Sorry if the title a bit misleading, I have difficulty to entitle it. It's also not exactly "center". (see below for further explanations)
Hi, I am going to make a project to write numbered musical scores. But I found an obstacle on leveling the "font". (See below picture for visual)
I need 1 2 3 3 1 2 3 4 4 to be in a straight "line"
I use WrapPanel as the container of my notes (as in the screen).
The main problem is on the pitch dot, which located EITHER above or below the note. Pitch is bound to the note, so I need process it in 1 User Control. But, if so, then I can't control the placement of the note "font" to be in one line.
Below is my note user control code :
XAML
<UserControl x:Class="RevisiConverter.NumericNoteBox"
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" Width="{Binding ActualWidth, ElementName=txbNote}"
Height="{Binding ActualHeight, ElementName=mainStack}">
<StackPanel Name="mainStack">
<StackPanel Name="topStack">
</StackPanel>
<Canvas Name="canvas" Width="{Binding ActualWidth, ElementName=txbNote}" Height="{Binding ActualHeight, ElementName=txbNote}"
HorizontalAlignment="Center">
<TextBlock Name="txbNote" Text="1" Foreground="Black" FontSize="15"
Margin="0,0,0,-3" FontFamily="Courier" Canvas.Top="0" Canvas.Left="0"/>
</Canvas>
<StackPanel Name="botStack">
</StackPanel>
</StackPanel>
XAML.CS
public partial class NumericNoteBox : UserControl
{
private Note _child;
private Line _sharp;
public Note Child
{
get { return _child; }
set
{
_child = value;
Update();
}
}
public NumericNoteBox()
{
InitializeComponent();
_sharp = null;
}
public void Update()
{
txbNote.Text = _child.MainNote.ToString();
if (_sharp != null)
{
_sharp.Visibility = Visibility.Hidden;
}
topStack.Children.Clear();
botStack.Children.Clear();
if (_child != null)
{
if (_child.Pitch > 0)
{
for (int i = 0; i < _child.Pitch; i++)
{
topStack.Children.Add(new Ellipse());
(topStack.Children[topStack.Children.Count - 1] as Ellipse).Width = 3;
(topStack.Children[topStack.Children.Count - 1] as Ellipse).Height = 3;
(topStack.Children[topStack.Children.Count - 1] as Ellipse).Fill = Brushes.Black;
if (_child.Accidental != Note.Accidentals.Flat)
{
(topStack.Children[topStack.Children.Count - 1] as Ellipse).Margin = new Thickness(0, 1, 0, 0);
}
else
{
(topStack.Children[topStack.Children.Count - 1] as Ellipse).Margin = new Thickness(8, 1, 0, 0);
}
}
}
else if (_child.Pitch < 0)
{
for (int i = 0; i < Math.Abs(_child.Pitch); i++)
{
botStack.Children.Add(new Ellipse());
(botStack.Children[botStack.Children.Count - 1] as Ellipse).Width = 3;
(botStack.Children[botStack.Children.Count - 1] as Ellipse).Height = 3;
(botStack.Children[botStack.Children.Count - 1] as Ellipse).Fill = Brushes.Black;
if (_child.Accidental != Note.Accidentals.Flat)
{
(botStack.Children[botStack.Children.Count - 1] as Ellipse).Margin = new Thickness(0, 1, 0, 0);
}
else
{
(botStack.Children[botStack.Children.Count - 1] as Ellipse).Margin = new Thickness(8, 1, 0, 0);
}
}
}
if (_child.Accidental == Note.Accidentals.Flat)
{
txbNote.Text = "b" + _child.MainNote.ToString();
}
else if (_child.Accidental == Note.Accidentals.Sharp)
{
if (_sharp == null)
{
_sharp = new Line();
_sharp.X1 = 10;
_sharp.Y1 = 2.5;
_sharp.X2 = -2.5;
_sharp.Y2 = 12.5;
_sharp.StrokeThickness = 1;
_sharp.Stroke = Brushes.Black;
canvas.Children.Add(_sharp);
}
_sharp.Visibility = Visibility.Visible;
}
}
}
}
Note :
I'm not bound to that code, so if any of you have dealt to things like this more efficiently with totally different approach, then it's always welcome.
Sorry for some grammar error, if any, since english is not my first language.
I feel that I have not explained my problem real clear, since I also quite confused on it, so, please clarify anything you need.
Thanks
ADDITIONAL DETAILS :
The dot theoretically doesn't have certain limitation, but in practice, it's usually only 3 maximum (either 3 on top or 3 on bottom - not both)
In my code above, the note user control is divided into 3 grid row, the top one is for stacking the top dot, the mid one is for visualizing the note (numbers) and the bot one is for stacking the bot dot.
Please clarify anything, and I'll add more.
You should do this with an ItemsControl which use an appropriate ItemTemplate for the numeric notes.
First, create a ViewModel that defines a collection of "numeric note" items:
public class NumericNoteItem
{
public int Number { get; set; }
public int Pitch { get; set; }
}
public class ViewModel
{
public ViewModel()
{
NumericNotes = new ObservableCollection<NumericNoteItem>();
}
public ObservableCollection<NumericNoteItem> NumericNotes { get; private set; }
}
In the constructor of your MainWindow, you may set the DataContext to an instance of this ViewModel like this:
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
var vm = new ViewModel();
vm.NumericNotes.Add(new NumericNoteItem { Number = 1, Pitch = 0 });
vm.NumericNotes.Add(new NumericNoteItem { Number = 2, Pitch = 1 });
vm.NumericNotes.Add(new NumericNoteItem { Number = 3, Pitch = -1 });
vm.NumericNotes.Add(new NumericNoteItem { Number = 4, Pitch = 0 });
vm.NumericNotes.Add(new NumericNoteItem { Number = 5, Pitch = 2 });
vm.NumericNotes.Add(new NumericNoteItem { Number = 6, Pitch = -2 });
vm.NumericNotes.Add(new NumericNoteItem { Number = 4, Pitch = 0 });
vm.NumericNotes.Add(new NumericNoteItem { Number = 5, Pitch = 3 });
vm.NumericNotes.Add(new NumericNoteItem { Number = 6, Pitch = -3 });
DataContext = vm;
}
For visualizing the pitch I'd recommend to use a Path object with a Geometry that consists of a number of EllipseGeometries. To achieve this you would implement a binding converter that converts the pitch number into a Geometry, like shown below. It uses the parameter argument of the Convert method to create a Geometry for either positive or negative pitch values.
public class NotePitchConverter : IValueConverter
{
private const double radius = 1.5;
private const double distance = 2 * radius + 1;
public object Convert(
object value, Type targetType, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
{
var pitch = (int)value;
var geometry = new GeometryGroup();
if (parameter as string == "Bottom")
{
pitch = -pitch;
}
for (int i = 0; i < pitch; i++)
{
geometry.Children.Add(new EllipseGeometry(
new Point(radius, radius + i * distance), radius, radius));
}
return geometry;
}
public object ConvertBack(
object value, Type targetType, object parameter, CultureInfo culture)
{
throw new NotSupportedException();
}
}
Now, in XAML you would create an instance of this converter in e.g. the MainWindow Resources:
<Window.Resources>
<local:NotePitchConverter x:Key="NotePitchConverter"/>
</Window.Resources>
and write the ItemsControl like shown below. Note that the DataTemplate uses a fixed height for the Path elements that show the top and bottom pitch. If you need to show more than three dots, you'd need to increase their height.
<ItemsControl ItemsSource="{Binding NumericNotes}">
<ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
<ItemsPanelTemplate>
<WrapPanel />
</ItemsPanelTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
<ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<Grid Margin="2">
<Grid.RowDefinitions>
<RowDefinition Height="12"/>
<RowDefinition Height="Auto"/>
<RowDefinition Height="12"/>
</Grid.RowDefinitions>
<Path Grid.Row="0" Fill="Black" HorizontalAlignment="Center"
VerticalAlignment="Bottom"
Data="{Binding Pitch,
Converter={StaticResource NotePitchConverter}}"/>
<TextBlock Grid.Row="1" Text="{Binding Number}"/>
<Path Grid.Row="2" Fill="Black" HorizontalAlignment="Center"
VerticalAlignment="Top"
Data="{Binding Pitch,
Converter={StaticResource NotePitchConverter},
ConverterParameter=Bottom}"/>
</Grid>
</DataTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
</ItemsControl>
Related
I'm trying to create a Nonogram (aka PuzzleCross) puzzle grid in C#/WPF, and have created two UserControls to contain the row and column keys. Each UserControl consists of a Border containing a TextBlock, with a DependencyProperty named TextControl to make the Text property accessible outside of the UserControl. Everything works fine except that the text isn't actually displayed when run. The TextControl contains the correct text, as tested with a MouseDown event and a MessageBox, but for some reason the text just isn't there.
Can anyone help me figure out what I'm missing? I have a feeling it's a simple thing, but I'm just not seeing it.
Horizontal UserControl:
<Border BorderBrush="Black" BorderThickness="1" HorizontalAlignment="Center" Height="10" Width="100">
<TextBlock Text="{Binding ElementName=HorizontalRowLabel, Path=TextContent}" Foreground="Black" FontSize="6" MouseDown="TextBlock_MouseDown"/>
</Border>
Horizontal C#:
public partial class HorizontalRowLabel : UserControl
{
public static readonly DependencyProperty TextContentProperty = DependencyProperty.Register("TextContent", typeof(string),
typeof(HorizontalRowLabel), new FrameworkPropertyMetadata(""));
public string TextContent
{
get { return (string)GetValue(TextContentProperty); }
set { SetValue(TextContentProperty, value); }
}
private void TextBlock_MouseDown(object sender, MouseButtonEventArgs e)
{
MessageBox.Show(TextContent);
}
public HorizontalRowLabel()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
}
//Adds text HorizontalRowLabel UserControl, then adds HRL to Grid.
public void InitRowKeys(Grid puzzle)
{
for(int i = 0; i < HorizontalKeys.Length; i++)
{
RowDefinition row = new RowDefinition();
HorizontalRowLabel hrow = new HorizontalRowLabel();
row.Height = new GridLength(10);
for(int j = 0; j < HorizontalKeys[i].Length; j++)
{
if(HorizontalKeys[i].Length == 0 || j == HorizontalKeys[i].Length - 1)
{
hrow.TextContent += HorizontalKeys[i][j].ToString();
hrow.Foreground = Brushes.Black;
hrow.SetValue(Grid.RowProperty, i);
hrow.SetValue(Grid.ColumnProperty, 0);
hrow.FontSize = 6;
hrow.HorizontalAlignment = HorizontalAlignment.Right;
hrow.VerticalAlignment = VerticalAlignment.Center;
}
else
{
hrow.TextContent += HorizontalKeys[i][j].ToString() + " ";
hrow.SetValue(Grid.RowProperty, i);
hrow.SetValue(Grid.ColumnProperty, 0);
hrow.FontSize = 6;
hrow.HorizontalAlignment = HorizontalAlignment.Right;
hrow.VerticalAlignment = VerticalAlignment.Center;
}
}
//puzzle.Margin = new Thickness(0,50,0,0);
hrow.Width = 100;
hrow.Height = 30;
puzzle.RowDefinitions.Add(row);
puzzle.Children.Add(hrow);
}
}
A Binding like
Text="{Binding ElementName=HorizontalRowLabel, Path=TextContent}"
only works if you have assigned the x:Name attribute to the UserControl:
<UserControl ... x:Name="HorizontalRowLabel">
...
</UserControl>
That is however not necessary with a RelativeSource Binding:
Text="{Binding TextContent, RelativeSource={RelativeSource AncestorType=UserControl}}"
i am a real newbe in the world of helixtoolkit and Graphics 3D.
What i make:
I have the homework to code a programm which lets you decorate a christmastree with different types of decoration.
One type of decoration is a candle. The problem. The candle is too small in relation to the tree.
My question:
How can i resize my FileModelVisual3D inside of the view_tree with code behind?
private void view_tree_MouseDown(object sender, MouseButtonEventArgs e)
{
if (typeOfdecoration == 1)
{
Decoration1Visual3D decoration;
decoration = new Decoration1Visual3D();
decoration.Fill = Brushes.Red;
Point3D? pt = view_tree.FindNearestPoint(e.GetPosition(view_tree));
if (pt.HasValue)
{
Point3D p = pt.Value;
decoration.Transform = new TranslateTransform3D(p.X, p.Y, p.Z);
view_tree.Children.Add(decoration);
MessageBox.Show(decoration.ToString());
decoration = null;
}
}
else if (typeOfdecoration == 2)
{
FileModelVisual3D fmv3D = new FileModelVisual3D();
fmv3D.Source = "C:/Users/flori/Documents/Schulisches/WFSST/christmastree_burtscherflorian/christmastree_burtscherflorian/2245176fd65db964db79f88f870f8154/candle.3DS";
Point3D? pt = view_tree.FindNearestPoint(e.GetPosition(view_tree));
if (pt.HasValue)
{
Point3D p = pt.Value;
fmv3D.Transform = new TranslateTransform3D(p.X, p.Y, p.Z);
view_tree.Children.Add(fmv3D);
MessageBox.Show(fmv3D.ToString());
fmv3D = null;
}
}
}
XAML-Code
<helix:HelixViewport3D x:Name="view_tree" Camera="{helix:PerspectiveCamera 5.3,-12.3,900,-6.3,11,-6.6}" CameraChanged="view_tree_CameraChanged" MouseDown="view_tree_MouseDown" Grid.Row="0" Grid.Column="0">
<helix:SunLight/>
<helix:FileModelVisual3D x:Name="model_tree" Source="c:/Users/flori/Documents/Schulisches/WFSST/christmastree_burtscherflorian/christmastree_burtscherflorian/Conifers tree 1 N100616.3DS"/>
</helix:HelixViewport3D>
<StackPanel Grid.Row="0" Grid.Column="1">
<RadioButton Name="rb_candle" Margin="10,10,10,0" IsChecked="True" Checked="rb_candle_Checked">Kerze</RadioButton>
<RadioButton Name="rb_ball" Margin="10,10,10,10" Checked="rb_candle_Checked">Kugel</RadioButton>
</StackPanel>
Hope that anybode can help!
I know for others its easy but i have no experiences in 3D-coding.
Thanks
In addition to your TranslateTransform3D, apply a ScaleTransform3D. Put both of them into a Transform3DGroup and use this as Transform on your FileModelVisual3D:
double factor = 2.0;
var transformGroup = new Transform3DGroup();
transformGroup.Children.Add(new TranslateTransform3D(p.X, p.Y, p.Z));
transformGroup.Children.Add(new ScaleTransform3D(factor, factor, factor));
fmv3D.Transform = transformGroup;
Of course, you may want to adjust the factor.
I have to do some sort of game with WPF App that contain some matrix of color boxes (ex. 10x10). On-click at some it must eliminate itself and surrounding boxes with the same color if there are more than 3, and after elimination these boxes grant some random color.
I'm fairly new in WPF apps, but I have some knowledge of C# Programming and I can't figure out from where I should start. Most difficult part for me is "spawning" this boxes and use it like a matrix.
So far I found some project that I thought it will help me, but not really.
Can someone navigate from where I can start and which is most relevant way to do this.
Thank you.
ItemsControl + UniformGrid as a Panel is a good choice to display a matrix
view
<ItemsControl Name="Board">
<ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
<ItemsPanelTemplate >
<UniformGrid Rows="10" Columns="10"/>
</ItemsPanelTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
<ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<Border Background="Transparent"
BorderBrush="Black"
BorderThickness="1"
MouseDown="CellClick"
Margin="2"
Tag="{Binding}">
</Border>
</DataTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
</ItemsControl>
code-behind
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
List<Point> _board;
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
int rows = 10;
int columns = 10;
_board = new List<Point>();
for(int r = 0; r<rows; r++)
for (int c = 0; c < columns; c++)
_board.Add(new Point(r, c));
Board.ItemsSource = _board;
}
private void CellClick(object sender, MouseButtonEventArgs e)
{
var border = (Border)sender;
var point = (Point) border.Tag;
}
}
you can create and use more complex type instead of Point and improve ItemTemplate to continue development. current ItemTemplate is nothing more that a rectangle
I used code-behind for demonstration, but in wpf MVVM in a preferred approach
EDIT extended example
in most cases you don't have to work with UI elements directly
to support different Colors I will create a custom class
public class MatrixElement
{
private string _color;
public MatrixElement(int x, int y)
{
X = x;
Y = y;
}
public int X { get; private set; }
public int Y { get; private set; }
public string Color
{
get { return _color; }
set
{
_color = value;
if (ColorChanged != null)
ColorChanged(this, EventArgs.Empty);
}
}
public event EventHandler ColorChanged;
}
window code has changed accordingly
List<MatrixElement> _board;
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
int rows = 10;
int columns = 10;
_board = new List<MatrixElement>();
for (int r = 0; r < rows; r++)
for (int c = 0; c < columns; c++)
_board.Add(new MatrixElement(r, c){Color = "Green"});
Board.ItemsSource = _board;
}
private void CellClick(object sender, MouseButtonEventArgs e)
{
var border = (Border)sender;
// each point has unique {X;Y} coordinates
var point = (MatrixElement)border.Tag;
// changing color in item view model
// view is notified by binding
point.Color = "#00BFFF";
}
ItemTemplate was modified a bit
<ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<Border Background="{Binding Path=Color}"
BorderBrush="Black"
BorderThickness="1"
MouseDown="CellClick"
Margin="2"
Tag="{Binding}">
</Border>
</DataTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
I have the following code which creates WPF controls and then adds them to a window in a fashion I need. It works decently, but when trying to create 256 (x4 - two textblocks, combo box, textbox) controls it takes a while to display the tab. Window loads fine but I have many tabs and when I click on point setup tab it lags a little before displaying the tab. It only lags the first time I click on the tab, every time after the first it responds immediately.
At first I thought it was a rendering issue, but after much other research I am of the impression C#/WPF doesn't do well with creating a bunch of objects on the fly and adding them to forms.
If I drop the number of items to 50 it responds immediately, 100 is a slight lag and 200 (256) is a little more of a lag and too much to be acceptable to users.
Any experiences with issues like this before and advice for how to fix it or other tips/tricks.
Thanks in advance!
Wesley
public static void pointSetup(VirtualizingStackPanel desc, VirtualizingStackPanel map) //Draws point description and point map table in point setup tab
{
StackPanel row;
TextBlock text;
TextBox textBox;
ComboBox comboBox;
Thickness rowSpacing = new Thickness(0, 0, 0, 5);
Thickness textSpacing = new Thickness(0, 3, 5, 3);
List<string> list = new List<string>();
list.Add("xx");
for (byte i = 0; i < Global.currentZonesToMap; i++)
{
list.Add("Zone " + (i + 1));
}
for (short i = 0; i < 256; i++)
{
//desc
row = new StackPanel();
row.Margin = rowSpacing;
row.Orientation = Orientation.Horizontal;
text = new TextBlock();
text.Text = "Point " + (i + 1);
text.Margin = textSpacing;
text.Width = 50;
textBox = new TextBox();
textBox.MaxLength = 28;
textBox.Text = "";
textBox.Width = 270;
row.Children.Add(text);
row.Children.Add(textBox);
desc.Children.Add(row);
//map
row = new StackPanel();
row.Margin = rowSpacing;
row.Orientation = Orientation.Horizontal;
text = new TextBlock();
text.Text = "Point " + (i + 1);
text.Margin = textSpacing;
text.Width = 50;
comboBox = new ComboBox();
comboBox.ItemsSource = list;
comboBox.Width = 270;
row.Children.Add(text);
row.Children.Add(comboBox);
map.Children.Add(row);
}
}
New Code (using DataTemplate and ItemsControl)
public class DevicePoint
{
public string desc { get; set; }
public int zone { get; set; }
public List<string> zones { get; set; }
}
//Initialized all variables and displays UI (constructor)
public Dispatcher()
{
InitializeComponent();
List<string> opts = new List<string>();
opts.Add("xx");
for (byte i = 0; i < Global.currentZonesToMap; i++)
{
opts.Add("Zone " + (i + 1));
}
List<DevicePoint> points = new List<DevicePoint>();
for (short i = 0; i < 256; i++)
points.Add(new DevicePoint() { desc = "Point " + (i + 1), zone = 0, zones = opts });
pointDesc.ItemsSource = points;
pointZoneMap.ItemsSource = points;
... other stuff here ...
}
<StackPanel>
<TextBlock Margin="10" FontWeight="Bold" HorizontalAlignment="Center" Text="Point Descriptions" />
<ScrollViewer Width="360" Margin="30,10,30,10" MaxHeight="405">
<ItemsControl Name="pointDesc" Margin="5">
<ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<StackPanel VirtualizingStackPanel.IsVirtualizing="True" Margin="0,0,0,5" Orientation="Horizontal">
<TextBlock Margin="0,3,5,3" Width="50" Text="{Binding desc}" />
<TextBox MaxLength="28" Width="270" Text="{Binding desc}" />
</StackPanel>
</DataTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
</ItemsControl>
</ScrollViewer>
</StackPanel>
<StackPanel Grid.Column="1">
<TextBlock Margin="10" FontWeight="Bold" HorizontalAlignment="Center" Text="Point - Zone Map" />
<ScrollViewer Width="360" Margin="30,10,30,10" MaxHeight="405">
<ItemsControl Name="pointZoneMap" Margin="5">
<ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<StackPanel VirtualizingStackPanel.IsVirtualizing="True" Margin="0,0,0,5" Orientation="Horizontal">
<TextBlock Margin="0,3,5,3" Width="50" Text="{Binding desc}" />
<ComboBox Width="270" ItemsSource="{Binding zones}" SelectedIndex="{Binding zone}" />
</StackPanel>
</DataTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
</ItemsControl>
</ScrollViewer>
</StackPanel>
If your computer have multiple cores, and I am assuming it have, try to perform the for loop in parallel (parallelfor (from .net 4 or above).
You can set the points List size during creation to 256, this will prevent memory allocations during the items adding operation.
Consider use a StringBuilder if Global.currentZonesToMap is large.
Use StringBuilder to build the value for the DevicePoint.desc string property.
Good luck,
M. Moshe
I have two TextBlock’s that I am positioning consecutively on a Canvas. The first case works fine:
TextBlock text1 = new TextBlock();
text1.Text = "Not ";
text1.FontSize = 18;
Canvas.SetTop(text1, 20);
Canvas.SetLeft(text1, 20);
canvas.Children.Add(text1);
TextBlock text2 = new TextBlock();
text2.Text = "bad!";
text2.FontSize = 18;
Canvas.SetTop(text2, 20);
canvas.Dispatcher.BeginInvoke(DispatcherPriority.Background,
new DispatcherOperationCallback(delegate(Object state)
{
Canvas.SetLeft(text2, 20 + text1.ActualWidth);
return null;
}
), null);
canvas.Children.Add(text2);
Result:
However, the second case, which does not use BeginInvoke(), fails:
TextBlock text1 = new TextBlock();
text1.Text = "Not ";
text1.FontSize = 18;
Canvas.SetTop(text1, 20);
Canvas.SetLeft(text1, 20);
canvas.Children.Add(text1);
TextBlock text2 = new TextBlock();
text2.Text = "bad!";
text2.FontSize = 18;
Canvas.SetTop(text2, 20);
Canvas.SetLeft(text2, 20 + text1.ActualWidth); // ActualWidth is zero.
canvas.Children.Add(text2);
Result:
Now, I know that in the second case, the WPF rendering has not happened yet. My question is simply this: What is the preferred pattern to use in such a case where I need to know the actual coordinate values for UI controls which are only available after rendering has taken place?
(e.g. Is the approach, where BeginInvoke() is used, a good solution? Should the entire code be enclosed in a giant BeginInvoke()?)
To answer your question:
Dispatcher.BeginInvoke() queues the operation in the Dispatcher's "pending jobs" queue. This allows it to be able to process the addition of the first UI element, and run the Layout and Render passes before continuing to execute your code.
Therefore, when your code is run, the size of the first TextBlock has already been calculated, and you can get it.
Again, I don't know what you're attempting to do, but creating UI elements in code is usually a sign of a poor design. WPF is not winforms and the WPF ways are completely different from the horrible hacks required to do anything in winforms.
Edit:
This is my approach using a WrapPanel and some RenderTransform:
<Window x:Class="MiscSamples.MovingWords"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
Title="MovingWords" Height="300" Width="300">
<ItemsControl ItemsSource="{Binding}">
<ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
<ItemsPanelTemplate>
<WrapPanel IsItemsHost="True"/>
</ItemsPanelTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
<ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<Thumb DragDelta="Thumb_DragDelta" Margin="2">
<Thumb.Template>
<ControlTemplate>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Text}"
FontSize="{Binding FontSize}"
Foreground="{Binding Color}"/>
</ControlTemplate>
</Thumb.Template>
<Thumb.RenderTransform>
<TranslateTransform X="{Binding OffsetX}" Y="{Binding OffsetY}"/>
</Thumb.RenderTransform>
</Thumb>
</DataTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
</ItemsControl>
</Window>
Code Behind:
public partial class MovingWords : Window
{
public ObservableCollection<MovingWordModel> Words { get; set; }
public MovingWords()
{
InitializeComponent();
Words = new ObservableCollection<MovingWordModel>
{
new MovingWordModel() {Color = "Black", FontSize = 18, Text = "Hello!!"},
new MovingWordModel() {Color = "Black", FontSize = 18, Text = "This"},
new MovingWordModel() {Color = "Black", FontSize = 18, Text = "is"},
new MovingWordModel() {Color = "Black", FontSize = 18, Text = "the"},
new MovingWordModel() {Color = "Black", FontSize = 18, Text = "Power"},
new MovingWordModel() {Color = "Black", FontSize = 18, Text = "of"},
new MovingWordModel() {Color = "Blue", FontSize = 18, Text = "WPF"},
};
DataContext = Words;
}
private void Thumb_DragDelta(object sender, System.Windows.Controls.Primitives.DragDeltaEventArgs e)
{
var thumb = sender as Thumb;
if (thumb == null)
return;
var word = thumb.DataContext as MovingWordModel;
if (word == null)
return;
word.OffsetX += e.HorizontalChange;
word.OffsetY += e.VerticalChange;
}
}
Data Model:
public class MovingWordModel:PropertyChangedBase
{
public string Text { get; set; }
public int FontSize { get; set; }
public string Color { get; set; }
private double _offsetX;
public Double OffsetX
{
get { return _offsetX; }
set
{
_offsetX = value;
OnPropertyChanged("OffsetX");
}
}
private double _offsetY;
public double OffsetY
{
get { return _offsetY; }
set
{
_offsetY = value;
OnPropertyChanged("OffsetY");
}
}
}
PropertyChangedBase:
public class PropertyChangedBase:INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
protected virtual void OnPropertyChanged(string propertyName)
{
PropertyChangedEventHandler handler = PropertyChanged;
if (handler != null) handler(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
}
You can click and drag the words to move them around.
Notice that the values from the dragging will be stored in the OffsetX and OffsetY properties. The only problem with this approach is that you somewhat lose the Resolution Independence, because the offset values will actually move the words from their default position (which is determined by the WrapPanel, therefore they're subject to change depending on the size of the WrapPanel itself).