Develop Reference

How do I pass an input via binding to a custom property in UserControl? [duplicate]

I have a UserControl that I want to participate in data binding. I've set up the dependency properties in the user control, but can't get it work.
The uc displays the correct text when I call it with static text (e.g BlueText="ABC") . When i try to bind it to a local public property, it is always blank.
<src:BlueTextBox BlueText="Feeling blue" /> <!--OK-->
<src:BlueTextBox BlueText="{Binding Path=MyString}" /> <!--UserControl always BLANK!-->
<TextBox Text="{Binding Path=MyString}" Width="100"/> <!--Simple TextBox Binds OK-->
I've boiled the code down to the following simplified example. Here is the XAML of the UserControl:
<UserControl x:Class="Binding2.BlueTextBox" ...
<Grid>
<TextBox x:Name="myTextBox" Text="{Binding BlueText}" Foreground="Blue" Width="100" Height="26" />
</Grid>
Here is the code behind of the UserControl:
public partial class BlueTextBox : UserControl
{
public BlueTextBox()
{
InitializeComponent();
DataContext = this; // shouldn't do this - see solution
}
public static readonly DependencyProperty BlueTextProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("BlueText", typeof(string), typeof(BlueTextBox));
public string BlueText
{
get { return GetValue(BlueTextProperty).ToString(); }
set { SetValue( BlueTextProperty, value.ToString() ); }
}
This seems like it should be really easy, but I can't make it work. Thanks for your help!
More info: When i was trying the fix suggested by Eugene, I noticed some peculiar behavior. I added a PropertyChangedCallback to the metadata; this allows me to watch the value of BlueText getting set. When setting the string to a static value (="feeling blue") the PropertyChanged event fires. The data binding case does not fire PropertyChanged. I think this means the data-bound value is not getting sent to the UserControl. (I think the constructor does not get called in the static case)
Solution: The problems were correctly identified by Arcturus and jpsstavares. First, I was overwriting the data binding when is set DataContext=this in the constructor of the control. This prevented the data bound value from getting set. I also had to name the control x:Name=root, and specify the Binding ElementName=root int the XAML. To get the TwoWay binding, I needed to set Mode=TwoWay in the caller. Here is the correct code:
<src:BlueTextBox BlueText="{Binding Path=MyString, Mode=TwoWay}}" /> <!--OK-->
Now the XAML in the UserControl:
<UserControl x:Class="Binding2.BlueTextBox" x:Name="root"...
<Grid>
<TextBox x:Name="myTextBox" Text="{Binding ElementName=root, Path=BlueText}" Foreground="Blue" Width="100" Height="26" />
</Grid>
Finally I removed the DataContext=this in the constructor of the UserControl.
public BlueTextBox()
{
InitializeComponent();
//DataContext = this; -- don't do this
}
Thanks everyone for the tremendous help!

You set the DataContext in the Control to itself, thus overwriting the DataContext when using this Control in other controls. Taking your binding as example in your situation:
<src:BlueTextBox BlueText="{Binding Path=MyString}" />
Once loaded and all the Datacontext is set, it will look for the path MyString in your BlueTextBox thing control due to you setting the DataContext to it. I guess this is not how you intended this to work ;).
Solution:
Change the text binding either one of the 2 bindings:
{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource FindAncestor, AncestorType={x:Type src:BlueTextBox}}, Path=BlueText}
or
Name your control Root (or something like that)
<UserControl x:Name="Root"
{Binding ElementName=Root, Path=BlueText}
And remove the
DataContext = this;
from the constructor of your UserControl and it should work like a charm..

I think in this case you need to set the ElementName property in the binding. Something like this:
<UserControl x:Class="Binding2.BlueTextBox" x:Name="blueTextBox"...
<Grid>
<TextBox x:Name="myTextBox" Text="{Binding ElementName=blueTextBox, Path=BlueText}" Foreground="Blue" Width="100" Height="26" />
</Grid>

Possibly you need to add to your property FrameworkPropertyMetadata where specify FrameworkPropertyMetadataOptions.AffectsRender and AffectsMeasure.
FrameworkPropertyMetadataOptions enumeration MSDN article

I know this is an old topic but still.
Also mention the PropertyChangedCallback on the UIPropertyMetadata during registering your DP

Access to controls in cloned tab item

I added in my code copying the first TabItem along with all the controls. But now how to reference to these controls to make the appropriate modifications (I mean change label text)? Do I must need make new class and binding ?
I want clone tab item to store data in labels about for example other apps.
XAML code:
<TabControl x:Name="MainTabControl" x:FieldModifier="public">
<TabItem x:Name="TabItem1" x:FieldModifier="public" Header="Tab 1">
<Grid>
<Label x:Name="Label1" Content="Test 1" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="10,10,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top" FontSize="18"/>
<Label x:Name="Label2" Content="Test 2" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="11,44,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top" FontSize="18"/>
<Button x:Name="Button1" Content="Show Open Dialog" IsEnabled="True" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="11,185,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="194" Click="Button1_Click"/>
</Grid>
</TabItem>
C# code:
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
mainWindow = this;
TabItem tab2 = TrycloneElement(TabItem1);
if (tab2 != null) MainTabControl.Items.Add(tab2);
}
public static T TrycloneElement<T>(T orig)
{
try
{
string s = XamlWriter.Save(orig);
StringReader stringReader = new StringReader(s);
XmlReader xmlReader = XmlTextReader.Create(stringReader, new XmlReaderSettings());
XmlReaderSettings sx = new XmlReaderSettings();
object x = XamlReader.Load(xmlReader);
return (T)x;
}
catch
{
return (T)((object)null);
}
}

You can access the controls by walking the visual tree using Content, Children or other properties.
TabItem tab2 = TrycloneElement(TabItem1);
var grid = (Grid) tab2.Content;
var label1 = (Label) grid.Children[0];
var label2 = (Label) grid.Children[1];
var button = (Button) grid.Children[2];
An alternative is to use the VisualTreeHelper and convenience helper methods like described here:
How can I find WPF controls by name or type?
Now, these methods work, but you do not need them. You are actually trying to reinvent the wheel. Reusing the same visual structure with different data can be achieved with data templating in a convenient way.
Data Templating Overview
You can use the same technique for your TabControl. I will show you a quick conceptual example that would even comply with the MVVM pattern. This example is not complete. It serves as a base for you to learn about an alternative to your current approach. You can of course also make this approach work in code-behind with a few modifications.
Create a data class like below with your application information. Here I assume that it is not editable, otherwise you need to implement INotifyPropertyChanged in order to update the user interface on changes.
public class AppInfo
{
public AppInfo(string name, string description)
{
Name = name;
Description = description;
}
public string Name { get; }
public string Description { get; }
}
Expose a list of AppInfo (or an ObservableCollection if the collection is changed at runtime).
public List<AppInfo> AppInfos { get; }
Initialize the list appropriately and add your items, for example:
AppInfos = new List<AppInfo>
{
new AppInfo("Visual Studio", "A popular IDE."),
new AppInfo("Calculator", "Does the math for you."),
new AppInfo("Chrome", "A web browser.")
};
The tab control would bind its ItemsSource to the AppInfos.
<TabControl ItemsSource="{Binding AppInfos}">
In order to create a reusable visual representation, create a DataTemplate as ItemTemplate (this is the tab header) and a ContentTemplate (this is the tab content).
<TabControl ItemsSource="{Binding AppInfos}">
<TabControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate DataType="{x:Type local:AppInfo}">
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Name}"/>
</DataTemplate>
</TabControl.ItemTemplate>
<TabControl.ContentTemplate>
<DataTemplate DataType="{x:Type local:AppInfo}">
<Grid>
<Label Content="{Binding Name}"
HorizontalAlignment="Left"
Margin="10,10,0,0"
VerticalAlignment="Top"
FontSize="18"/>
<Label Content="{Binding Description}"
HorizontalAlignment="Left"
Margin="11,44,0,0"
VerticalAlignment="Top"
FontSize="18"/>
<Button Content="Show Open Dialog"
IsEnabled="True"
HorizontalAlignment="Left"
Margin="11,185,0,0"
VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="194"
Command="{Binding DataContext.OpenCommand, RelativeSource={RelativeSource AncestorType={x:Type TabControl}}}"
CommandParameter="{Binding}"/>
</Grid>
</DataTemplate>
</TabControl.ContentTemplate>
</TabControl>
Now, both templates are reused for each item in the AppInfos collection. The data template uses bindings to the corresponding properties, which automatically pick up the values for each item.
The Button is special here, since it can be clicked to execute an action. This action is probably the same for all items, except that it needs a concrete item to work with. You can encapsulate this logic in commands.
MVVM - Commands, RelayCommands and EventToCommand
This is another important aspect that can make your life easier, but is beyond the scope of this question. There are lots of tutorials out there. You could expose another property:
public ICommand OpenCommand{ get; }
The button in XAML binds its Command to this property (RelativeSource is needed to get the right data context for binding). The CommandParameter will pass the current AppInfo item to the command. In code, you could then execute your custom logic on this item. No need to know about user interface elements, only data.
Disclaimer: I know that this is pretty overwhelming. That is why I provided an immediate (dirty) solution to your issue and an example with links to resources to gradually learn a better way with concrete samples for your exact problem. Once you get used to MVVM, data binding and data templating, you will see how much easier more complex issues can be solved and what the benefits are in terms of maintainability and reuseability.

How to set a parameter for a user control that has a view model in WPF

In WPF I have a window that includes a user control. The window and user control each have a view model. I want to pass a parameter from the window's VM to the UC's VM. After a fair amount of looking, I haven't found a way.
The window XAML sets its data context to its VM. The UC includes a custom dependency property for the parameter. I want to use SetBinding to bind the DP to the UC VM.
If I set the UC data context to its VM, then the parameter binding doesn't work. If I don't set the UC data context then the parameter binding works but the UC VM is not referenced.
How can I pass a parameter AND bind to the UC VM?
UC XAML
<UserControl x:Name="userControl" x:Class="Test_Paramaterized_UserControl_with_MVVM.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"
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:Test_Paramaterized_UserControl_with_MVVM"
xmlns:view="clr-namespace:Daavlin.SmartTouch.STUV_WPF.View"
mc:Ignorable="d"
d:DesignHeight="300" d:DesignWidth="300">
<Grid Margin="10">
<Border BorderThickness="3" BorderBrush="Black" Padding="10">
<StackPanel HorizontalAlignment="Center" VerticalAlignment="Center">
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal">
<TextBlock Text="UserControl1 View: "/>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding ElementName=userControl, Path=PropUserControlView, Mode=OneWay}" FontWeight="Bold"/>
</StackPanel>
<Rectangle Height="5"/>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal">
<TextBlock Text="UserControl1 ViewModel: " />
<TextBlock Text="{Binding PropUserControlViewModel, FallbackValue=propUserControlViewModel 2}" FontWeight="Bold">
<TextBlock.DataContext>
<local:UserControl1ViewModel/>
</TextBlock.DataContext>
</TextBlock>
</StackPanel>
</StackPanel>
</Border>
</Grid>
</UserControl>
UC code-behind & VM
public partial class UserControl1 : UserControl
{
public UserControl1()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
public string PropUserControlView { get => (string)GetValue(PropUserControlViewProperty); set => SetValue(PropUserControlViewProperty, value); }
public static readonly DependencyProperty PropUserControlViewProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register(nameof(PropUserControlView), typeof(string), typeof(UserControl1),
new PropertyMetadata(null, DependencyPropertyChanged));
private static void DependencyPropertyChanged(DependencyObject dependencyObject, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs dependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs)
{
var x = dependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs.NewValue;
}
}
public class UserControl1ViewModel : ObservableObject
{
public string PropUserControlViewModel { get => _propUserControlViewModel; set => SetField(ref _propUserControlViewModel, value); }
private string _propUserControlViewModel = "value from UserControl-ViewModel";
}
Window XAML
<Window x:Class="Test_Paramaterized_UserControl_with_MVVM.MainWindow"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:Test_Paramaterized_UserControl_with_MVVM"
Title="MainWindow" >
<Window.DataContext>
<local:MainWindowViewModel />
</Window.DataContext>
<Grid VerticalAlignment="Top" >
<StackPanel VerticalAlignment="Center" HorizontalAlignment="Center" Margin="20">
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal">
<TextBlock Text="MainWindow1 ViewModel: "/>
<TextBox Text="{Binding PropWindowViewModel, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}" FontWeight="Bold"/>
</StackPanel>
<Rectangle Height="10"/>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal">
<TextBlock Text="UserControl1 (fixed value Fixed): " VerticalAlignment="Center"/>
<local:UserControl1 PropUserControlView="Fixed"/>
</StackPanel>
<Rectangle Height="10"/>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal">
<TextBlock Text="UserControl1 (bound to MainWindows VM): " VerticalAlignment="Center"/>
<local:UserControl1 PropUserControlView="{Binding PropWindowViewModel}"/>
</StackPanel>
</StackPanel>
</Grid>
</Window>
Window code-behind & VM
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
}
public class MainWindowViewModel : ObservableObject
{
public string PropWindowViewModel { get => _propWindowViewModel; set => SetField(ref _propWindowViewModel, value); }
private string _propWindowViewModel = "valuefrom Window-VIewModel";
}

As far as I understood, what you meant was :-
1) You have a user control which has its own view model.
2) You have a Window where you have its own view model.
You want to link both and pass parameters from your WindowViewModel to UserControlViewModel.
What you can do is, Keep a property (e.g. UCViewModel) of type UserControlViewModel in your WindowViewModel and set the datacontext of the user control in your XAML to
<local:UserControl1 DataContext="{Binding UCViewModel}" .../>
Now that you can access anything that is there in your UserControlViewModel via WindowViewModel, you can set any property value OR pass any parameter to your UserControlViewModel from WindowViewModel.
If you need a code reference, let me know. We have been using user controls in a similar way and it works fine.

I want to use SetBinding to bind the DP to the UC VM.
Is that really a requirement? SetBinding() requires that the target property be a dependency property, which in turn requires that the target object be a dependency object. Your view model object is not a dependency object, and of course none of its properties are dependency properties.
Achieving that goal would require a much bigger change to your code than is otherwise apparently necessary.
If I set the UC data context to its VM, then the parameter binding doesn't work
Why not? You didn't show code that attempts this, so it's difficult to understand what you mean here. It's not a good idea to have the user control set its own DataContext anyway. That property is public, and you don't want to expose your implementation details to client code. Doing so invites bugs where the client code has set the DataContext to the wrong thing, disabling everything in your UserControl.
But that said, if by "parameter binding" you mean the binding in the MainWindow XAML, assigning {Binding PropWindowViewModel} to the PropUserControlView property of the user control, then just setting the DataContext of the user control should not affect that. You still have the dependency property in the user control, and anything bound that within the user control should still work.
Finally, it's not entirely clear why you want the dependency property tied to the view model. In the user control's XAML, you can (as you've already done) bind directly to the user control's dependency property. There's no need for a property in the view model to replicate that.
Maybe you have code in the view model somewhere else that wants to respond to changes in this value? It's not clear, and it's difficult to give the best advice without knowing the whole story.
All that said, the code you posted above can be made to work with a couple of small changes. First, you'll need to expose the TextBlock where you've created the view model, so that the user control code-behind has access to it:
<TextBlock x:Name="textBlock1" Text="{Binding PropUserControlViewModel, FallbackValue=propUserControlViewModel 2}" FontWeight="Bold">
<TextBlock.DataContext>
<l:UserControl1ViewModel/>
</TextBlock.DataContext>
</TextBlock>
I.e. add the x:Name="textBlock1" to the declaration.
Then, you need to use the property-change notification for your dependency property to update the view model property any time the dependency property changes:
private static void DependencyPropertyChanged(DependencyObject dependencyObject, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs dependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs)
{
UserControl1 uc = (UserControl1)dependencyObject;
UserControl1ViewModel vm = (UserControl1ViewModel)uc.textBlock1.DataContext;
vm.PropUserControlViewModel = (string)dependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs.NewValue;
}
The above works in your limited example, but you'll probably want to give the DependencyPropertyChanged() method a more descriptive name, specific to the actual property in question.
If you do choose to mirror the dependency property in the view model this way, IMHO a better way to do that would be to set the user control's root element (i.e. the Grid) so that its data context is your view model, and then throughout the rest of the XAML, bind only to the view model. Mixing the view model and dependency property is not wrong per se, but it does introduce an inconsistency that can make it harder to test and maintain the code.

Binding BitmapImage UriSource

I'm trying to develop my first Windows Store application.
I'm using the Hub Application template.
I want to display an Image from a Url in the first section of my HubPage:
<HubSection ... >
<DataTemplate>
<Grid ... >
<Grid.RowDefinitions>
<RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
...
</Grid.RowDefinitions>
<Image Name="UserProfileImage" Margin="100, 0, 100, 0" Grid.Row="0" VerticalAlignment="Top">
<Image.Source>
<BitmapImage UriSource="{Binding ImageUrl}"></BitmapImage>
</Image.Source>
</Image>
</Grid>
</DataTemplate>
</HubSection>
And in my HubPage.xaml.cs:
[DefaultValue("http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/34200000/more-dumb-images-of-philip-j-fry-futurama-34257101-1440-900.png"")]
public string ImageUrl { get; set; }
But nothing is shown. If I set manually in the xaml file an image url it works fine...

The problem is, that the Binding mechanism does not know where to look for the ImageUrl property.
You can either set the DataSource of the tag or any of it's parents to an instance of the class, where the property is defined.
Or you use more information in each Binding statement. To bind to yourself, just use
UriSource="{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource Self}, Path=ImageUrl}"
or
UriSource="{Binding ImageUrl, RelativeSource={RelativeSource Self}}"
see also WPF Bind to itself
Edit:
You also need to have a notification mechanism on your variable you are binding to. Either make it a DependencyProperty or use a PropertyChanged event (either through INotifyPropertyChanged and call PropertyChanged on changes in the setter with the name of the property, or create an event called <name of property>Changed and invoke this event on changes.

Unfortunately it seems that BitmapSource.UriSource cannot be databound (or more specifically, it can only be bound once and further changes ignored). See discussion here.

In your code you're using <DataTemplate> which means the parent control of this will be either <ListView> or something like that.
Your code reflects very few things about your scenario.
I suggest you to bind ImageSource instead of string
Instead working on XAML part, I suggest you to edit your code-behind part.
I'm briefing the sample here. relate this, with your case and do needful.
Example:-
// BlankPage.xaml ----
// eg. I've a listView and i want to display
// image dynamically in DataTemplate
<ListView x:Name="lstView">
<ListView.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<Grid>
<Image Source="{Binding bmp}" />
</Grid>
</DataTemplate>
</ListView.ItemTemplate>
</ListView>
Now, define a model class to give itemsSource to ListView.
// In BlankPage.xaml.cs file
public class model
{
public ImageSource bmp { get; set; }
}
Now, say for example I'm assigning itemsSource to ListView in Page_Loaded event.
// in BlankPage.xaml.cs file
// declare this BlankPage's Loaded event in BlankPage's Constructor
// and define the event handler like this
void BlankPage2_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
model m1 = new model()
{
bmp = new BitmapImage(new Uri("ms-appx:///Assets/TechVista(300x300).png", UriKind.Absolute))
};
// here "ms-appx:///Assets/TechVista(300x300).png" should be the Full-System-Path where image is located.
// and according to that declare the UriKind as Relative or Absolute or other.
List<model> lstModels = new List<model>();
lstModels.Add(m1);
// you can add as many models as you want here.
// for reference I'm adding only one here.
lstView.ItemsSource = lstModels;
}
It will work for sure.
For more exact answer, elaborate little more here.
Hope that helps..!

Data binding to a UserControl in WPF

I have a UserControl that I want to participate in data binding. I've set up the dependency properties in the user control, but can't get it work.
The uc displays the correct text when I call it with static text (e.g BlueText="ABC") . When i try to bind it to a local public property, it is always blank.
<src:BlueTextBox BlueText="Feeling blue" /> <!--OK-->
<src:BlueTextBox BlueText="{Binding Path=MyString}" /> <!--UserControl always BLANK!-->
<TextBox Text="{Binding Path=MyString}" Width="100"/> <!--Simple TextBox Binds OK-->
I've boiled the code down to the following simplified example. Here is the XAML of the UserControl:
<UserControl x:Class="Binding2.BlueTextBox" ...
<Grid>
<TextBox x:Name="myTextBox" Text="{Binding BlueText}" Foreground="Blue" Width="100" Height="26" />
</Grid>
Here is the code behind of the UserControl:
public partial class BlueTextBox : UserControl
{
public BlueTextBox()
{
InitializeComponent();
DataContext = this; // shouldn't do this - see solution
}
public static readonly DependencyProperty BlueTextProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("BlueText", typeof(string), typeof(BlueTextBox));
public string BlueText
{
get { return GetValue(BlueTextProperty).ToString(); }
set { SetValue( BlueTextProperty, value.ToString() ); }
}
This seems like it should be really easy, but I can't make it work. Thanks for your help!
More info: When i was trying the fix suggested by Eugene, I noticed some peculiar behavior. I added a PropertyChangedCallback to the metadata; this allows me to watch the value of BlueText getting set. When setting the string to a static value (="feeling blue") the PropertyChanged event fires. The data binding case does not fire PropertyChanged. I think this means the data-bound value is not getting sent to the UserControl. (I think the constructor does not get called in the static case)
Solution: The problems were correctly identified by Arcturus and jpsstavares. First, I was overwriting the data binding when is set DataContext=this in the constructor of the control. This prevented the data bound value from getting set. I also had to name the control x:Name=root, and specify the Binding ElementName=root int the XAML. To get the TwoWay binding, I needed to set Mode=TwoWay in the caller. Here is the correct code:
<src:BlueTextBox BlueText="{Binding Path=MyString, Mode=TwoWay}}" /> <!--OK-->
Now the XAML in the UserControl:
<UserControl x:Class="Binding2.BlueTextBox" x:Name="root"...
<Grid>
<TextBox x:Name="myTextBox" Text="{Binding ElementName=root, Path=BlueText}" Foreground="Blue" Width="100" Height="26" />
</Grid>
Finally I removed the DataContext=this in the constructor of the UserControl.
public BlueTextBox()
{
InitializeComponent();
//DataContext = this; -- don't do this
}
Thanks everyone for the tremendous help!

You set the DataContext in the Control to itself, thus overwriting the DataContext when using this Control in other controls. Taking your binding as example in your situation:
<src:BlueTextBox BlueText="{Binding Path=MyString}" />
Once loaded and all the Datacontext is set, it will look for the path MyString in your BlueTextBox thing control due to you setting the DataContext to it. I guess this is not how you intended this to work ;).
Solution:
Change the text binding either one of the 2 bindings:
{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource FindAncestor, AncestorType={x:Type src:BlueTextBox}}, Path=BlueText}
or
Name your control Root (or something like that)
<UserControl x:Name="Root"
{Binding ElementName=Root, Path=BlueText}
And remove the
DataContext = this;
from the constructor of your UserControl and it should work like a charm..

I think in this case you need to set the ElementName property in the binding. Something like this:
<UserControl x:Class="Binding2.BlueTextBox" x:Name="blueTextBox"...
<Grid>
<TextBox x:Name="myTextBox" Text="{Binding ElementName=blueTextBox, Path=BlueText}" Foreground="Blue" Width="100" Height="26" />
</Grid>

Possibly you need to add to your property FrameworkPropertyMetadata where specify FrameworkPropertyMetadataOptions.AffectsRender and AffectsMeasure.
FrameworkPropertyMetadataOptions enumeration MSDN article

I know this is an old topic but still.
Also mention the PropertyChangedCallback on the UIPropertyMetadata during registering your DP