C# – Show WPF Tooltip if needed

cconditionaltooltipwpf

I have a TextBlock inside a limited-size control. If the text is too long to fit into the control, I'd like to show a tooltip with full text. This is a classic behavior you surely know from many apps.

I tried using a Converter to convert TextBlock width into Tooltip's Visibility.

<GridViewColumn.CellTemplate>
    <DataTemplate>
        <TextBlock Text="{Binding Text}">
            <TextBlock.ToolTip>
                <ToolTip 
                    DataContext="{TemplateBinding Content}" 
                    Visibility="{Binding Converter={StaticResource visConvert}}">

                        <TextBlock Text="{Binding Text}"></TextBlock>
                </ToolTip>
            </TextBlock.ToolTip>
        </TextBlock>
    </DataTemplate>
</GridViewColumn.CellTemplate>

The problem is that in the Converter:

public object Convert(object value, ...

'value' is the DataBound item. I'd like the 'value' to be the TextBlock, to observe its Width, and compare it to the GridViewColumn.Width.

Best Answer

I figured it out, the Tooltip has PlacementTarget property that specifies the UI element that has the Tooltip. In case anyone needs it:

<TextBlock Text="{Binding Text}">
    <TextBlock.ToolTip>
        <ToolTip 
             DataContext="{Binding Path=PlacementTarget, RelativeSource={x:Static RelativeSource.Self}}" 
             Visibility="{Binding Converter={StaticResource toolVisConverter}}">
             <TextBlock Text="{Binding Text}"/>  <!-- tooltip content -->
         </ToolTip>
    </TextBlock.ToolTip>
</TextBlock>

And then write a Converter that converts TextBlock to Visibility (based on TextBlock width).

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 Tooltip binding not updating

The bindings specify a Source, because of that they no longer "care" about the DataContext and hence the bindings do not update if anything other than the property itself on the source-object changes.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

C# – Binding a WPF ComboBox to a custom list

WPF Tooltip binding not updating

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