Remove the TxT dependency property declaration, and bind the elements in the UserControl's XAML directly, as you already did:
<TextBlock Text="{Binding TxT, ...}"/>
Note however that this is not how UserControl usually work. Yours does now depend on a specific view model type, and can't be reused with other view models.

Creating a launcher in WPF

I'm currently in the process of writing a launcher and I'm in the prototyping phase of it.
I'm really new to WPF but not to the MVVM architecture, however, I'm not sure how to bind my ViewModel to the CommandBox view because I'm using methods in my ViewModel, maybe I'm looking at it from the wrong angle so if I'm doing something wrong please enlighten me! :)
I have the following ViewModel that basically is really the essence of the launcher in terms of its input:
/// <summary>
/// Provides a buffer of characters in order to search for candidates that matches the buffer.
/// </summary>
public class CommandBufferViewModel : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private readonly StringBuilder _input;
public CommandBufferViewModel()
{
_input = new StringBuilder();
}
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
/// <summary>
/// Deletes a character from the buffer.
/// </summary>
public void DeleteKey(int index, int length = 1)
{
_input.Remove(index, length);
OnPropertyChanged(nameof(DeleteKey));
}
/// <summary>
/// Adds a character to the buffer.
/// </summary>
public void ProcessKey(int index, char key)
{
_input.Insert(index, key);
OnPropertyChanged(nameof(ProcessKey));
}
/// <summary>
/// Returns results that matches the current buffer.
/// </summary>
/// <returns>Results that matches the current buffer.</returns>
public async Task<CommandResults> Search()
{
// NYI
return default(CommandResults);
}
protected virtual void OnPropertyChanged(string propertyName = null)
{
PropertyChanged?.Invoke(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
}
The idea here is that commands can be stored in a remote database or whatever storage you may like as well as locally.
The (CommandBox view) TextBox looks like this:
<TextBox
x:Class="Yalla.Launcher.Views.CommandBox"
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:i="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/2010/interactivity"
xmlns:bs="clr-namespace:Yalla.Launcher.Behaviors"
mc:Ignorable="d"
Width="Auto" Height="Auto" VerticalContentAlignment="Center" BorderThickness="1">
<i:Interaction.Behaviors>
<bs:WatermarkBehavior Text="Enter Command... (type ? for help)" />
</i:Interaction.Behaviors>
</TextBox>

I think I figured this out, I'll simply have a ViewModel that holds the text that is the command the user is searching for and I'll use this as the glue between the view and the search service of the launcher.
Something like this:
namespace Yalla.Launcher.ViewModels
{
using System.ComponentModel;
using Commands;
using Features.Commands.Search;
public class SearchViewModel : INotifyPropertyChanged, ISearchableText
{
private SearchCommandHandler _enterCommandHandler;
private string _searchText;
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
public SearchCommandHandler Search => _enterCommandHandler ?? (_enterCommandHandler = new SearchCommandHandler(new SearchService(this)));
public string SearchText
{
get
{
return _searchText;
}
set
{
_searchText = value;
OnPropertyChanged(nameof(SearchText));
}
}
protected virtual void OnPropertyChanged(string propertyName = null)
{
PropertyChanged?.Invoke(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
}
}
Finally, I bind it to the TextBox like this:
<ctrls:LauncherTextBox
x:Class="Yalla.Launcher.Views.LauncherSearchBox"
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:i="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/2010/interactivity"
xmlns:bs="clr-namespace:Yalla.Launcher.Behaviors"
xmlns:ctrls="clr-namespace:Yalla.Launcher.Controls"
xmlns:vm="clr-namespace:Yalla.Launcher.ViewModels"
mc:Ignorable="d"
Width="Auto" Height="Auto"
VerticalContentAlignment="Center" BorderThickness="1"
Text="{Binding SearchText, Mode=TwoWay, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}">
<ctrls:LauncherTextBox.DataContext>
<vm:SearchViewModel />
</ctrls:LauncherTextBox.DataContext>
<i:Interaction.Behaviors>
<bs:WatermarkBehavior Text="Enter Command... (type ? for help)" />
</i:Interaction.Behaviors>
<TextBox.InputBindings>
<KeyBinding Key="Return" Command="{Binding Search}"></KeyBinding>
</TextBox.InputBindings>
</ctrls:LauncherTextBox>
Quite simple but that's probably what I need to start with.

WPF ComboBox selection change on TabItem selection change

I have a combobox in a tab item in MVVM. This tab can be created multiple times in my application (same view, same view model but different instance), so I can switch from one tab to another (but they are tab of the same type).
It works perfectly with every WPF control, but with combobox I have a strange behaviour:
the focus tab, when it loses focus, gets the selected item of the combox box of the tab that the application is focusing on.
If I switch from 2 tabs that are not of the same type everything works correctly, any idea about that? Thanks.
XAML:
<CollectionViewSource x:Key="StatusView" Source="{Binding Path=StatusList}"/>
<ComboBox Name="_spl2Status" Grid.Column="3" Grid.Row="0"
ItemsSource="{Binding Source={StaticResource StatusView}}"
SelectedValue="{Binding Path=CurrentSPL2.ID_SPL2_STATUS, Mode=TwoWay, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}"
SelectedValuePath="FL_TYPE"
DisplayMemberPath="ID_TYPE">
</ComboBox>
VM:
public List<NullableByteEnumType> StatusList
{
get
{
return (SPC_SPL2.SPL2StatusCollection.Skip(1)).ToList();
}
}
private SPC_SPL2 _currentSPL2 = null;
public SPC_SPL2 CurrentSPL2
{
get
{
if (_currentSPL2== null)
Controller.Execute(delegate(IResult result)
{
Dictionary<string, object> parameters = new Dictionary<string, object>();
parameters.Add("FL_ACTIVE", true);
parameters.Add("ID_SPL2", _itemcode);
Model.Invalidate(typeof(SPC_SPL2), Filter.GENERIC<SPC_SPL2>(parameters, "ID_SPL2"));
Model.Include<SPC_SPL2>();
if (Model.Appendload(result) == false)
return false;
Debug.Assert(Context.SPC_SPL2.Count == 1);
_currentSPL2= Context.SPC_SPL2.FirstOrDefault();
return result.Successful;
});
return _currentSPL2;
}
set
{
_currentSPL2= value;
OnPropertyChanged(() => CurrentSPL2);
}
}
my tabs are handled in this way:
<Grid>
<Border Grid.Row="0">
<ContentControl
Content="{Binding Path=Workspaces}"
ContentTemplate="{StaticResource MasterWorkspacesTemplate}"
/>
</Border>
</Grid>
where
<DataTemplate x:Key="MasterWorkspacesTemplate">
<TabControl IsSynchronizedWithCurrentItem="True"
BorderThickness="0"
ItemsSource="{Binding}"
SelectedItem="{Binding}"
ItemContainerStyleSelector="{StaticResource TabItemTemplate}"
/>
</DataTemplate>
and workspaces (my viewmodels list) (T is a class who inherit from viewModelBase)
public T CurrentWorkspace
{
get { return WorkspacesView.CurrentItem as T; }
}
private ObservableCollection<T> _workspaces;
public ObservableCollection<T> Workspaces
{
get
{
if (_workspaces == null)
{
_workspaces = new ObservableCollection<T>();
_workspaces.CollectionChanged += _OnWorkspacesChanged;
}
return _workspaces;
}
}
protected ICollectionView WorkspacesView
{
get
{
ICollectionView collectionView = CollectionViewSource.GetDefaultView(Workspaces);
Debug.Assert(collectionView != null);
return collectionView;
}
}

I have recreated your problem. But I couldn't find any issue. Please look at the code below and you might get the solustion. Here is my solution.
MyTab view model
public class MyTab : ViewModelBase
{
#region Declarations
private ObservableCollection<string> statusList;
private string selectedStatus;
#endregion
#region Properties
/// <summary>
/// Gets or sets the header.
/// </summary>
/// <value>The header.</value>
public string Header { get; set; }
/// <summary>
/// Gets or sets the content.
/// </summary>
/// <value>The content.</value>
public string Content { get; set; }
/// <summary>
/// Gets or sets the status list.
/// </summary>
/// <value>The status list.</value>
public ObservableCollection<string> StatusList
{
get
{
return statusList;
}
set
{
statusList = value;
NotifyPropertyChanged("StatusList");
}
}
/// <summary>
/// Gets or sets the selected status.
/// </summary>
/// <value>The selected status.</value>
public string SelectedStatus
{
get
{
return selectedStatus;
}
set
{
selectedStatus = value;
NotifyPropertyChanged("SelectedStatus");
}
}
#endregion
}
MainViewModel view model
public class MainViewModel : ViewModelBase
{
#region Declarations
private ObservableCollection<MyTab> tabs;
private MyTab selectedTab;
#endregion
#region Properties
/// <summary>
/// Gets or sets the tabs.
/// </summary>
/// <value>The tabs.</value>
public ObservableCollection<MyTab> Tabs
{
get
{
return tabs;
}
set
{
tabs = value;
NotifyPropertyChanged("Tabs");
}
}
/// <summary>
/// Gets or sets the selected tab.
/// </summary>
/// <value>The selected tab.</value>
public MyTab SelectedTab
{
get
{
return selectedTab;
}
set
{
selectedTab = value;
NotifyPropertyChanged("SelectedTab");
}
}
#endregion
#region Constructors
/// <summary>
/// Initializes a new instance of the <see cref="MainViewModel"/> class.
/// </summary>
public MainViewModel()
{
this.Tabs = new ObservableCollection<MyTab>();
MyTab tab1 = new MyTab();
tab1.Header = "tab1";
tab1.Content = "Tab 1 content";
ObservableCollection<string> tab1StatusList = new ObservableCollection<string>();
tab1StatusList.Add("tab1 item1");
tab1StatusList.Add("tab1 item2");
tab1StatusList.Add("tab1 item3");
tab1.StatusList = tab1StatusList;
tab1.SelectedStatus = tab1StatusList.First();
this.Tabs.Add(tab1);
MyTab tab2 = new MyTab();
tab2.Header = "tab2";
tab2.Content = "Tab 2 content";
ObservableCollection<string> tab2StatusList = new ObservableCollection<string>();
tab2StatusList.Add("tab2 item1");
tab2StatusList.Add("tab2 item2");
tab2StatusList.Add("tab2 item3");
tab2.StatusList = tab2StatusList;
tab2.SelectedStatus = tab2StatusList.First();
this.Tabs.Add(tab2);
this.SelectedTab = tab1;
}
#endregion
}
And finally this is my XAML
<Window x:Class="ComboboxSelectedItem.MainWindow"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:viewModel="clr-namespace:ComboboxSelectedItem.ViewModels"
Title="MainWindow" Height="350" Width="525">
<Grid Name="mainGrid">
<Grid.DataContext>
<viewModel:MainViewModel />
</Grid.DataContext>
<TabControl
ItemsSource="{Binding Tabs, Mode=TwoWay}"
SelectedItem="{Binding SelectedTab}">
<TabControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal">
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Header}" Margin="0 0 20 0"/>
</StackPanel>
</DataTemplate>
</TabControl.ItemTemplate>
<!--Content section-->
<TabControl.ContentTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<Grid>
<StackPanel Orientation="Vertical">
<TextBlock
Text="{Binding Content}" />
<ComboBox
ItemsSource="{Binding StatusList}"
SelectedItem="{Binding SelectedStatus}" />
</StackPanel>
</Grid>
</DataTemplate>
</TabControl.ContentTemplate>
</TabControl>
</Grid>
</Window>

Are you absolutely sure that you are creating a new instance of the viewmodel. If not, then the comboboxes are sharing the same collectionviewsource which means that a change in one combobox will be reflected in all comboboxes. I had this same problem myself.
Try declaring the collection view source in code:
CollectionViewSource StatusListViewSource = new CollectionViewSource();
StatusListViewSource.Source = SPL2StatusCollection;
then in xaml change binding to the collectionviewsource:
ItemsSource="{Binding StatusListViewSource.View}"
I converted from vb so it might need some edits.
Does that help?

Listbox items are placed ontop of each other

I can't seem to figure out why the listbox items are place ontop of each other... they should be below one another. Heres some markup and code.
<ListBox x:Name="DeviceList" Background="#ff4c4c4c" BorderThickness="0" ScrollViewer.CanContentScroll="False" MouseEnter="DeviceList_MouseEnter" MouseLeave="DeviceList_MouseLeave"
ManipulationBoundaryFeedback="DeviceList_ManipulationBoundaryFeedback" ItemContainerStyle="{DynamicResource ResourceKey=ListBoxItemStyle}" PreviewMouseDown="DeviceList_PreviewMouseDown"
PreviewMouseMove="DeviceList_PreviewMouseMove" PreviewMouseUp="DeviceList_PreviewMouseUp" HorizontalAlignment="Stretch" VerticalAlignment="Stretch" DockPanel.Dock="Bottom">
<ListBox.Resources>
<ResourceDictionary>
<ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
<ResourceDictionary Source="..\Utilities\Resources\Themes\Slider.xaml"></ResourceDictionary>
</ResourceDictionary.MergedDictionaries>
</ResourceDictionary>
</ListBox.Resources>
</ListBox>
#region Constructors
/// <summary>
/// Constructor.
/// </summary>
public ConfiguratorView()
{
InitializeComponent();
foreach (Device device in (Application.Current.Windows[1].DataContext as ConfiguratorViewModel).AvailableDevices)
{
devices.Add(AddDevice(device.Icon + "_def", device.Description));
}
DeviceList.ItemsSource = devices;
}
#endregion
#region Internal Members
/// <summary>
/// Add the device to the list of devices.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="icon"></param>
/// <param name="description"></param>
/// <returns></returns>
private Canvas AddDevice(string icon, string description)
{
Canvas canvas = new Canvas();
canvas.Name = icon;
ContentControl backgroundContent = new ContentControl();
Label label = new Label();
backgroundContent.Template = Application.Current.FindResource(icon) as ControlTemplate;
label.Content = description;
canvas.Children.Add(backgroundContent);
canvas.Children.Add(label);
return canvas;
}
The device list adds the canvas as the item... and then i set the ItemsSource to the List. Loading it shows all icons right on top of the last one. Any thoughts?

Everything will appear on top of each other because Canvas.Top defaults to NaN.
You could manually calculate the appropriate Canvas.Top values, but I would suggest:
Keeping the Device object simple with a property for Description and icon
Creating a DataTemplate for the ListBox items to display those properties.
EDIT:
For example (I haven't tested this)
Say your Device class looks something like this:
public class Device
{
public string Description { get; set; }
public object Icon { get; set; }
}
And then your datatemplete for the ListBox could look like this:
<ListBox ItemsSource="{Binding Devices}">
<ListBox.ItemsTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<Canvas>
<!-- add items here -->
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Description}" Canvas.Top="5" />
<Canvas>
</DataTemplate>
</ListBox.ItemsTemplate>
</ListBox>