Develop Reference

Returning bound checkbox values using MVVM in a WPF form

I have an object that consists of a string and an array. The string populates a ComboBox and the array populates a ListView depending on the selected string value. Each line of the ListViewconsists of a TextBlock and a CheckBox.
On submit I want to be able to verify which items have been selected for further processing but there's a disconnect when using the MVVM approach. I currently have the DataContext of the submit Button binding to the ListView but only the first value is being returned upon submit (somewhere I need to save the selected values to a list I assume but I'm not sure where). I added an IsSelected property to the model which I think is the first step, but after that I've been grasping at straws.
Model
namespace DataBinding_WPF.Model
{
public class ExampleModel { }
public class Example : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private string _name;
private string[] _ids;
private bool _isSelected;
public bool IsSelected
{
get => _isSelected;
set
{
if (_isSelected != value)
{
_isSelected = value;
RaisePropertyChanged("IsSelected");
}
}
}
public string Name
{
get => _name;
set
{
if (_name != value)
{
_name = value;
RaisePropertyChanged("Name");
}
}
}
public string[] IDs
{
get => _ids;
set
{
if (_ids != value)
{
_ids = value;
RaisePropertyChanged("IDs");
}
}
}
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
private void RaisePropertyChanged(string property)
{
if (PropertyChanged != null)
{
PropertyChanged(this, new
PropertyChangedEventArgs(property));
}
}
}
}
ViewModel
namespace DataBinding_WPF.ViewModel
{
public class ExampleViewModel : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public ObservableCollection<Example> Examples
{
get;
set;
}
// SelectedItem in the ComboBox
// SelectedItem.Ids will be ItemsSource for the ListBox
private Example _selectedItem;
public Example SelectedItem
{
get => _selectedItem;
set
{
_selectedItem = value;
RaisePropertyChanged(nameof(SelectedItem));
}
}
// SelectedId in ListView
private string _selectedId;
public string SelectedId
{
get => _selectedId;
set
{
_selectedId = value;
RaisePropertyChanged(nameof(SelectedId));
}
}
private string _selectedCheckBox;
public string IsSelected
{
get => _selectedCheckBox;
set
{
_selectedCheckBox = value;
RaisePropertyChanged(nameof(IsSelected));
}
}
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
private void RaisePropertyChanged(string property)
{
if (PropertyChanged != null)
{
PropertyChanged(this, new
PropertyChangedEventArgs(property));
}
}
public void LoadExample()
{
ObservableCollection<Example> examples = new ObservableCollection<Example>();
examples.Add(new Example { Name = "Mark", IDs = new string[] { "123", "456" }, IsSelected = false });
examples.Add(new Example { Name = "Sally", IDs = new string[] { "789", "101112" }, IsSelected = false });
Examples = examples;
}
/* BELOW IS A SNIPPET I ADDED FROM AN EXAMPLE I FOUND ONLINE BUT NOT SURE IF IT'S NEEDED */
private ObservableCollection<Example> _bindCheckBox;
public ObservableCollection<Example> BindingCheckBox
{
get => _bindCheckBox;
set
{
_bindCheckBox = value;
RaisePropertyChanged("BindingCheckBox");
}
}
}
}
View
<UserControl x:Class = "DataBinding_WPF.Views.StudentView"
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:DataBinding_WPF"
mc:Ignorable = "d"
d:DesignHeight = "300" d:DesignWidth = "300">
<Grid>
<StackPanel HorizontalAlignment = "Left" >
<ComboBox HorizontalAlignment="Left"
VerticalAlignment="Top"
Width="120"
ItemsSource="{Binding Path=Examples}"
SelectedItem="{Binding SelectedItem}"
DisplayMemberPath="Name"/>
<ListView x:Name="myListView"
ItemsSource="{Binding SelectedItem.IDs}"
DataContext="{Binding DataContext, ElementName=submit_btn}"
SelectedItem="{Binding SelectedId}"
Height="200" Margin="10,50,0,0"
Width="Auto"
VerticalAlignment="Top"
Background="AliceBlue">
<ListView.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" >
<CheckBox
Name="myCheckBox"
IsChecked="{Binding IsSelected,
RelativeSource={RelativeSource AncestorType=ListViewItem}}"
Margin="5, 0"/>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding}" FontWeight="Bold" />
</StackPanel>
</DataTemplate>
</ListView.ItemTemplate>
</ListView>
<Button HorizontalAlignment="Left" Height="20" Width="100"
Click="Submit" x:Name="submit_btn">Submit</Button>
</StackPanel>
</Grid>
</UserControl>
View.cs
namespace DataBinding_WPF.Views
{
/// <summary>
/// Interaction logic for StudentView.xaml
/// </summary>
public partial class StudentView : UserControl
{
public StudentView()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
private void Submit(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
var selectedItems = ((Button)sender).DataContext;
// process each selected item
// foreach (var selected in ....) { }
}
}
}

The ListView control already exposes a selected items collection as property SelectedItems.
private void Submit(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
var selectedIds = myListView.SelectedItems.Cast<string>().ToList();
// ...do something with the items.
}
However, I doubt that you want to do this in the code-behind, but rather in the view model. For this purpose, WPF offers the concept of commands.
MVVM - Commands, RelayCommands and EventToCommand
What you need is a relay command or delegate command (the name varies across frameworks). It encapsulates a method that should be executed for e.g. a button click and a method to determine whether the command can be executed as an object that can be bound in the view. Unfortunately, WPF does not provide an implementation out-of-the-box, so you either have to copy an implementation like here or use an MVVM framework that already provides one, e.g. Microsoft MVVM Tookit.
You would expose a property Submit of type ICommand in your ExampleViewModel and initialize it in the constructor with an instance of RelayCommand<T> that delegates to a method to execute.
public class ExampleViewModel : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public ExampleViewModel()
{
Submit = new RelayCommand<IList>(ExecuteSubmit);
}
public RelayCommand<IList> Submit { get; }
// ...other code.
private void ExecuteSubmit(IList selectedItems)
{
// ...do something with the items.
var selectedIds = selectedItems.Cast<string>().ToList();
return;
}
}
In your view, you would remove the Click event handler and bind the Submit property to the Command property of the Button. You can also bind the SelectedItems property of the ListView to the CommandParameter property, so the selected items are passed to the command on execution.
<Button HorizontalAlignment="Left"
Height="20"
Width="100"
x:Name="submit_btn"
Command="{Binding Submit}"
CommandParameter="{Binding SelectedItems, ElementName=myListView}">Submit</Button>
Additionally, a few remarks about your XAML.
Names of controls in XAML should be Pascal-Case, starting with a capital letter.
You should remove the DataContext binding from ListView completely, as it automatically receives the same data context as the Button anyway.
DataContext="{Binding DataContext, ElementName=submit_btn}"
You can save yourself from exposing and binding the SelectedItem property in your ExampleViewModel, by using Master/Detail pattern for hierarchical data.
<Grid>
<StackPanel HorizontalAlignment = "Left" >
<ComboBox HorizontalAlignment="Left"
VerticalAlignment="Top"
Width="120"
ItemsSource="{Binding Path=Examples}"
IsSynchronizedWithCurrentItem="True"
DisplayMemberPath="Name"/>
<ListView ItemsSource="{Binding Examples/IDs}"
SelectedItem="{Binding SelectedId}"
Height="200" Margin="10,50,0,0"
Width="Auto"
VerticalAlignment="Top"
Background="AliceBlue">
<ListView.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" >
<CheckBox Name="myCheckBox"
IsChecked="{Binding IsSelected, RelativeSource={RelativeSource AncestorType=ListViewItem}}"
Margin="5, 0"/>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding}"
FontWeight="Bold" />
</StackPanel>
</DataTemplate>
</ListView.ItemTemplate>
</ListView>
<Button HorizontalAlignment="Left"
Height="20"
Width="100"
Command="{Binding Submit}"
CommandParameter="{Binding SelectedItems, ElementName=myListView}">Submit</Button>
</StackPanel>
</Grid>

If the view's data context is bound to the view then remove the DataContext from the ListView.
You could remove the item template and instead use a GridView like:
<ListView.View>
<GridView >
<GridViewColumn Header="Selected" >
<GridViewColumn.CellTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<CheckBox IsChecked="{Binding IsSelected}" Content="{Binding Name}" />
</DataTemplate>
</GridViewColumn.CellTemplate>
</GridViewColumn>
</GridView>
</ListView.View>
Since the ItemSource is an Observable collection, there are several options to monitor changes in the checkboxes:
Add an event handler to the item changed event of the collection and then you can add the Name or the collection index to a local collection. e.g Examples[e.CollectionIndex].Name
Alternatively iterate over the observable collection and select those Examples where Selected = "true"

Correct use of WPF view model

I'm teaching myself WPF. My window has two combo boxes: one for Categories and one for Subcategories. When the category selection changes, I want the list of subcategories to update to just those that are in the selected category.
I've created a simple view class for both of the combo boxes. My SubcategoryView class' constructor takes a reference to my CategoryView class and attaches an event handler for when the category selection changes.
public class SubcategoryView : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
protected CategoryView CategoryView;
public SubcategoryView(CategoryView categoryView)
{
CategoryView = categoryView;
CategoryView.PropertyChanged += CategoryView_PropertyChanged;
}
private void CategoryView_PropertyChanged(object sender, PropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
if (e.PropertyName == "SelectedItem")
{
_itemsSource = null;
}
}
private ObservableCollection<TextValuePair> _itemsSource;
public ObservableCollection<TextValuePair> ItemsSource
{
get
{
if (_itemsSource == null)
{
// Populate _itemsSource
}
return _itemsSource;
}
}
}
I assign my DataContexts like this.
cboCategory.DataContext = new CategoryView();
cboSubcategory.DataContext = new SubcategoryView(cboCategory.DataContext as CategoryView);
The problem is that selecting a new item in my category combo box does not cause the subcategories to repopulate (even though I confirmed my PropertyChanged handler is being called).
What is the correct way to cause the list to repopulate?
Also, I welcome any other comments about this approach. Instead of passing my CategoryView to the constructor, is it better to indicate this declaratively somehow in the XAML?

Here's how we do it in production code.
Each category knows what its subcategories are. If they're coming from a database or a disk file, the database/webservice method/file reader/whatever would return classes just like that, and you'd create the viewmodels to match. The viewmodel understands the structure of the information but knows and cares nothing about the actual content; somebody else is in charge of that.
Note that this is all very declarative: The only loop is the one that fakes up the demo objects. No event handlers, nothing in codebehind except creating the viewmodel and telling it to populate itself with fake data. In real life you do often end up writing event handlers for special cases (drag and drop, for example). There's nothing non-MVVMish about putting view-specific logic in the codebehind; that's what it's there for. But this case is much too trivial for that to be necessary. We have a number of .xaml.cs files that have sat in TFS for years on end exactly as the wizard created them.
The viewmodel properties are a lot of boilerplate. I have snippets (steal them here) to generate those, with the #regions and everything. Other people copy and paste.
Usually you'd put each viewmodel class in a separate file, but this is example code.
It's written for C#6. If you're on an earlier version we can change it to suit, let me know.
Finally, there are cases where it makes more sense to think in terms of having one combobox (or whatever) filtering another large collection of items, rather than navigating a tree. It can make very little sense to do that in this hierarchical format, particularly if the "category":"subcategory" relationship isn't one-to-many.
In that case, we'd have a collection of "categories" and a collection of all "subcategories", both as properties of the main viewmodel. We would then use the "category" selection to filter the "subcategory" collection, usually via a CollectionViewSource. But you could also give the viewmodel a private full list of all "subcategories" paired with a public ReadOnlyObservableCollection called something like FilteredSubCategories, which you'd bind to the second combobox. When the "category" selection changes, you repopulate FilteredSubCategories based on SelectedCategory.
The bottom line is to write viewmodels which reflect the semantics of your data, and then write views that let the user see what he needs to see and do what he needs to do. Viewmodels shouldn't be aware that views exist; they just expose information and commands. It's often handy to be able to write multiple views that display the same viewmodel in different ways or at different levels of detail, so think of the viewmodel as just neutrally exposing any information about itself that anybody might want to use. Usual factoring rules apply: Couple as loosely as possible (but no more loosely), etc.
ComboDemoViewModels.cs
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Collections.ObjectModel;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Linq;
using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
namespace ComboDemo.ViewModels
{
public class ViewModelBase : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
#region INotifyPropertyChanged
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
protected void OnPropertyChanged([CallerMemberName] String propName = null)
{
PropertyChanged?.Invoke(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propName));
}
#endregion INotifyPropertyChanged
}
public class ComboDemoViewModel : ViewModelBase
{
// In practice this would probably have a public (or maybe protected) setter
// that raised PropertyChanged just like the other properties below.
public ObservableCollection<CategoryViewModel> Categories { get; }
= new ObservableCollection<CategoryViewModel>();
#region SelectedCategory Property
private CategoryViewModel _selectedCategory = default(CategoryViewModel);
public CategoryViewModel SelectedCategory
{
get { return _selectedCategory; }
set
{
if (value != _selectedCategory)
{
_selectedCategory = value;
OnPropertyChanged();
}
}
}
#endregion SelectedCategory Property
public void Populate()
{
#region Fake Data
foreach (var x in Enumerable.Range(0, 5))
{
var ctg = new ViewModels.CategoryViewModel($"Category {x}");
Categories.Add(ctg);
foreach (var y in Enumerable.Range(0, 5))
{
ctg.SubCategories.Add(new ViewModels.SubCategoryViewModel($"Sub-Category {x}/{y}"));
}
}
#endregion Fake Data
}
}
public class CategoryViewModel : ViewModelBase
{
public CategoryViewModel(String name)
{
Name = name;
}
public ObservableCollection<SubCategoryViewModel> SubCategories { get; }
= new ObservableCollection<SubCategoryViewModel>();
#region Name Property
private String _name = default(String);
public String Name
{
get { return _name; }
set
{
if (value != _name)
{
_name = value;
OnPropertyChanged();
}
}
}
#endregion Name Property
// You could put this on the main viewmodel instead if you wanted to, but this way,
// when the user returns to a category, his last selection is still there.
#region SelectedSubCategory Property
private SubCategoryViewModel _selectedSubCategory = default(SubCategoryViewModel);
public SubCategoryViewModel SelectedSubCategory
{
get { return _selectedSubCategory; }
set
{
if (value != _selectedSubCategory)
{
_selectedSubCategory = value;
OnPropertyChanged();
}
}
}
#endregion SelectedSubCategory Property
}
public class SubCategoryViewModel : ViewModelBase
{
public SubCategoryViewModel(String name)
{
Name = name;
}
#region Name Property
private String _name = default(String);
public String Name
{
get { return _name; }
set
{
if (value != _name)
{
_name = value;
OnPropertyChanged();
}
}
}
#endregion Name Property
}
}
MainWindow.xaml
<Window
x:Class="ComboDemo.MainWindow"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:ComboDemo"
mc:Ignorable="d"
Title="MainWindow" Height="350" Width="525">
<Grid>
<StackPanel Orientation="Vertical" Margin="4">
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal">
<Label>Categories</Label>
<ComboBox
x:Name="CategorySelector"
ItemsSource="{Binding Categories}"
SelectedItem="{Binding SelectedCategory}"
DisplayMemberPath="Name"
MinWidth="200"
/>
</StackPanel>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" Margin="20,4,4,4">
<Label>Sub-Categories</Label>
<ComboBox
ItemsSource="{Binding SelectedCategory.SubCategories}"
SelectedItem="{Binding SelectedCategory.SelectedSubCategory}"
DisplayMemberPath="Name"
MinWidth="200"
/>
</StackPanel>
</StackPanel>
</Grid>
</Window>
MainWindow.xaml.cs
using System.Windows;
namespace ComboDemo
{
/// <summary>
/// Interaction logic for MainWindow.xaml
/// </summary>
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
var vm = new ViewModels.ComboDemoViewModel();
vm.Populate();
DataContext = vm;
}
}
}
Extra Credit
Here's a different version of MainWindow.xaml, which demonstrates how you can show the same viewmodel in two different ways. Notice that when you select a category in one list, that updates SelectedCategory which is then reflected in the other list, and the same is true of SelectedCategory.SelectedSubCategory.
<Window
x:Class="ComboDemo.MainWindow"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:ComboDemo"
xmlns:vm="clr-namespace:ComboDemo.ViewModels"
mc:Ignorable="d"
Title="MainWindow" Height="350" Width="525"
>
<Window.Resources>
<DataTemplate x:Key="DataTemplateExample" DataType="{x:Type vm:ComboDemoViewModel}">
<ListBox
ItemsSource="{Binding Categories}"
SelectedItem="{Binding SelectedCategory}"
>
<ListBox.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate DataType="{x:Type vm:CategoryViewModel}">
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" Margin="2">
<Label Width="120" Content="{Binding Name}" />
<ComboBox
ItemsSource="{Binding SubCategories}"
SelectedItem="{Binding SelectedSubCategory}"
DisplayMemberPath="Name"
MinWidth="120"
/>
</StackPanel>
</DataTemplate>
</ListBox.ItemTemplate>
</ListBox>
</DataTemplate>
</Window.Resources>
<Grid>
<StackPanel Orientation="Vertical" Margin="4">
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal">
<Label>Categories</Label>
<ComboBox
x:Name="CategorySelector"
ItemsSource="{Binding Categories}"
SelectedItem="{Binding SelectedCategory}"
DisplayMemberPath="Name"
MinWidth="200"
/>
</StackPanel>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" Margin="20,4,4,4">
<Label>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding SelectedCategory.Name, StringFormat='Sub-Categories in {0}:', FallbackValue='Sub-Categories:'}"/>
</Label>
<ComboBox
ItemsSource="{Binding SelectedCategory.SubCategories}"
SelectedItem="{Binding SelectedCategory.SelectedSubCategory}"
DisplayMemberPath="Name"
MinWidth="200"
/>
</StackPanel>
<GroupBox Header="Another View of the Same Thing" Margin="4">
<!--
Plain {Binding} just passes along the DataContext, so the
Content of this ContentControl will be the main viewmodel.
-->
<ContentControl
ContentTemplate="{StaticResource DataTemplateExample}"
Content="{Binding}"
/>
</GroupBox>
</StackPanel>
</Grid>
</Window>

Using single view-model in that case is really simpler, as mentioned in comments. For example, I'll use just strings for combo box items.
To demonstrate correct using of view model, we'll track changes of category through binding rather than UI event. So, besides ObservableCollections you'll need SelectedCategory property.
View-model:
public class CommonViewModel : BindableBase
{
private string selectedCategory;
public string SelectedCategory
{
get { return this.selectedCategory; }
set
{
if (this.SetProperty(ref this.selectedCategory, value))
{
if (value.Equals("Category1"))
{
this.SubCategories.Clear();
this.SubCategories.Add("Category1 Sub1");
this.SubCategories.Add("Category1 Sub2");
}
if (value.Equals("Category2"))
{
this.SubCategories.Clear();
this.SubCategories.Add("Category2 Sub1");
this.SubCategories.Add("Category2 Sub2");
}
}
}
}
public ObservableCollection<string> Categories { get; set; } = new ObservableCollection<string> { "Category1", "Category2" };
public ObservableCollection<string> SubCategories { get; set; } = new ObservableCollection<string>();
}
Where SetProperty is implementation of INotifyPropertyChanged.
When you select category, the setter of SelectedCategory property triggers and you can fill subcatagory items depending on selected category value. Do not replace collection object itself! You should clear existing items and then add new ones.
In xaml, besides ItemsSource for both combo boxes, you'll need bind SelectedItem for category combo box.
XAML:
<StackPanel x:Name="Wrapper">
<ComboBox ItemsSource="{Binding Categories}" SelectedItem="{Binding SelectedCategory, Mode=OneWayToSource}" />
<ComboBox ItemsSource="{Binding SubCategories}" />
</StackPanel>
Then just assign view-model to wrapper's data context:
Wrapper.DataContext = new CommonViewModel();
And code for BindableBase:
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
public abstract class BindableBase : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
protected bool SetProperty<T>(ref T storage, T value, [CallerMemberName] string propertyName = null)
{
if (Equals(storage, value))
{
return false;
}
storage = value;
this.OnPropertyChanged(propertyName);
return true;
}
protected void OnPropertyChanged([CallerMemberName] string propertyName = null)
{
this.PropertyChanged?.Invoke(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
}

How to make a datagrid see edits in a control?

I have a user control that I am using to populate a datagrid.
I would like the user to be able to add items by editing the empty row at the bottom. (This is why I am using a datagrid rather than an itemscontrol) However the datagrid does not realise that the last item is edited unless the user clicks the background of the control. I would like the new item to be added when the user makes changes on the properties that the control exposes.
XAML of the control:
<UserControl x:Class="ControlTest.MyControl"
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:ControlTest"
mc:Ignorable="d"
d:DesignHeight="50" d:DesignWidth="300"
DataContext="{Binding Path=., Mode=TwoWay,UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}"
>
<StackPanel Orientation="Vertical">
<TextBox Text="{Binding Path=p1, Mode=TwoWay,UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}"
Width="300"
Height="30"
VerticalAlignment="Center"/>
<ComboBox ItemsSource="{Binding Path=DropDownValues,
RelativeSource={RelativeSource Mode=FindAncestor,
AncestorType=local:MyControl}}"
SelectedItem="{Binding Path=p2, Mode=TwoWay,UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}"
Height="30"/>
</StackPanel>
</UserControl>
cs:
public partial class MyControl : UserControl
{
private static readonly DependencyProperty DropDownValuesProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register(
"DropDownValues",
typeof(List<String>),
typeof(MyControl),
new FrameworkPropertyMetadata(new List<String>()
));
public List<String> DropDownValues
{
get
{
return (List<String>)GetValue(DropDownValuesProperty);
}
set
{
SetValue(DropDownValuesProperty, value);
}
}
public MyControl()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
}
DataGrid XAML
<DataGrid
AutoGenerateColumns="False"
ItemsSource="{Binding objs, Mode=TwoWay}"
HeadersVisibility="None"
Margin="0,0,0.4,0"
CanUserAddRows="True"
>
<DataGrid.ItemsPanel>
<ItemsPanelTemplate>
<StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal"/>
</ItemsPanelTemplate>
</DataGrid.ItemsPanel>
<DataGrid.Columns>
<DataGridTemplateColumn Width="300">
<DataGridTemplateColumn.CellTemplate>
<DataTemplate DataType="local:Measure">
<local:MyControl
DataContext="{Binding ., Mode=TwoWay, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}"
DropDownValues=
"{Binding DataContext.list, RelativeSource={RelativeSource FindAncestor, AncestorType={x:Type Window}}}"
Width="300"
/>
</DataTemplate>
</DataGridTemplateColumn.CellTemplate>
</DataGridTemplateColumn>
</DataGrid.Columns>
</DataGrid>
Can I make this work, and/or is there a better way to do this?

I would like to suggest you a different way of doing that:
set CanUserAddRows=false on your DataGrid and then manually add rows to the ObservableCollection<Something> to which your DataGrid is bound to.
OR
If you are still interested in the approach that you follow:
In your xaml file:
<DataGrid x:Name="myDataGrid" CellEditEnding="DataGrid_CellEditEnding" .....>
<!--Some Code-->
</DataGrid>
Then in the Code-Behind:
private void DataGrid_CellEditEnding(object sender, DataGridCellEditEndingEventArgs e)
{
myDataGrid.CommitEdit();
}
If you don't understand anything then feel free to ask.
Update
If you are following the same approach:
In your DataGrid's Beginning edit event you can try:
private void DataGrid_BeginningEdit(object sender, DataGridBeginningEditEventArgs e)
{
if ((selectedRow as DataGridRow).Item.ToString() != "{NewItemPlaceholder}")
{
//Here you can add the code to add new item. I don't know how but you should figure out a way
}
}
Note: The code mentioned above is not tested.
I would also suggest you :
Not to use DataGrid. Instead use ListBox. Because, you are trying to add some data. At this time you never need sorting, searching and column-reordering fascilities. In such scenario, ListBox is useful as it is light-weight control than datagrid. I have a sample here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5WyqSALui0bTXFGZWxQUWVRdkU

Is the problem that the UI is not being notified of changes to the objs collection? What I would do is try setting up whatever view model that contains objs to make objs an observable collection. I would also ensure that whatever objs is an observable collection of implements INotifyPropertyChanged and that properties p1 and p2 both fire OnPorpertyChanged when they are set.
public ObservableCollection<YourObject> objs
and
public class YourObject : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
protected void OnPropertyChanged(string Name)
{
PropertyChangedEventHandler handler = PropertyChanged;
if (handler != null)
{
handler(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(Name));
}
}
private string _p1;
public string p1
{
get { return _p1; }
set
{
if (_p1 != value)
{
_p1 = value;
OnPropertyChanged("p1");
}
}
}
private string _p2;
public string p2
{
get { return _p2; }
set
{
if (_p2 != value)
{
_p2 = value;
OnPropertyChanged("p2");
}
}
}
}

DataBinding to listbox

The "a.text" is extracted from my JSON Response. I am trying to display the "a.text" in the listbox.
List<Feature> features = App.dResult.directions[0].features;
foreach (Feature f in features)
{
Attributes a = f.attributes;
MessageBox.Show(a.text);
directionListBox.ItemsSource = a.text;
}
I tried using binding the "a.text" to the listbox but there is no display.
<ListBox x:Name="directionListBox" ItemsSource="{Binding a.text}" >
<ListBox.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<StackPanel Orientation="Vertical">
<TextBlock Text="{Binding a.text}" Style="{StaticResource PhoneTextTitle2Style}" />
</StackPanel>
</DataTemplate>
</ListBox.ItemTemplate>
</ListBox>
Can anyone provide me with some idea on how to bind the "a.text" to listbox?
Any help will be greatly appreciated.

The ItemsSource Property of a ListBox should not point to a String, like a.text, but to an ObservableCollection.
Try something like this:
1st: derive that code class from INotifyPropertyChanged.
2nd: You can get the ObservableList from here or use ObservableCollection instead.
3rd: Then use this code (untested, but might work):
ObservableList<String> featList = new ObservableCollection<String>();
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
public void InvokePropertyChanged(string propertyName)
{
PropertyChangedEventHandler handler = PropertyChanged;
if (handler != null) handler(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
public ObservableList<String> FeatList
{
get { return featList; }
set
{
featList = value;
InvokePropertyChanged("FeatList");
}
}
List<Feature> features = App.dResult.directions[0].features;
foreach (Feature f in features)
{
Attributes a = f.attributes;
//MessageBox.Show(a.text);
FeatList.add(a.text);
}
4th: At the top of the fild you have to use a 'using' statement to import the ObservableList.
Then, bind the listbox'es ItemSource to this list, and make the TextBlock's Binding just bind to the default DataContext, which will be the string from the list:
<ListBox x:Name="directionListBox" ItemsSource="{Binding FeatList}" >
<ListBox.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<StackPanel Orientation="Vertical">
<TextBlock Text="{Binding}" Style="{StaticResource PhoneTextTitle2Style}" />
</StackPanel>
</DataTemplate>
</ListBox.ItemTemplate>
</ListBox>

Silverlight - Can't get ListBox to bind to my ObservableCollection

I'm trying to make a ListBox that updates to the contents of an ObservableCollection whenever anything in that collection changes, so this is the code I've written for that:
xaml:
<ListBox x:Name="UserListTest" Height="300" Width="200" ItemsSource="listOfUsers">
<ListBox.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding LastName}" />
</DataTemplate>
</ListBox.ItemTemplate>
</ListBox>
C#:
public ObservableCollection<User> listOfUsers
{
get { return (ObservableCollection<User>)GetValue(listOfUsersProperty); }
set { SetValue(listOfUsersProperty, value); }
}
public static readonly DependencyProperty listOfUsersProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("listOfUsers", typeof(ObservableCollection<User>), typeof(MainPage), null);
And I set up a call to a WCF Service that populates listOfUsers:
void repoService_FindAllUsersCompleted(object sender, FindAllUsersCompletedEventArgs e)
{
this.listOfUsers = new ObservableCollection<User>();
foreach (User u in e.Result)
{
listOfUsers.Add(u);
}
//Making sure it got populated
foreach (User u in listOfUsers)
{
MessageBox.Show(u.LastName);
}
}
The ListBox never populates with anything. I assume my problem may be with the xaml since the ObservableCollection actually has all of my Users in it.

You're missing the {Binding} part from your ItemsSource there.
<ListBox x:Name="UserListTest" Height="300" Width="200" ItemsSource="{Binding listOfUsers}">
<ListBox.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding LastName}" />
</DataTemplate>
</ListBox.ItemTemplate>
</ListBox>
Also, you may not need to have a DependencyProperty for your list, you may be able to achieve what you need with a property on a class that implements INotifyPropertyChanged. This may be a better option unless you need a DependencyProperty (and the overhead that goes along with it) for some other reason.
e.g.
public class MyViewModel : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private ObservableCollection<User> _listOfUsers;
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
public ObservableCollection<User> ListOfUsers
{
get { return _listOfUsers; }
set
{
if (_listOfUsers == value) return;
_listOfUsers = value;
if (PropertyChanged != null) PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs("ListOfUsers"));
}
}
}