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C# Xamarin Forms Populating CollectionView from ViewModel is always null

I am trying to populate a collection view from a ViewModel, however when I try to bind the data to the collection view, the ViewModel is null.
xaml.cs file
ObservableCollection<ReportsClass> newKidList = new ObservableCollection<ReportsClass>();
public ReportsViewModel viewmodel { get; set; }
public ReportsPage()
{
InitializeComponent();
viewmodel = new ReportsViewModel();
this.BindingContext = viewmodel;
PreviousDateRange.CornerRadius = 20;
NextDateRange.CornerRadius = 20;
DateTime firstDate = currentDate.StartOfWeek(DayOfWeek.Sunday);
DateTime secondDate = currentDate.AddDays(7).StartOfWeek(DayOfWeek.Saturday);
DateRange.Text = firstDate.ToString("MMMM d") + " - " + secondDate.ToString("MMMM d");
Kids.SetBinding(ItemsView.ItemsSourceProperty, nameof(viewmodel.kids));
}
Here is my view model
public class ReportsViewModel
{
public ObservableCollection<ReportsClass> kids { get; set; }
FirebaseStorageHelper firebaseStorageHelper = new FirebaseStorageHelper();
WebServiceClass webServiceClass = new WebServiceClass();
DateTime currentDate = DateTime.Now;
public ReportsViewModel()
{
GetKids();
}
public async void GetKids()
{
var parentId = await SecureStorage.GetAsync("parentid");
kids = await webServiceClass.Reports(Convert.ToInt32(parentId), currentDate.StartOfWeek(DayOfWeek.Sunday), currentDate.AddDays(7).StartOfWeek(DayOfWeek.Saturday));
}
}
And here is the method that gets the data for the view model
public async Task<ObservableCollection<ReportsClass>> Reports(int parentid, DateTime startDate, DateTime endDate)
{
var content = new FormUrlEncodedContent(new[]
{
new KeyValuePair<string, string>("parentid", parentid.ToString()),
new KeyValuePair<string, string>("startDate", startDate.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd H:mm:ss")),
new KeyValuePair<string, string>("endDate", endDate.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd"))
});
var response = await client.PostAsync(string.Format("https://example.com/api/index.php?action=reports"), content);
var responseString = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
ObservableCollection<ReportsClass> items = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<ObservableCollection<ReportsClass>>(responseString);
return items;
}
What am I doing wrong? The purpose of me doing it this way is so I can update an item in the collectionview
Here is my ReportsClass
public class ReportsClass
{
public ReportsClass(string firstName)
{
first_name = firstName;
}
public string first_name { get; set; }
}

OPTION A:
Fix the syntax of Kids.SetBinding, to not get null. Refer to the CLASS ReportsViewModel, not to the INSTANCE viewmodel:
Kids.SetBinding(ItemsView.ItemsSourceProperty, nameof(ReportsViewModel.kids));
The kids still won't appear in list. To fix, kids needs OnPropertyChanged:
public ObservableCollection<ItemModel> kids {
get => _kids;
set {
_kids = value;
OnPropertyChanged();
}
}
private ObservableCollection<ItemModel> _kids;
See the other code in Option B. Adapt as desired.
When you need XAML to see a DYNAMIC change, you need OnPropertyChanged. This is an implementation of INotifyPropertyChanged. Add this call to properties (that XAML binds to) of ReportsClass:
// Inheriting from `BindableObject` is one way to obtain OnPropertyChanged method.
public class ReportsClass : Xamarin.Forms.BindableObject
{
public ReportsClass(string firstName)
{
first_name = firstName;
}
public string first_name {
get => _first_name;
set {
_first_name = value;
// This tells XAML there was a change.
// Makes "{Binding first_name}" work dynamically.
OnPropertyChanged();
}
}
private string _first_name;
}
OPTION B:
Didn't find an answer anywhere that does everything correctly, so here is a complete sample, for future reference:
Remove Kids.SetBinding(...). (It can be fixed as shown in OPTION A, but its easier to get it correct in XAML, so below I show it in XAML.)
Bindings from Page to VM. See xaml below.
Create ObservableCollection with setter that does OnPropertyChanged. This informs XAML when the list is ready, so page updates. (This is an implementation of INotifyPropertyChanged, as Jason mentioned.)
Use Device.BeginInvokeOnMainThread(async () to create an async context, that is queued to run after constructor returns. (This fixes the issue Jason mentioned, which is that a constructor isn't an async context, so should not DIRECTLY call an async method such as QueryItemsAsync, or your GetKids.) This is more reliable.
PageWithQueryData.xaml:
<ContentPage xmlns="http://xamarin.com/schemas/2014/forms"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2009/xaml"
x:Class="TestXFUWP.PageWithQueryData">
<ContentPage.Content>
<StackLayout>
<CollectionView ItemsSource="{Binding Items}">
<CollectionView.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<StackLayout>
<Label Text="{Binding Name}" />
</StackLayout>
</DataTemplate>
</CollectionView.ItemTemplate>
<CollectionView.EmptyView>
<Grid>
<Label Text="Loading ..." FontSize="24" TextColor="Blue" BackgroundColor="LightBlue" HorizontalTextAlignment="Center" VerticalTextAlignment="Center" />
</Grid>
</CollectionView.EmptyView>
</CollectionView>
</StackLayout>
</ContentPage.Content>
</ContentPage>
PageWithQueryData.xaml.cs:
public partial class PageWithQueryData : ContentPage
{
public PageWithQueryData()
{
InitializeComponent();
// ... other initialization work here ...
// BUT remove `Kids.Binding(...);` line. See XAML: `ItemsSource="{Binding Items}"`.
BindingContext = new VMWithQueryData();
}
}
VMWithQueryData.cs:
class VMWithQueryData : Xamarin.Forms.BindableObject
{
public VMWithQueryData()
{
// Start an async task to query.
Xamarin.Forms.Device.BeginInvokeOnMainThread(async () => {
await QueryItemsAsync();
});
// Alternative implementation: Start a background task to query.
//QueryItemsInBackground();
}
public ObservableCollection<ItemModel> Items {
get => _items;
set {
_items = value;
OnPropertyChanged();
}
}
private ObservableCollection<ItemModel> _items;
private async Task QueryItemsAsync()
{
var names = new List<string> { "One", "Two", "Three" };
bool queryOneAtATime = false;// true;
if (queryOneAtATime) {
// Show each item as it is available.
Items = new ObservableCollection<ItemModel>();
foreach (var name in names) {
// Simulate slow query - replace with query that returns one item.
await Task.Delay(1000);
Items.Add(new ItemModel(name));
}
} else {
// Load all the items, then show them.
// Simulate slow query - replace with query that returns all data.
await Task.Delay(3000);
var items = new ObservableCollection<ItemModel>();
foreach (var name in names) {
items.Add(new ItemModel(name));
}
Items = items;
}
}
// Alternative implementation, using a background thread.
private void QueryItemsInBackground()
{
Task.Run(() => {
var names = new List<string> { "One", "Two", "Three" };
bool queryOneAtATime = false;// true;
if (queryOneAtATime) {
// Show each item as it is available.
Items = new ObservableCollection<ItemModel>();
foreach (var name in names) {
// Simulate slow query - replace with query that returns one item.
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(1000);
Items.Add(new ItemModel(name));
}
} else {
// Load all the items, then show them.
// Simulate slow query - replace with query that returns all data.
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(3000);
var items = new ObservableCollection<ItemModel>();
foreach (var name in names) {
items.Add(new ItemModel(name));
}
Items = items;
}
});
}
}
ItemModel.cs:
public class ItemModel
{
public ItemModel(string name)
{
Name = name;
}
public string Name { get; set; }
}
This also demonstrates <CollectionView.EmptyView> to display a message to user, while the data is being queried.
For completeness, I've included an alternative QueryItemsInBackground, that uses a background thread instead of an async method. Either approach works well.
Notice inheritance from Xamarin.Forms.BindableObject. This is one way to get an implementation of INotifyPropertyChanged. You can use any other MVVM library or technique.

Move this line of code to the end of your constructor
this.BindingContext = viewmodel;

WPF - Text is not appearing in Tree View

i just started learning WPF as i am moving on from WinForm. At the moment i am having difficulties displaying bind data from class to tree view.
My tree view works perfectly if i use .Items.Add() method but when it comes to binding class data to TreeView this is what i see:
Here is the c# code:
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
Search sc = new Search();
sc.query(null, "");
this.DataContext = sc;
}
Here is the xaml
<TreeView Width="400" Height="500" Name="TreeViewB" ItemsSource="{Binding getTreeResults}" Style="{StaticResource myTreeView}">
<TreeView.ItemTemplate>
<HierarchicalDataTemplate ItemsSource="{Binding Network}">
<TextBlock Text="{Binding getNetwork}"/>
</HierarchicalDataTemplate>
</TreeView.ItemTemplate>
Edited - 2 class added
Here is my class A
class Social_Searcher
{
List<Social_Network> networks = new List<Social_Network>();
public List<Social_Network> getTreeResults { get { return networks; } }
}
Here is my class B
class Social_Network
{
private string network_name;
private List<Keypair> data;
public Social_Network()
{
data = new List<Keypair>();
}
public struct Keypair
{
public void add(string _name, string _value)
{
name = _name;
value = _value;
}
public string name, value;
}
public string Network
{
get { return network_name; }
set { network_name = value; }
}
public void add(string name, string value)
{
if (name == "network")
{
network_name = value;
}
Keypair kp = new Keypair();
kp.add(name, value);
data.Add(kp);
}
public string getNetwork()
{
return network_name;
}
public List<Keypair> getData()
{
return data;
}
public string findKey_value(string key)
{
foreach (Keypair kp in data)
{
if (kp.name == key) return kp.value.ToString();
}
return "null";
}
}

You don't give much code, but getTreeResults and getNetwork look like methods, and your TextBlock will not know how to present them (normally, it would use the results of ToString(), but I don't know if that will work with a method.
If you want those methods, you can try it this way:
public string TreeResults { get { return sc.getTreeResuls(); }}
and then
<TreeView ... ItemsSource={Binding TreeResults} ... > ...
The same goes for getNetwork. I.e., you wrap each method in a public property.
If you don't want to do that, or can't, you can use an IValueConverter

There is clearly something going on in your UI, but it's hard to tell what exactly.
You will likely find a debugging tool such as Snoop useful, as it will allow you to click on items in your UI and see how they exist in the logical tree. You can modify their properties while the program is running to experiment and learn what you need to change in your source code.

I ran into this issue when converting a Windows Forms application to WPF. I know it sounds ridiculous, but make sure that your value is stored in the TreeViewItem's "Header" property, NOT the "Name" property. Once I did this, my list populated as expected.

Multibinding XamDataGrid

I am trying to use the following code example from the Infragistics site and I'd like edits in the XamDataCards to be reflected in the XamDataGrid. However, my DataSource for the XamDataGrid is an ObservableCollection<Companies> in my ViewModel. How can I also bind to the card and relay updates back to my Companies object in the ViewModel?
<igDP:XamDataGrid x:Name="dgCompanies" Theme="IGTheme" DataSource="{Binding Companies}" SelectedDataItemsScope="RecordsOnly">
<igDP:XamDataGrid.FieldSettings>
<igDP:FieldSettings CellClickAction="SelectCell" AllowEdit="True"/>
</igDP:XamDataGrid.FieldSettings>
</igDP:XamDataGrid>
<igDP:XamDataCards x:Name="XamDataCards1"
Grid.Row="1"
DataSource="{Binding Path=SelectedDataItems, ElementName=dgCompanies}"
Theme="IGTheme">
Edit: Added ViewModel
public class CompanyMgmtViewModel : ViewModelBase
{
private ObservableCollection<Object> _Companies = null;
public ObservableCollection<Object> Companies
{
get { return _Companies; }
set
{
if (_Companies != value)
{
_Companies = value;
RaisePropertyChanged(GetPropertyName(() => Companies));
}
}
}
public CompanyMgmtViewModel()
{
this.LoadData();
}
public void LoadData()
{
ObservableCollection<Object> records = new ObservableCollection<Object>();
var results = from res in AODB.Context.TCompanies
select res;
foreach (var item in results)
if (item != null) records.Add(item);
Companies = records;
}
}
The Model/Context code is just EF Database First generated.

You would need to bind your XamDataGrid's SelectedDataItems property to a property of type object[] ie. SelectedCompanies in your ViewModel and bind to that for your XamDataCards' datasource.
The accepted answer in this thread has a sample that shows how to do this, albeit with a ListBox instead of XamDataCards:
http://www.infragistics.com/community/forums/t/89122.aspx
Just replace that ListBox with your XamDataCards control, it works and updates the XamDataGrid. The ViewModel in the example is contained in the MainWindow code-behind, so it is MVVM like you want.
more info:
http://help.infragistics.com/Help/Doc/WPF/2014.1/CLR4.0/html/xamDataGrid_Selected_Data_Items.html
IG's SelectedDataItems is an object[] :
http://help.infragistics.com/Help/Doc/WPF/2014.1/CLR4.0/html/InfragisticsWPF4.DataPresenter.v14.1~Infragistics.Windows.DataPresenter.DataPresenterBase~SelectedDataItems.html

I couldn't have gotten to this answer without Theodosius' and Ganesh's input - so thanks to them, they both had partial answers.
I first tried to bind the SelectedDataItems of the XamDataGrid to the XamDataCards by way of a property on the ViewModel as Theodosius suggested, but that wasn't enough. Thanks to Ganesh, I implemented INotifyPropertyChanged on my model objects, by inheriting from ObservableObject in MVVMLight (how did I not know the Model needed this?).
Below are the relevant pieces of code to make it work.
I also implemented PropertyChanged.Fody as documented here; that's where the TypedViewModelBase<T> and removal of RaisePropertyChanged() comes from.
I'm also creating my Model objects by using a LINQ/Automapper .Project().To<T>() call which can be found here.
Model
public class Company : ObservableObject
{
public Company() { }
public int id { get; set; }
public string strName { get; set; }
public string strDomicileCode { get; set; }
}
ViewModel
public class CompanyMgmtViewModel : TypedViewModelBase<Company>
{
private ObservableCollection<Object> _Companies = null;
private Object[] _selectedCompany = null;
public Object[] Company
{
get { return _selectedCompany; }
set
{
if (_Company != value)
{
_selectedCompany = value;
}
}
}
public ObservableCollection<Object> Companies
{
get { return _Companies; }
set
{
if (_Companies != value)
{
_Companies = value;
}
}
}
public CompanyMgmtViewModel()
{
this.LoadData();
}
public void LoadData()
{
ObservableCollection<Object> records = new ObservableCollection<Object>();
var results = AODB.Context.TCompanies.Project().To<Company>();
foreach (var item in results)
if (item != null) records.Add(item);
Companies = records;
}
}
View
<igDP:XamDataGrid x:Name="dgCompanies"
Theme="IGTheme"
DataSource="{Binding Companies, Mode=OneWay}"
SelectedDataItemsScope="RecordsOnly"
SelectedDataItems="{Binding Company}">
...
<igDP:XamDataCards x:Name="XamDataCards1"
Grid.Row="1"
DataSource="{Binding ElementName=dgCompanies, Path=SelectedDataItems}"
Theme="IGTheme">

DevExpress - MVVM - Generate TabItems with different ViewModels

i have a DXTabControl. The DXTabItems are generated via my ViewModel.
//MainViewModel
public MainViewModel()
{
var items = new ObservableCollection<DXTabItem>();
items.Add(
new DXTabItem()
{
Header = "Test1",
Content = new WebViewModel()
});
items.Add(
new DXTabItem()
{
Header = "Test2",
Content = new CMSViewModel()
});
TabItems = items;
}
private ObservableCollection<DXTabItem> _tabItems;
public ObservableCollection<DXTabItem> TabItems
{
get { return _tabItems; }
set { SetProperty(ref _tabItems, value, () => TabItems); }
}
I am working with a DataTemplate and my TabItem is still not showing any UserControl.
//MainView.xaml
<DataTemplate x:Key="WebTemplate" DataType="{x:Type viewmodel:WebViewModel}">
<view:WebView/>
</DataTemplate>
<DataTemplate x:Key="CMSTemplate" DataType="{x:Type viewmodel:CMSViewModel}">
<view:CMSView/>
</DataTemplate>
<datatemplate:TemplateSelector x:Key="DataTemplateSelector"
WebTemplate="{StaticResource WebTemplate}"
CMSTemplate="{StaticResource CMSTemplate}" />
<dx:DXTabControl ItemsSource="{Binding TabItems}" ItemTemplateSelector="{StaticResource DataTemplateSelector}" />
//DataTemplateSelector
public class TemplateSelector : DataTemplateSelector
{
public DataTemplate WebTemplate { get; set; }
public DataTemplate CMSTemplate { get; set; }
public override DataTemplate SelectTemplate(Object item,
DependencyObject container)
{
if (item == null) return base.SelectTemplate(item, container);
if (item.GetType() == typeof(WebViewModel))
{
return WebTemplate;
}
else if (item.GetType() == typeof(CMSViewModel))
{
return CMSTemplate;
}
else return base.SelectTemplate(item, container);
}
}
Everything is working, except showing the content i need. No view is been shown. Any idea? Did i miss something?

The following answer is based on caliburn.micro.
Step 1: Add a convention to the bootstrapper
public Bootstrapper()
{
ConventionManager.AddElementConvention<DXTabControl>(DXTabControl.ItemsSourceProperty, "ItemsSource", "DataContextChanged")
.ApplyBinding = (viewModelType, path, property, element, convention) =>
{
if (!ConventionManager.SetBindingWithoutBindingOrValueOverwrite(viewModelType, path, property, element, convention, DXTabControl.ItemsSourceProperty))
{
return false;
}
var tabControl = (DXTabControl)element;
if (tabControl.ItemTemplate == null && tabControl.ItemTemplateSelector == null && property.PropertyType.IsGenericType)
{
var itemType = property.PropertyType.GetGenericArguments().First();
if (!itemType.IsValueType && !typeof(string).IsAssignableFrom(itemType))
{
tabControl.ItemTemplate = ConventionManager.DefaultItemTemplate;
}
}
ConventionManager.ConfigureSelectedItem(element, Selector.SelectedItemProperty, viewModelType, path);
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(tabControl.DisplayMemberPath))
{
ConventionManager.ApplyHeaderTemplate(tabControl, DXTabControl.ItemHeaderTemplateProperty, DXTabControl.ItemHeaderTemplateSelectorProperty, viewModelType);
}
return true;
};
[...]
}
Now you can bind any Screen-Collection to your DXTabControl.
Step 2: Create a collection in the ViewModel
public class MainViewModel : Screen
{
public MainViewModel()
{
DisplayName = "DevExpress Test Environment";
}
private static BindableCollection<Screen> _tbCtrl = new BindableCollection<Screen>();
public BindableCollection<Screen> TbCtrl
{
get { return _tbCtrl; }
set
{
_tbCtrl = value;
NotifyOfPropertyChange(() => TbCtrl);
}
}
}
You can e.g. put any other ViewModel which is based on the Screen class to your collection. That means, you will be able to display your content for each tabitem.
Step 3: Create the DXTabControl in your View (XAML-Code)
<dx:DXTabControl x:Name="TbCtrl" />
Give it a go. Open for feedback.
/// Alternative solution without Caliburn.Micro
Step 1: Add the DXTabControl to your MainView (XAML-Code)
<dx:DXTabControl ItemsSource="{Binding TbCtrlItems}" />
Step 2: Your MainViewModel needs to add those items like i have described above (in my question), but in this case, you have to specify the content-property
public MainViewModel()
{
_tbCtrlItems.Add(new DXTabItem()
{
Header = "Test1",
Content = new Views.View1() {DataContext = new ViewModel1()}
});
_tbCtrlItems.Add(new DXTabItem()
{
Header = "Test2",
Content = new Views.View2() { DataContext = new ViewModel2() }
});
}
private ObservableCollection<DXTabItem> _tbCtrlItems = new ObservableCollection<DXTabItem>();
public ObservableCollection<DXTabItem> TbCtrlItems
{
get { return _tbCtrlItems; }
set { SetProperty(ref _tbCtrlItems, value, () => TbCtrlItems); }
}
I hope this answer is helpful.

WPF can't populate treeview

I'm new to WPF and trying to wrap my head around the preferred way to handle data. I found this link that explains the databinding for a tree view. I have tried to create my code in a similar way, but I can't see why that code runs fine and mine doesn't.
Anyway, I've defined some class for artists/albums/songs
class LibArtist
{
public string Name { get { return mName; } }
string mName;
public ObservableCollection<LibAlbum> Albums;
public LibArtist(string name)
{
mName = name;
Albums = new ObservableCollection<LibAlbum>();
}
}
class LibAlbum
{
public string Name { get { return mName; } }
public string Artist { get { return mArtist.Name; } }
public uint Year { get { return mYear; } }
public ObservableCollection<LibSong> mSongs = new ObservableCollection<LibSong>();
uint mYear;
LibArtist mArtist;
string mName;
public LibAlbum(string pName, LibArtist pArtist, uint pYear)
{
mName = pName;
mArtist = pArtist;
mYear = pYear;
}
}
class LibSong
{
public string Title { get { return mName; } }
public string Artist { get { return mArtist; } }
public string Album { get { return mAlbum; } }
public string Location { get { return mLocation; } }
public uint Year { get { return mYear; } }
string mName;
uint mYear;
string mAlbum;
string mArtist;
string mLocation;
public LibSong(string pSongLocation)
{
mLocation = pSongLocation;
TagLib.File lFile = TagLib.File.Create(pSongLocation);
mAlbum = lFile.Tag.Album;
mName = lFile.Tag.Title;
mArtist = lFile.Tag.AlbumArtists.Length > 0 ? lFile.Tag.AlbumArtists[0] : "???";
//use tag lib to fill the data if this file exists
mYear = lFile.Tag.Year;
}
public override bool Equals(object obj)
{
LibSong temp = obj as LibSong;
if (temp == null)
return false;
if (temp.Location == this.Location)
return true;
if (temp.Artist == this.Artist && temp.Album == this.Album && temp.Year == this.Year)
return true;
return false;
}
}
And these sit in a library class:
class Library
{
public SortedDictionary<string, List<string>> mArtistsToAlbums;
SortedDictionary<string, List<LibSong>> mAlbumsToSongs;
public List<LibSong> mSongList;
public ObservableCollection<LibSong> mSongList2;
public ObservableCollection<LibAlbum> mAlbumList;
public ObservableCollection<LibArtist> mArtistList;
...
}
In my main window, I set the data context of my treeview to the library object:
public MainWindow()
{
mPlayer = new izPlayer(0);
InitializeComponent();
libraryTreeView.DataContext = mLibrary;
mLibrary = new Library();
mLibrary.CreateTestData();
In my xaml, I define the treeview like so:
<TreeView Name="libraryTreeView"
HorizontalAlignment="Left"
ItemsSource="{Binding mArtistList}"
Height="443" Margin="10,50,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="344" MouseDoubleClick="libraryTreeView_MouseDoubleClick"
>
<TreeView.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Name}" />
</DataTemplate>
</TreeView.ItemTemplate>
</TreeView>
And when I run this, I don't get anything displayed in the treeview. As I said, I'm not sure why this is different from the example code, or why it isn't displaying the data inside mArtistList.
Any help would be appreciated!

Specifically for the TreeView Dennis' answer is a great resource. If you're not getting any items even in at the top level thought, it may be due to invalid binding sources. It looks like Library is declaring public fields
public ObservableCollection<LibArtist> mArtistList;
In order to use binding in the XAML these sources need to be public properties
public ObservableCollection<LibArtist> mArtistList { get; set; }

This is totally different from example code (I mean XAML difference).
The main concept for the data-bound TreeView in WPF is that you must describe hierarchical data templates for your nodes, because you want to display hierarchical data.
Your XAML should look like this:
<TreeView.Resources>
<HierarchicalDataTemplate DataType="{x:Type yourNamespace:LibArtist}" ItemsSource="{Binding Albums}">
<!-- the template tree for displaying artist's data -->
</HierarchicalDataTemplate>
<HierarchicalDataTemplate DataType="{x:Type yourNamespace:LibAlbum}" ItemsSource="{Binding Songs}">
<!-- the template tree for displaying song's data -->
</HierarchicalDataTemplate>
<!-- and so on -->
</TreeView.Resources>