C# – Data binding to a UserControl in WPF

cwpfwpf-controlsxaml

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!

Best Answer

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}

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..

Related Solutions

C# – Binding a WPF ComboBox to a custom list

You set the DisplayMemberPath and the SelectedValuePath to "Name", so I assume that you have a class PhoneBookEntry with a public property Name.

Have you set the DataContext to your ConnectionViewModel object?

I copied you code and made some minor modifications, and it seems to work fine. I can set the viewmodels PhoneBookEnty property and the selected item in the combobox changes, and I can change the selected item in the combobox and the view models PhoneBookEntry property is set correctly.

Here is my XAML content:

<Window x:Class="WpfApplication6.Window1"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        Title="Window1" Height="300" Width="300">
<Grid>
    <StackPanel>
        <Button Click="Button_Click">asdf</Button>
        <ComboBox ItemsSource="{Binding Path=PhonebookEntries}"
                  DisplayMemberPath="Name"
                  SelectedValuePath="Name"
                  SelectedValue="{Binding Path=PhonebookEntry}" />
    </StackPanel>
</Grid>
</Window>

And here is my code-behind:

namespace WpfApplication6
{

    /// <summary>
    /// Interaction logic for Window1.xaml
    /// </summary>
    public partial class Window1 : Window
    {
        public Window1()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
            ConnectionViewModel vm = new ConnectionViewModel();
            DataContext = vm;
        }

        private void Button_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
        {
            ((ConnectionViewModel)DataContext).PhonebookEntry = "test";
        }
    }

    public class PhoneBookEntry
    {
        public string Name { get; set; }

        public PhoneBookEntry(string name)
        {
            Name = name;
        }

        public override string ToString()
        {
            return Name;
        }
    }

    public class ConnectionViewModel : INotifyPropertyChanged
    {
        public ConnectionViewModel()
        {
            IList<PhoneBookEntry> list = new List<PhoneBookEntry>();
            list.Add(new PhoneBookEntry("test"));
            list.Add(new PhoneBookEntry("test2"));
            _phonebookEntries = new CollectionView(list);
        }

        private readonly CollectionView _phonebookEntries;
        private string _phonebookEntry;

        public CollectionView PhonebookEntries
        {
            get { return _phonebookEntries; }
        }

        public string PhonebookEntry
        {
            get { return _phonebookEntry; }
            set
            {
                if (_phonebookEntry == value) return;
                _phonebookEntry = value;
                OnPropertyChanged("PhonebookEntry");
            }
        }

        private void OnPropertyChanged(string propertyName)
        {
            if (PropertyChanged != null)
                PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
        }
        public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
    }
}

Edit: Geoffs second example does not seem to work, which seems a bit odd to me. If I change the PhonebookEntries property on the ConnectionViewModel to be of type ReadOnlyCollection, the TwoWay binding of the SelectedValue property on the combobox works fine.

Maybe there is an issue with the CollectionView? I noticed a warning in the output console:

System.Windows.Data Warning: 50 : Using CollectionView directly is not fully supported. The basic features work, although with some inefficiencies, but advanced features may encounter known bugs. Consider using a derived class to avoid these problems.

Edit2 (.NET 4.5): The content of the DropDownList can be based on ToString() and not of DisplayMemberPath, while DisplayMemberPath specifies the member for the selected and displayed item only.

Wpf – Transform XAML syntax from Shorthand to full syntax

If it is pure XML then you can use XSL and XSLT software to do the transformation.

The XSL transformation would have to parse the Text string value into the desired XML fields. It is possible, but neither simple nor straightforward. It seems strange to mix non-XML structure (the Text attribute value) with XML. I can see why you want to do the transformation (if only to leverage the vast numbers of software tools for handling XML data).

Another possibility is to write a small script (in Python or Java) that reads the XML content for you, then performs the conversion. This will probably be the most flexible solution.

An interesting read about XAML conversion: http://simonwillison.net/2003/Oct/24/microsoftsXUL/

Best Answer

Related Solutions

C# – Binding a WPF ComboBox to a custom list

Wpf – Transform XAML syntax from Shorthand to full syntax

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