Develop Reference

Pass ObservableCollection<> type as dependency property

I am trying to create a multi-select Combobox Custom control, This custom control should expose a dependency property called DropDownDataSource through which the user of the control can decide what day should bound to ComboBox. My code looks like this:
MainPage.Xaml
<Grid>
<local:CustomComboBox x:Name="customcb" DropDownDataSource="{x:Bind DropDownDataSource, Mode=OneWay}" Loaded="CustomControl_Loaded"> </local:CustomComboBox>
</Grid>
MainPage.Xaml.cs
public sealed partial class MainPage : Page, INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private ObservableCollection<Item> _dropDownDataSource;
public ObservableCollection<Item> DropDownDataSource
{
get => _dropDownDataSource;
set
{
_dropDownDataSource = value;
OnPropertyChanged();
}
}
public MainPage()
{
this.InitializeComponent();
}
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
public void OnPropertyChanged([CallerMemberName]string name = "")
{
PropertyChanged?.Invoke(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(name));
}
private void CustomControl_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
var Items = new ObservableCollection<Item>(Enumerable.Range(1, 10)
.Select(x => new Item
{
Text = string.Format("Item {0}", x),
IsChecked = x == 40 ? true : false
}));
DropDownDataSource = Items;
}
}
Models
public class Item : BindableBase
{
public string Text { get; set; }
bool _IsChecked = default;
public bool IsChecked { get { return _IsChecked; } set { SetProperty(ref _IsChecked, value); } }
}
public abstract class BindableBase : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
protected void SetProperty<T>(ref T storage, T value,
[System.Runtime.CompilerServices.CallerMemberName] String propertyName = null)
{
if (!object.Equals(storage, value))
{
storage = value;
if (PropertyChanged != null)
PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
}
protected void RaisePropertyChanged([System.Runtime.CompilerServices.CallerMemberName] String propertyName = null)
{
if (PropertyChanged != null)
PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
}
CustomUserControl XAML
<Grid x:Name="GrdMainContainer">
<StackPanel Orientation="Vertical" VerticalAlignment="Center" HorizontalAlignment="Center">
<TextBox Width="200" FontSize="24" Text="{Binding Header, Mode=TwoWay}"
IsReadOnly="True" TextWrapping="Wrap" MaxHeight="200" />
<ScrollViewer VerticalScrollBarVisibility="Auto" MaxHeight="200" Width="200" Background="White">
<ItemsControl ItemsSource="{Binding Items}">
<ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<CheckBox Content="{Binding Text}"
FontSize="24"
Foreground="Black"
IsChecked="{Binding IsChecked, Mode=TwoWay}"
IsThreeState="False" />
</DataTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
</ItemsControl>
</ScrollViewer>
</StackPanel>
</Grid>
CustomUserControl Cs file
public sealed partial class CustomComboBox : UserControl
{
public CustomComboBox()
{
this.InitializeComponent();
}
public ObservableCollection<Item> DropDownDataSource
{
get { return (ObservableCollection<Item>)GetValue(DropDownDataSourceProperty); }
set { SetValue(DropDownDataSourceProperty, value); }
}
public static readonly DependencyProperty DropDownDataSourceProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("DropDownDataSource", typeof(ObservableCollection<Item>), typeof(CustomComboBox), new PropertyMetadata("", HasDropDownItemUpdated));
private static void HasDropDownItemUpdated(DependencyObject d, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
if (d is CustomComboBox ucrcntrl)
{
var grd = UIElementExtensions.FindControl<Grid>(ucrcntrl, "GrdMainContainer");
grd.DataContext = ucrcntrl.DropDownDataSource as ObservableCollection<Item>;
}
}
}
All looks good to me, but for some reason, Dropdown is coming empty. Instead of the dependency property, If I assign a view model directly to the Control it works fine. But in my condition, it is mandatory that I have properties like DataSource,SelectedIndex, etc on the user control for the end-user to use. Can anyone point out what is going wrong here?
Here, I have attached a copy of my complete code.

I downloaded your sample code, the problem should be in the binding.
<ItemsControl ItemsSource="{Binding Items}">
This way of writing is not recommended. In the ObservableCollection, Items is a protected property and is not suitable as a binding property.
You can try to bind dependency property directly in ItemsControl:
<ItemsControl ItemsSource="{x:Bind DropDownDataSource,Mode=OneWay}">
<ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate x:DataType="local:Item">
<CheckBox IsChecked="{x:Bind IsChecked, Mode=TwoWay}"
IsThreeState="False" >
<TextBlock Text="{x:Bind Text}" Foreground="Black" FontSize="24"/>
</CheckBox>
</DataTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
</ItemsControl>
In addition, you may have noticed that I modified the style of CheckBox and rewritten the content to TextBlock, because in the default style of CheckBox, Foreground is not bound to the internal ContentPresenter.
Thanks.

Passing variable to usercontrol with dependency property

I am trying to pass parameter in my usercontrol with DependencyProperty.
This is my main view :
<control:HeaderControl TestText="test" DataContext="{Binding HeaderViewModel, Source={StaticResource Locator}}" />
This is my code behind of my userControl :
public partial class Connexion : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public Connexion()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
public static readonly DependencyProperty TestTitleProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register(
"TestText",
typeof(string),
typeof(Connexion),
new PropertyMetadata(default(string), null));
public string TestText
{
get { return (string)GetValue(TestTitleProperty); }
set { SetValue(TestTitleProperty, value); }
}
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
//this.DataContext = new ConnexionViewModel();
}
And then, there is no data in my userControl..., my TextBlock is empty :
<TextBlock x:Name="headerTitle" Text="{Binding TestText}" FontWeight="Bold" FontSize="24" Foreground="White" VerticalAlignment="Center" HorizontalAlignment="Center"/>
Anyone have an idea?
Thanks.

Databinding not working for user control - PropertyChanged always null

I have a problem with data binding. A test application that I have looks as follows:
There's a mainwindow:
<Window x:Class="WpfApplication2.MainWindow"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:Controls="clr-namespace:WpfApplication2"
x:Name="main"
Title="MainWindow" >
<StackPanel >
<Button Content="Button" Click="Button_Click"/>
<Controls:UserControl1 />
</StackPanel>
</Window>
And a user control:
<UserControl x:Class="WpfApplication2.UserControl1"
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"
mc:Ignorable="d"
x:Name="uc"
>
<Grid >
<TextBox Width="40" Text="{Binding ElementName=main,
Path=Status, Mode=TwoWay, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}"/>
</Grid>
</UserControl>
I want to click the button on the main window to have the value of text box in user control updated:
The code of MainWindow file:
namespace WpfApplication2
{
public partial class MainWindow : Window, INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
private void RaisePropertyChanged(string propertyName)
{
if (PropertyChanged != null) PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
private string _status;
public string Status
{
get { return _status; }
set
{
if (value != _status)
{
_status = value;
RaisePropertyChanged("Status");
}
}
}
private void Button_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
if (Status == "one")
Status = "two";
else
Status = "one";
}
}
}
And the code of UserControl:
namespace WpfApplication2
{
public partial class UserControl1 : UserControl, INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
private void RaisePropertyChanged(string propertyName)
{
if (PropertyChanged != null) PropertyChanged(this, e: new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
public UserControl1()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
}
}
I don't understand why doesn't it work, but the PropertyChanged is always null. The example is in the simplest form I can imagine...

You are trying to access the parent window using the ElementName binding, as far as I am aware, that is not possible. You can however use a relative source binding to get the parent window:
<TextBlock Text="{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource AncestorType=Window}, Path=Status}" ... />
Follow up edit:
Your child user control should look like this:
<UserControl
...
x:Name="usr">
<Grid>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Message, ElementName=usr}"/>
</Grid>
</UserControl>
You will then need to create a dependency property called 'Message' (This is just an example, I'm not sure what you want to call this property).
public partial class YourUserControl: UserControl
{
public string Message
{
get { return (string)GetValue(MessageProperty); }
set { SetValue(MessageProperty, value); }
}
// Using a DependencyProperty as the backing store for Message. This enables animation, styling, binding, etc...
public static readonly DependencyProperty MessageProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("Message", typeof(string), typeof(YourUserControl), new PropertyMetadata(""));
public UserControl1()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
}
Then, when you declare this in your parent user control, simply set the binding of the Message property to whatever property you need to bind to in your parent user control:
<YourNamespace:YourUserControl Message="{Binding PropertyName, ElementName=elementName}" />

Why is the Dependency Property not returning its value?

I have a MyUserControl with the following Xaml:
<TextBox Text="{Binding InputValueProperty}" />
In the MyUserControl.xaml.cs I have:
public string InputValue
{
get { return (string)GetValue(InputValueProperty); }
set { SetValue(InputValueProperty, value); }
}
public static readonly DependencyProperty InputValueProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("InputValueProperty", typeof(string),
typeof(MyUserControl));
In my MainWindow.xaml I create a user control:
<local:MyUserControl InputValue="My Input" />
Later on in my MainWindow.xaml.cs I am trying to access this string. All instances of MyUserControl are contained in a List and I access them with a foreach.
string temp = userControl.InputValue;
This is always null. In my MainWindow.xaml I can see the "My Input" in the text box of the user control but I can't ever seem to get it out of there.

DependencyProperty.Register("InputValueProperty", ...
That should be:
DependencyProperty.Register("InputValue", ...
XAML depends on the registered name of the property, not the name of the property accessor.

It looks like the problem is in your binding. Here's a working example that's modeled off your code with a relative source binding:
Here's the user control:
public partial class MyUserControl : UserControl
{
public MyUserControl()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
public string InputValue
{
get { return (string)GetValue(InputValueProperty); }
set { SetValue(InputValueProperty, value); }
}
public static readonly DependencyProperty InputValueProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("InputValueProperty", typeof(string),
typeof(MyUserControl));
}
<UserControl x:Class="WpfApplication4.MyUserControl"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml" xmlns:local="clr-namespace:WpfApplication4" Height="30" Width="300">
<Grid>
<TextBox Text="{Binding Path=InputValue, RelativeSource={RelativeSource Mode=FindAncestor, AncestorType={x:Type local:MyUserControl}}}" />
</Grid>
</UserControl>
And here's the window:
public partial class Window1 : Window
{
public Window1()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
private void Button_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
string text1 = ctrl1.InputValue;
string text2 = ctrl2.InputValue;
string text3 = ctrl3.InputValue;
//breakpoint here
}
}
<Window x:Class="WpfApplication4.Window1"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml" xmlns:local="clr-namespace:WpfApplication4" Title="Window1" Height="300" Width="300">
<Grid>
<StackPanel>
<local:MyUserControl x:Name="ctrl1" InputValue="My Input" />
<local:MyUserControl x:Name="ctrl2" InputValue="2" />
<local:MyUserControl x:Name="ctrl3" InputValue="3" />
<Button Click="Button_Click" Height="25" Content="debug"/>
</StackPanel>
</Grid>
</Window>
If i throw a breakpoint in the click event i can see the bound values of each of the controls. (if you copy and paste from this be sure to change WpfApplication4 to whatever your project is called.

You need to implement INotifyPropertyChanged on your class that has the property
public class YourClassThatHasTheInputValuePropertyInIt: INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
private void NotifyPropertyChanged(String propertyName)
{
if (PropertyChanged != null)
PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
public string InputValue
{
get { return (string)GetValue(InputValueProperty); }
set { SetValue(InputValueProperty, value);
NotifyPropertyChanged("InputValue"); }
}
}
This will allow the binding to pick up the property

How to create a UserControl in the MVVM pattern?

Currently, within a real-world application development, I am struggling with the consumption of a custom UserControl in the MVVM pattern.
In my application, there is a DataGrid where the user can select an entry. The DataGrid's SelectedItem is TwoWay-bound to a field of the ViewModel set as DataContext. When the user selects an entry, the field is properly updated (tested). In the Page where holds the DataGrid, the field is bound through XAML to a DependencyProperty of a custom UserControl devised in the MVVM pattern : it bares its own ViewModel which is set as DataContext. The trouble is that the UserControl's DependencyProperty is not updated when the field changes even though the INotifyPropertyChanged interface is correctly implemented (see the comparison with a traditional control in the next minimal working example).
This example is constituted of a Label and bares ViewModelUserControl as a DataContext, UserControl1is consumed by the MainWindow and the binding is compared to that of a Label.
The file MainWindow.xaml:
<Window x:Class="UserControlWithinUserControlDataContext.MainWindow"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:Local="clr-namespace:UserControlWithinUserControlDataContext"
Title="MainWindow"
Height="350" Width="525"
>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal"
>
<ListBox SelectedItem="{Binding Text, Mode=TwoWay}"
x:Name="listbox"
Height="150"
>
</ListBox>
<Local:UserControl1 Text="{Binding Text, Mode=OneWay}"
Height="50" Width="150"
/>
<Label Content="{Binding Text, Mode=OneWay}"
/>
</StackPanel>
</Window>
The code-behind MainWindow.xaml.cs:
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
public ViewModelWindow view_model_window
{
get { return _view_model; }
}
private ViewModelWindow _view_model = new ViewModelWindow();
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
DataContext = view_model_window;
IList<String> list = new List<String>();
list.Add("A");
list.Add("B");
list.Add("C");
listbox.ItemsSource = list;
}
}
The ViewModel of the MainWindow, the file ViewModelWindow.cs :
public class ViewModelWindow : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
public void NotifyPropertyChanged(String propertyName)
{
PropertyChangedEventHandler handler = PropertyChanged;
if (handler != null)
{
handler(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
}
public String Text
{
get { return text; }
set
{
if (text != value)
{
text = value;
NotifyPropertyChanged("Text");
}
}
}
private String text = "Bli";
}
The file UserControl1.xaml:
<UserControl x:Class="UserControlWithinUserControlDataContext.UserControl1"
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"
mc:Ignorable="d"
d:DesignHeight="300" d:DesignWidth="300">
<Grid>
<Label Content="{Binding Text}"
Background="Magenta"
HorizontalAlignment="Stretch"
/>
</Grid>
</UserControl>
The code-behind file UserControl1.xaml.cs:
public partial class UserControl1 : UserControl
{
public ViewModelUserControl view_model_usercontrol
{
get { return _view_model; }
}
private ViewModelUserControl _view_model = new ViewModelUserControl();
public String Text
{
get { return (String)GetValue(TextProperty); }
set { SetValue(TextProperty, value); }
}
public static readonly DependencyProperty TextProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("Text", typeof(String), typeof(UserControl1),
new FrameworkPropertyMetadata("", FrameworkPropertyMetadataOptions.AffectsRender,
new PropertyChangedCallback(TextPropertyChangedCallback)));
private static void TextPropertyChangedCallback(DependencyObject d, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
UserControl1 user_control = d as UserControl1;
if(user_control != null)
{
user_control.view_model_usercontrol.Text = user_control.Text;
}
}
public UserControl1()
{
InitializeComponent();
DataContext = view_model_usercontrol;
}
}
The ViewModel of UserControl1, the file ViewModelUserControl.cs:
public class ViewModelUserControl : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
public void NotifyPropertyChanged(String propertyName)
{
PropertyChangedEventHandler handler = PropertyChanged;
if (handler != null)
{
handler(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
}
public String Text
{
get { return text; }
set
{
if (text != value)
{
text = value;
NotifyPropertyChanged("Text");
}
}
}
private String text = "";
}
As you can see when executing this code, the MainWindow's Label gets updated while the UserControl1's Label doesn't.
What am I doing wrong? Is there a way to makes this works?
Many thanks in advance for any clue.

first you do not need to add anything in the UserControl just the XAML. Remove all the code of the UserControl and try.
Let's explain why:
Content="{Binding Text}" you set this in the usercontrol xaml, it's binded to the ViewModelWindow. and that works. and remove in
<Local:UserControl1 => Text="{Binding Text, Mode=OneWay}"
Ok, but it is correct to define a property in the user control in case of other situation?, that's right, in order to do that:
<UserControl x:Name="UserControlInstance"...>
<Label Content="{Binding Text, ElementName=UserControlInstance}" ...>
Where in this case Text is the dependency property and not the datacontext property.
Try the first option, and then the second defining just a Dependency Property and in this case bind the dependency property as you did.
And a tip, if a dependency property is in the visual element tree like in your case you do not need to call the callback.

Thank you Juan for your answer, here is the solution for conceiving the UserControl in the MVVM pattern:
I gave the name root to the Grid of UserControl1 and set its DataContext:
root.DataContext = view_model_usercontrol;
instead of:
DataContext = view_model_usercontrol;
Everything works fine.
Happy ending :)